Audrey Chen (ELP 2024) | Key Account Manager, Sunway Communication Inc., United States
As a business graduate working in an American, privately owned corporate environment, I see how the accomplishments from work slowly drain and slowly disconnect us from the beauty of being born on this beautiful planet. Practicing in the electronics-manufacturing industry that’s strongly tied to the prosperity of Silicon Valley, I see how continuous incentivization of consumerism adds stress to our planet and serves as a catalyst for extreme climate change. The day-to-day discussions of business activities with almost the sole pursuit of profit and ROI (Return on Investment) doesn’t make long-term sense anymore, but I felt that my hands are tied to stopping the trend being practiced in this industry.
Many big corporations released statements about net zero targets, but only some applied the scientific approach following the SBTi (Science Based Targets initiatives), few define the scope level of their target, and almost all use ambiguous words such as “expect” that makes it less of an unwavering goal of the organization. All of them are good at playing the game of data manipulation, managing measurement, marketing and PR, and telling only the subjective side of the story that is beneficial when facing the investors and the general public. As an insider on the vendor side, I see where the data chain of calculation is widely broken, especially for scope 3 carbon emission calculations. I also work day-to-day in a world lacking awareness and willingness to contribute to climate change mitigation efforts in the global production and supply chain.
However, I see strong incentives, either as a global citizen or as an organization of impact, to strive for ESG-friendly and sustainable practices at both personal and corporate levels. When a person achieves financial freedom, they soon look for a higher meaning; we see billionaires establish foundations devoted to solving world issues or working on conservation all the time. I am eager to bridge the gap by allowing people and entities, whether that be private, NGO, and governmental, to do things differently by working on and for the issues myself. So I jumped in and searched for the resources available to me to build up my knowledge pool related to the field, and found the ELP program.
I hadn’t expected to learn equally much, if not more, from my cohort who are already advocates and best cases in different corners of the world. I saw how their personal mission aligns with their work in their organizations and also got exposure to the frustrations and challenges they face. Agriculture, ocean, biodiversity and conservation, carbon offset, climate change, renewable energy, waste management, water, public policy, mediation, etc. It was a very realistic peek into real-life working in various sectors of environmental and sustainability development. It also helped me gauge my skill sets and find where the overlap of my background training could come into play to serve a critical role in addressing some parts of the issues. The network I started building, globally and locally, through the friendships we established with the cohort and through Berkeley and Rausser College of Natural Resources’ broader web allowed me to build my path and have a better idea of the roadmap to eventually contributing my time, energy, and career to work for our planet.
It seems like I am just getting started; it felt like I just watched a trailer for my next chapter, and was provided a lot of hints that show the possibilities of how things would unfold. Moving forward, I carry with me all awareness, knowledge, and insights retained from this program. As I grow and accumulate more valuable skill sets and experiences in this industry, my hope is that someday within the next 3 years, I can have presentable data on the positive impact myself and my work has contributed to our planet, and through the cumulation of all of the change agents - leaders in ELP program - we see a better world where conserved nature and happier co-living communities prosper as one.
Blog cover image provided by the blog author, Audrey Chen.