Hi! I’m Vippy and engaging in communities that expand both the breadth and the depth of my knowledge have been the underlying driver in joining student organizations targeted towards marketing, consulting, law, as well as various non-profits throughout my academic career. These communities have taught me that I thrive in organizations that align with my values, specifically around sustainability. Exploring these diverse industries has exposed me to various business practices around integrating corporate social responsibility through ESG practices and SDGs, heightening my desire to learn about tangible impacts certain business practices can have in its communities.

What is your personal definition of sustainability?

Sustainability to me the ability of an action to maintain itself overtime, however, I also want organizations and people to be able to also improve the communities in which they impact. Sustainable business practices recognize and avoid irreparable harm to its triple bottom line by committing to profit, people, and planet equally to flourish long-term. My hopes for sustainable regeneration in particular balances immediate returns with long-term benefits. Maximizing the benefits for current and future generations of children, animals, and nature to thrive will require patience and persistence that must become second-nature to both businesses and individuals like myself.

What role do you see sustainability playing in your professional career?

Marketing has been my career goal since joining Western’s Marketing Association in 2019.Understanding the intersection between marketing as a business function and sustainability as an organizational value is crucial in creating meaningful change. Sustainable marketing is about promoting a mission rather than a specific good or service. I strive to help create a brand that incorporates the triple bottom line into its strategies. Sustainability provides a brand a long-term value proposition that looks to a larger purpose beyond profit as a criterion of success, with the mission reflected in every step from labour practices to packaging.

Responsibility of a sustainable marketer includes stopping the stimulation of consumerism by creating demand for unsolicited products in order to make quick cash. Sustainable marketing is consumer-oriented: it understands that customers want authentic change and customers communicate these values through their buying power. This encourages businesses to become the brand that can meet those demands. My career goals include being an advocate for the implementation and development of sustainable business values that will lend credence to a different marketing approach that not enough brands do authentically today.

What sustainability projects have you been engaged in?

Since 2019,I have been engaging young people to SDGs through my involvement with AIESEC. By facilitating volunteer and work experiences in development projects, I promoted SDGs such as#4 Quality Education and#8Decent Work &Economic Growth as these youth become world citizens. Hearing past participants speak on the impact that personally seeing the need for SDGs during their projects has only reinforced my commitment to peace and prosperity by 2030.

For the past year, my work experience in pension funds has opened my eyes to the role of sustainable finance as I researched the major international pension funds to understand trends in sustainable investing in the industry. Analyzing ESG practices through public investment reports has shown me that while there are organizations that try to set standard practices, the gaps and discrepancies in benchmarking, measuring, and disclosure practices remain slow changing. No universally accepted definition on sustainable finance and accounting plays a role in the lack of comparability between firms claiming to be socially responsible.