A Head for Business, A Heart for the World

The SIFE team hosted its third annual Environmental Sustainability Conference, which was held in the Heath building from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Feb. 4. The SIFE team worked on this project since last semester.“SIFE is a non-profit organization that works with leaders in business and higher education to mobilize university students to make a difference in their communities while developing the skills to become socially responsible business leaders,” according to the SIFE official website.The goal of SIFE is stated in its motto: “A head for business. A heart for the world.” The organization aims at gathering leaders both in business and education in order to use the power and influence of business in a positive way to benefit the world. The SIFE conference was somewhat of a “green” initiative that focused on raising awareness on what different kinds of organizations have taken initiatives towards contributing to the protection of the environment through certain of their business practices.

The conference offered a wide range of workshops throughout the day, each taught by a different business professional. Among the professionals present at Friday’s conference were: Derek Sabori, director of sustainability and CSR at Volcom, Rob Homes, president and founder of Green Living Project, Shaheen Sadegi founder and CEO of Lab Holding LLC, Evan Marks, founder of The Ecology Center, and Martin Diedrich, founder of Diedrich Coffee and Kean Coffee to name a few. Throughout a series of workshops, each one of these business officials shared with the audience different ways and practices that they use to be more “eco friendly.”

“It was very interesting, but also amazing, to realize how the small essentials used in our daily lives can change the environment for the good,” freshman Lakisha Mumford said.

Whether it was green plastic boxes made from plastic bottles found at the dump to use as moving boxes or reusing milk cartons instead of throwing them away, the various tactics described by the speakers provided excellent insight to the audience on how to take small but significant steps towards contributing to protecting the environment. In addition, the conference offered its attendants free lunch sponsored by Bon Appetit and musical entertainment by Vanguard’s Jazz Band.

“Being part of the conference was such a great opportunity to practice business skills that have been taught in the Vanguard classroom. The conference was not an easy event to plan, but our team was able to execute a successful event due to our excellent team effort,“ said Environmental Sustainability Director, Orianne McEwen.

The SIFE conference provided information on the current status of the business world and its “green” practices. Students can either go to the official SIFE website for information or contact student members of the team.