May 23, 2018
Becca Rushin has been Vice President for Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility for Jamestown since 2016. Her involvement in sustainability began with being outside a lot as she was growing up, taking a ‘Walking the Land’ class in college, and getting hooked with environmental literature. She is now as active in the campaign for green building as ever.
“Look, I have never heard of this sustainability thing before but it makes a lot of sense… why would we not do things this way?” - Becca Rushin on her life-altering breakthrough
Sustainability: The Epiphany
Becca grew up in the coast of Georgia, developing her love for travel and the outside world. In college, she took up a class that introduced her to ecology and the environment through a lot of classic reading. It wasn’t until after college that she got hold of Cradle-to-Cradle, which brought to the surface the part of her that leaned towards sustainability.
With her undergraduate degree in environmental studies, she went on to study in Netherlands to get her MSc in Sustainable Development from Utrecht. Her degree has not only equipped her with the necessary credentials to land jobs befitting her education. She has also put it to use by testifying in defense of environmental policies, the ultimate culmination of her learnings.
A Work Smarter, Not Harder Approach
Becca thinks that sustainability is a lot simpler than most people would like to think. It’s a “work smarter” rather than a “work harder” kind of approach in making our way of life better for the sake of the environment. In fact, no one is exempt from adopting a sustainable manner of living.
“I’ve never seen sustainability as kind of mutually exclusive with a kind of busy, happy, fulfilled life, like the one I grew up living.” - Becca Rushin
Sustainability can be injected into everything we do. Through lighting, energy, and water conservation, we can all act with added environmental benefits. Like she said, it is silly to not go with such an easy upgrade.
The Impactful Duos
Becca’s career was defined by tandems. During her startup days, a pair of mentors with unique skill sets guided her growth by providing a leash long enough to cut her teeth on everything she needs to learn.
Presently, Becca wears two hats, that of sustainability and of corporate social responsibility. It is her belief that both are actually important in achieving a company’s shared goals by involving charity and humanity in the process.
To hear more about Becca’s story of sustainability and social responsibility, download and listen to the episode!
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