Q&A with Jenny Isler, Clark University
Photo/Rick Saia
JENNY ISLER, Sustainability Coordinator, Clark University
Name: Jenny Isler
Title: Sustainability Coordinator, Clark University, Worcester
Hometown: Westport, Conn.
Residence: Eliot, Maine
Education: Bachelor’s degree, Trinity College; master’s degree, Antioch University New England, Keene, N.H.
What’s it like to work at one of the coolest schools in the country? First, let’s use a definition of “cool” offered by Sierra magazine: The magazine, published by the Sierra Club, recently named Clark University the 17th coolest school because of its sustainability efforts and commitment to climate change. Clark’s sustainability program is led by Jenny Isler, who took the job last January after working in the private, nonprofit and municipal government sectors.
How did you become interested in sustainability?
I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t interested in sustainability. I believe I was raised in that ethos of stewardship and responsibility. I just don’t think they called it sustainability at the time.
Tell me more about that.
There is a way of seeing and walking in the world that takes responsibility for your actions — not just your immediate actions — but awareness of your long-term impact on other people, on other communities, on the planet as a whole. And I believe I was raised, as were many New Englanders, with that firmly in place. Somewhere along the way, some of us got lost, and now we need guides to help us come back.
How long has Clark’s program been in effect and how has it evolved?
Clark is deeply rooted in environmental stewardship, in social responsibility, in teaching and sharing more than just one aspect, but (also) in asking questions and looking beyond how can we challenge convention and change our world. That is more than a slogan; that’s Clark since 1883. So it isn’t so much that a program was designed and implemented, it is more that the authenticity of Clark was always present.
How does this apply to business? What does a business need to know about sustainability?
I am quite sure that every business has this at its core as well. Sustainability is about maximizing the resources that you have available. Period. End of discussion. And it’s about being aware of what those resources are so that you can use them to your best advantage. And I am 100 percent convinced that every business has that at their core. Or else they’re a charity. So it’s simply a matter of looking at that and capitalizing on that. No business purposely comes into a neighborhood to ruin it. You want to build your customer loyalty. You want to build your base. You want to respond to them. You don’t want to destroy the environment in your neighborhood. You want to be a good neighbor. You want to have corporate citizenship, which includes environmental stewardship.
How did your education prepare you for such a role?
I believe that my experience prepared me more than my studies did. The studies brought me up to date on some of the technologies and tools that are available now. But in my role as sustainability coordinator, the primary responsibilities are bringing everyone to the table, encouraging growth and development and personal success, caring, listening, coordinating, holding, if you will, many strands together and weaving them.
What are two or three easy steps businesses can take that many have not taken so far?
The single most important thing that a business can do is to evaluate where they are. Benchmark what they’re doing right now. Closely evaluate what theyare doing … and the small things matter. If you’re using coffee mugs instead of Styrofoam cups, if you’re cleaning up the sidewalk in front of your business, those are sustainability initiatives. But first, evaluate where you are (and) what you do. Where do you buy your paper? How much paper do you use? All those business things: the lighting, the water heater. Benchmark it. Everything. Do it as a team so that everyone is looking at it. Hire a consultant. But be with that consultant and evaluate where you are. Then, from that point, start to look for the low-hanging fruit, things that are low cost (and) easily accomplished that are maybe not a cash outlay but a habit change, and you’ll generally find that that low-hanging fruit will be money saving. After you have that evaluation in place, turn it over to a “green team” or your entire staff, or to your wife and kids if you’re a sole proprietor. And everyone has knowledge on this; you can hardly escape it. Barring that, just Google “green office” and see what comes up.
Government, especially the Obama administration, has been a strong advocate for sustainability efforts. What private companies would you say are leaders in sustainability and why?
There are many of them. I'll give you a quote from the CEO of Stonyfield Yogurt, Gary Hirshberg, which actually is what made me go to business school. "Business got us into this mess, and it's going to have to get us out." So, he structured his business to be one of those businesses that gets us out. And he's doing quite well at it because he's gotten to the size and financial leverage where he can change things up the supply chain. And where you get to the point (of being a) 3M or an Interface Flooring or a Stonyfield Yogurt or a Tom's of Maine or of so many companies, you're changing the supply chain. And that is the future of sustainability.
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