Robbie Carey is an HBA ’25 candidate and Sustainability Certificate recipient, passionate about merging entrepreneurship with environmental stewardship.Throughout the Sustainability Certificate program, he was challenged to reflect on his purpose while learning from leaders in purpose-driven business. Below, he shares what the Sustainability Certificate graduation ceremony on March 21 meant to him.
The spark that started it all
Leading up to my sustainability certificate graduation ceremony, my expectations were high. My first glimpse into the program came during last year’s Worldchangers event, held for the Sustainability Certificate Class of 2024. I distinctly remember listening to Derrick Emsley, HBA ’12, speak about the inception of Tentree – a clothing brand that’s prioritizes earth-first, sustainable products. What stood out wasn’t the specifics of how Emsley founded his company, but how it made me feel. The passion with which he spoke about his purpose and how it shaped the business evoked a sensation I’ve experienced multiple times at Ivey.
The first time I felt it was during a speaker panel on energy – covering both renewables and oil and gas. While I recounted the experience to my family I said it felt like I was meant to be there, as if by more than just chance. I felt it again in Ivey’s BMO Auditorium, listening to Eric Janssen, HBA ’09, MBA ’21, and Dave Simpson, MBA ’88, speak about entrepreneurship during the New Venture Project kickoff. Despite being surrounded by more than 100 peers, it felt as though the faculty were speaking directly to me.
I’d describe the feeling like this: each time, I knew I was in the right place, exactly where I was meant to be. So, when I attended the Sustainability Certificate’s virtual graduation ceremony on March 21, my expectations were understandably high. Program leaders, Oana Branzei and Diane-Laure Arjaliès had assembled a team of guest speakers – all purpose-driven leaders shaping the global movement toward regeneration:
- Esha Chhabra, an award-winning writer and speaker on regeneration;
- Gregory Hersant, co-founder of Flaura Leather, which produces eco-friendly leather made from apple residues; and,
- Michael Messenger, EMBA ’21, CEO of World Vision Canada and Ivey’s 2025 Worldchanger Award recipient.
From each speaker, I came closer to understanding what role I hope to play in business and how I might achieve that. Here are my takeaways.
Regeneration is the goal, sustainability is the waypoint
Esha Chhabra is a journalist who covers global development, sustainability, and regeneration. I learned from her work that some entrepreneurs feel almost allergic to the word “sustainability” because of its implications. We take for granted the fact that the word means to maintain what exists and implies neutrality. In contrast, she spoke of the regeneration movement, where individuals and communities seek to create positive change. By collecting the stories of dozens of entrepreneurs across industries, Chhabra challenges one of the daunting barriers facing students interested in sustainability: What can I do?
Not every company should be a behemoth
In a world focused on Fortune 500 companies, it is easy to lose sight of the powerful impact that more focused businesses have. Gregory Hersant is co-founder of Flaura, a company that produces plant-based leather using residual apple materials from the production of cider and juice. He spoke about the goal of the company: to champion the circular economy by reducing the burdens of consumption. Hersant brought up a valuable conversation about growth when he mentioned that Flaura doesn’t have its sights set on being the biggest and baddest leather producer. Flaura’s scope of using locally produced food residuals to reinvent leather consumption is a showcase of the strength of local innovation to pull forward a regenerative future.
Pursuit of purpose
The theme of the certificate program this year was purpose. One of this year’s Worldchanger Award recipients, Michael Messenger, EMBA ’21, spoke of his purpose to find and foster hope in the world, a sense of purpose that he developed in his Executive MBA at Ivey and carried forward to cultivate an organization that shared his ideals.
“Not all worldchangers change the world for the better. We have the power to do harm just as easily as we can do good,” he said.
His words inspired me to consider how I show up. Intentions and actions can easily become misaligned when left unchecked, and purpose necessitates intentionality. On this point, Messenger spoke of three pillars that can guide an individual’s pursuit of purpose: Calling, Character, and Commitment. Calling is your origin story – the “why” beneath the surface of your actions, character is the values and attitudes that you call upon in hard moments, and commitment is where purpose comes alive because purpose without action is just potential.
The graduation ceremony reaffirmed what I’ve come to believe at Ivey: that business can be a force for good when guided by purpose. The challenge now is to live up to that potential.
Related Articles
