Just like you, I didn’t start university with any clue about what I wanted to pursue or work towards for a career. The one thing I was certain of was that I wanted to make a positive impact and bring people together wherever I go. It is this underlying principle that leads many people to the intersection of business and sustainability. In my situation it led me to join JSEC. Since then, I’ve come to a few realizations that I wish everyone would understand or act upon.

For the sustainability you don’t yet know.

Nick Bonneau: His thoughts on sustainability implementation

Written by Nick Bonneau

Edited by Olivia Lafreniere

2021-11-07

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This week we’ve got a special treat, our current JSEC president, Nick Bonneau, shares his realizations he’s had since starting his degree and launching himself into the world of sustainability! If you don’t know Nick already, you definitely should and if you’ve had the pleasure of knowing him, you know how hardworking he is, his great leadership qualities and his willingness to help anyone in need. As a BTM major student with a minor in sustainability studies, JMCC academic delegate for the sustainability team, past intern for the CSU, analyst for JSCG and past Director of Speaker Relations for JSEC 2020-2021, Nick is no stranger to getting involved and making things happen. With all this hard work behind the scenes comes the understanding that some systems are not working to their full potential, here are some of these realizations and a bit of guidance on how we can work together to solve them.

Just like you, I didn’t start university with any clue about what I wanted to pursue or work towards for a career. The one thing I was certain of was that I wanted to make a positive impact and bring people together wherever I go. It is this underlying principle that leads many people to the intersection of business and sustainability. In my situation it led me to join JSEC. Since then, I’ve come to a few realizations that I wish everyone would understand or act upon.

Ideally, JSEC shouldn’t have to exist. Ideally, all organizational decisions are made through a lens of sustainability. Realistically, this is still a work in progress. For example, here are a list of events and initiatives that could be done without the help of JSEC: Concordia University offering eco-friendly and responsibly made merch or a workshop about sustainable finance. No matter how incredibly important, fun, and fulfilling it is to demonstrate the feasibility and importance of such initiatives, ideally JSEC wouldn’t have to exist for them to happen. This same logic applies outside of JMSB. Businesses shouldn’t need 3rd parties to hold them accountable for their impact on the planet and society. It should come from internal sources. This leads to my second realization.

There is a demand for education of sustainability factors in all areas of businesses and organizations. Businesses are already being forced to adapt to ecological and societal demands and now it is possible to differentiate oneself by being knowledgeable about current pain points, solutions, frameworks, technologies, etc. that make businesses more sustainable in all areas. 

“The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.”

— Albert Einstein

Students today are the decision makers of tomorrow.  Soon students will be forced to confront and adapt to the realities of a changing business landscape that previous generations have been so kind to leave us with. These realities such as resource shortages, climate change, and a demand for transparency are further out of our control than ever. We as students must hold each other accountable to address the upcoming realities. In my mind, this is the definition of leadership: Having the humility to be held accountable, the courage to hold others accountable, and the honesty to critically analyze the impact of our decisions.

 For a more in depth understanding of Nick’s ideas, listen to our podcast The Green Pod with Andrew Kaprielian!

WE'VE GOT A PODCAST!

Welcome to the brand new JSEC Podcast, The Green Pod with Andrew Kaprielian!

The Green Pod podcast was created by the JSEC team to start the conversation on the current topics and opinions within sustainability. The aim is to keep the JMSB students engaged with the JSEC team as well as expressing ideas concerning sustainability. The Green Pod is linked to our Blog where we post weekly on Sundays (#SustainabilitySundays).

In our pilot episode, we welcome our very own President, Nick Bonneau, who will be introducing JSEC, his blog post on sustainability implementation as well as his background and his journey in the JMSB and sustainability.