LEADING AROUND THE WORLD Each EML global residency begins on campus with lectures and discussions that produce a better understanding of the history, culture, and leadership challenges at the site of the international residency. In addition, students begin working on a leadership-focused consulting project for a client in the host country. The experience culminates in a one-week, international residency where student teams present recommendations to the client and participate in academic and cultural experiences. P R O J E C T S P O T L I G H T:
of Sappi Limited, a global leader in pulp and
The team constructed a blueprint for a fully
RECYCLING IN SOUTH AFRICA
paper headquartered in South Africa. Sappi
functional waste collection company and
As part of their summer 2013 global residency, three
Southern Africa provided expertise and
selected a local entrepreneur to oversee the
assisted in coordinating the infrastructure
center. To ensure the sustainability of this new
for the HLAZA (Green) Innovation Center, a
venture, the Georgetown students are working
renovated buyback center where local residents
with Sappi ReFibre, K & C Waste, CONSOL,
sell their recyclables at fair market value for the
PETCO, and Collect-A-Can to serve as the
respective recyclable commodity that they have
primary buyers of the recovered material.
collected. The more recyclables that collectors
Once the commodities are sorted at the HLAZA
secure on a daily basis, the more they ultimately
Innovation Center, each buyer will collect
will earn.
recycled commodities — benefiting residents,
EML students transformed a resource center in a poverty-stricken township of South Africa into a new recycling facility in the center of the community. Cherian Thomas, Tim Powers, and Ted Fahy encouraged entrepreneurship in Langa Township by educating the community on the value of waste. With a mission to improve the local economy, the students felt it was imperative to teach through example. They partnered with local recycling companies to educate the community on recycled commodities. Moved by Langa’s staggering unemployment rate of more than 50 percent and challenging health issues such as HIV and AIDS, the students saw the opportunity to help rejuvenate and improve the quality of life in the area. With industry insight and relevant professional experience, the students pursued a partnership opportunity with Sappi Southern Africa, part
EML ’14 students Ted Fahy, Cherian Thomas, and Tim Powers
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businesses, and the overall environment.