Planting the SEED of Sustainability

Industry Spotlight: Boeing

Last spring, the College of Engineering, Villanova School of Business and College of Professional Studies partnered with Boeing Co. for an intensive Applied Sustainability boot camp program. Part of Villanova’s Sustainable Enterprise Executive Education and Development (SEED) program, the boot camp taught Boeing executives the critical fundamentals of sustainability and challenged them to better incorporate sustainability principles into their organization’s strategies, business plans and culture.

“Over the past two decades, overwhelming evidence has shown that companies that pay attention to sustainability tend to outperform companies that don’t,” says Victoria Minerva ’13 MSSE, ’17 MBA, director of the SEED program. “Addressing environmental, social and governance issues strategically has enabled organizations to reduce costs, mitigate risks, drive growth and enhance their reputation.”

Sheila Remes, vice president of Environmental Sustainability at Boeing

The SEED boot camp provided an opportunity to integrate the principles of sustainability into all functions of the business.

Faculty members from Sustainable Engineering and the Villanova School of Business led lectures and discussions on a variety of sustainability topics, including industry best practices, supply chain resilience and the role of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing. Over five days, Boeing participants immersed themselves in the customized learning experience, working together in interactive small group exercises, as well as in individual reflections, to create sustainable solutions for Boeing’s biggest challenges.

At the conclusion of the in-person portion of the program, Boeing participants broke into small teams and were assigned an action-learning project to design over the course of three months. Each team applied what they learned during the boot camp to current sustainability issues at Boeing. Topics were centered around understanding customers’ sustainability priorities, building more resilient and sustainable supply chains, and integrating ESG into decision-making processes. The program concluded with final presentations at Boeing’s Seattle office. Each team shared their findings and received feedback from their boot camp cohort, as well as other Boeing colleagues. Upon completion of the program, participants received a certificate in Applied Sustainability.

“The SEED boot camp provided an opportunity to integrate the principles of sustainability into all functions of the business, and turn the principles into action,” says Sheila Remes, vice president of Environmental Sustainability at Boeing. “The program elevated our cohort of cross-functional leaders’ knowledge around sustainability so they could apply these learnings back to their daily work. The program allowed us to learn about sustainability and work on unique approaches to our business in a safe space.”