Feb. 2, 2023

Studying at Seneca was Camila Acevedo’s first step toward creating a more sustainable world.

Ms. Acevedo earned a business degree in her home country of Colombia in 2019. Short stints in banking and marketing revealed that she wanted to be on a different path.

“I have always been passionate about the environment,” she said. “When I graduated, I thought about what I could do to link business with the environment, and that’s when I found sustainability.”

That realization led Ms. Acevedo to Seneca’s Sustainable Business Management (SBM) program. She found right away that the graduate certificate program offered “everything that I was dreaming about,” giving her the opportunity to examine all aspects of an organization with a sustainability lens – even though she knew there would be culture and weather shock moving to Canada.

“Seven years ago, if you asked me about Canada, I’d have said ‘It’s too cold and I like the beach,’” she laughed.

A benefit of the SBM program for students such as Ms. Acevedo is the opportunity to collaborate with industry partners to carry out research and come up with innovative solutions to real-world problems.

Ms. Acevedo and her classmates worked with Invert – a Toronto-based startup that has developed an app to calculate users’ carbon footprint, and consults clients on how to reduce their environmental impact.

While similar services exist for corporations and government, Invert is part of an emerging market that provides this information to individuals.

Invert and Seneca came together in part through Panos Panagiotakopoulos, Professor, School of Human Resources & Global Business, who has served as an adviser to the fast-growing company.

“It’s been a great experience working with Seneca,” said Rade Kovacevic, Co-CEO, Invert. “The quality of talent and the focus on sustainability at Seneca are outstanding.” 

The SBM team helped Invert plan for its rapid growth, including setting up a remote working policy – something that also contributes to sustainability, which Ms. Acevedo is quick to point out.

Her work impressed Invert so much that they decided to hire her. Ms. Acevedo is now their Go To Market Co-ordinator, working on marketing initiatives.

“This work is fantastic,” she said. “We give people the tools to be involved in climate change, to understand their carbon footprint and how their daily habits can make a difference.”

And the adjustment to a “cold country”? That didn’t turn out to be so bad either.

“I discovered all the amazing things that Canada has to offer, all the opportunities that it has,” Ms. Acevedo said. “I survived the winter … and Canada has beaches too.”