Our final presenter of the day was Andre McEwing, who is the Diversity Supply Manager for Tarrant County College and was previously the Executive Director at Southeast Fort Worth, Inc. Mr. McEwing was born and raised in Fort Worth and has a BA in Banking and Finance from Morehouse College and a MBA in Sustainability from The University of Texas at Arlington. He reports to the Director of Purchasing who requires that 20% of annual purchases to be from minorities, women, and historically underutilized businesses. His role is to find these local businesses and educate them on projects in the area, specifically those related to Tarrant County College. He is a very focused business man with a foot solidly in both worlds. He knows that sustainability is important for current and future generations but also knows that businesses won't make a move if something isn't profitable as well as functional. Mr. Ewing's focus in his presentation was to teach our class some of the recent moves towards sustainable investing in Fort Worth and how to use our knowledge to be an agent for change in our own corporations and community.
Mr. McEwing echoed many of the same points that Allen Smith had earlier in the day. He stated that 90% of transactions in SE Fort Worth are in cash so scanners at markets aren't picking that information up and it's not available for corporations to analyze and make investment decisions. This is why it is so important for people like he and Allen to actively attend community events, meet with local business owners, and educate investors on how sustainable options are a more viable investment than ever. To illustrate the viability of these investments he pointed to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. This index was launched in 1999 to track the stock performance of the world's leading companies by economic, environmental, and social criteria and to serve as a benchmark for investors of companies that are striving to adopt more sustainable practices.
"The demand is here, you can't stop it."
According to his presentation, the US Conference of Mayors 75% of cities are changing codes to encourage sustainable building and 88% of cities are educating the public about the need for energy efficient, health, and sustainable buildings. In fact, in 2009 Dallas was one of the top purchasers of alternative energy and was tied with San Francisco for the #1 greenest building program. As Mr. Ewing says "the demand is here, you can't stop it."
Mr. McEwing's presentation was extremely beneficial to a MBA student. He really drove home the perspective of both the investor and the sustainability community. He inspired me to look at my own life and company to see if there were ways, however small, that I could find cost effective and environmentally friendly solutions to every day issues. Overall, it was a great presentation and a fantastic wrap-up to the day.
For his presentation to the class and videos of Andre McEwing see my video/presentations page here.
