My name is Harrison Waddell, I studied politics, philosophy, and economics prior to coming to Ivey. Outside of academics, I am an avid rock climber, doing my best to be an alpinist. That pursuit comes with stewardship and a love of nature, it also comes with a very real picture of the worrying climate conditions. Coming from my PPE background, I was predisposed to see the answer to Ecological problems, as research and legislation. At Ivey, I’ve been exposed to the capacity for financing and business broadly speaking to impact change.  

My dad is an alpinist and has taken me on a few expeditions that he did when he was my age, indicating what had changed, and the decimation of our natural environment.  

What is your personal definition of sustainability?

I’ve always thought about sustainability as a constraint to consumption. We must consume sustainably for all stakeholders notably future generations. If economics is the study of scarcity, sustainability is the management of scarcity. My definition of sustainability broadly breaks down into three parts. Circularity, efficiency, and balance. First, true sustainability is circular, it is better to reuse than create. Second, when we do create, we must do so efficiently, and get the most out of our creations. Finally, we must balance our needs with all stakeholders, present and future, human and non-human.  

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

I think sustainability won’t be a part of my career, but my entire career. I am currently writing an article for IBR, on the topic of electric vehicles helping to achieve climate goals via grid stabilization and short-term energy storage. It has reignited my passion for entrepreneurship, especially in the climate space. I have become very interested in the business side of the conversion to a green economy and world. I think that green financing is a super interesting concept, one I would love to explore in the early stages of my career. Long term, I’d like to continue on some of the work I’ve done in sustainable real estate development or take a completely different path in AI electricity management. I am still struggling with what exactly I want to do in life, but my section head said something that really struck me: “When you are young your answer to what you want to be in life is a job title, but it should be a list of values and goals”. I don’t know what I want to do yet, but I know that I want to be ethical, respected, honest, caring, and a difference-maker.   

What sustainability projects have you been engaged in? 

I have been lucky enough to be able to pursue a number of sustainability projects in my life. Chronologically, my first job was for a real estate developer, researching sustainable innovation in development. Partially I planned for achieving Leed certificates, but another part was ideation for new initiatives. From that project, I was staffed on a sustainable organic farming initiative. At western, I helped one of my close friends launch her sustainable lingerie company. I helped her with financial planning and modeling and developing an investor pitch. I am also currently in the process of writing for IBR on a sustainable topic. I am writing about the energy outlook in the next ten years, and the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy, resulting in a shift from controllable energy to non-controllable energy. Ultimately leading to a need for energy storage, and the possibility of electric vehicle companies to address this issue. I have also developed an interest in sustainable finance in Africa, specifically how the IFC is approaching generating funding in Africa. It has inspired me to think about opportunities in the fintech space related to African clean energy investment.