There are a number of reasons for an organization to embrace sustainability. One is the bottom line. If a company can find a way to use less energy or water in its manufacturing process, it’s pretty certain to be improving its financial performance along with its environmental performance. It’s a no-brainer.

But a conversation with Valeria Orozco reveals some other compelling rationales for integrating sustainability approaches into companies’ business strategies, operating models and critical processes. By sustainability, she means not only practices that impact the environment but also those that have a social impact, like supporting worker health and a safe supply chain. Focusing on these things contributes to a company’s performance, which can include revenues but also its brand and reputation. A high-performing company attracts customers, investors and employees. It inspires trust.

At Accenture, Valeria is part of a SWAT team of consultants that is brought in to help an organization tackle a specific problem. They conduct research, analyze data, offer recommendations and ultimately become trusted advisors. She has served on and led teams that helped a government agency with a mandate to quantify greenhouse gas emissions from its major suppliers; a global pharmaceutical firm developing its sustainability strategy; and a multi-million-dollar nonprofit formulating a five-year strategic plan.

Valeria talks about a company’s “journey to sustainability.” The journey might originate with an effort to comply with regulations and end with sustainability embedded into the organization’s business strategy.

Her own journey began with a deep affinity for high school biology. As an undergraduate, she studied biology and environmental science and spent a semester doing field research in Costa Rica and a summer doing lab research at the University of Chicago. A few years later, looking for a graduate program, she discovered the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke.

Valeria Orozco

What appealed to her was the interdisciplinary academic program, because as she’d learned, “You can have all the science knowledge in the world, but that doesn’t mean you will necessarily effect change. It’s not just about science; it’s about understanding social systems as well.” Along with studying ecology and GIS, she took classes in social and political science, learning about marine treaties and the Montreal Protocol (an agreement that addresses the ozone hole). What she also took away from Duke was that while protecting the environment was deeply embedded in her own value system, it’s not universally so—an important real-world lesson.

The final piece of the puzzle for her was an MBA degree from neighboring UNC. “I knew that many environmental problems and innovations were driven by business, so I needed to learn more about that subject,” she says.

With her deep knowledge of environmental science, a firm grasp of social science, and a newfound understanding of business and finance, Valeria has made a successful career in the consulting sector, moving up the ladder at Accenture to a position where she is leading teams and becoming a thought leader.

She is well poised there to make a difference in the environment from within the world of business.


Education

  • 2008, MBA, UNC-Chapel Hill. Participated in Academic Exchange: The Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, India
  • 2003, MEM, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University. Master’s Project: A Grassroots Response to Environmental Inequity: A Case Study of the West End Revitalization Association (WERA), Mebane, North Carolina
  • 1998, B.A., Biology, Monmouth College. Study Abroad: Tropical Field Research, Costa Rica

 

Work

  • 2010-present, Manager, Accenture Sustainability Services
  • 2008-2010, Strategist, Kinetix (a boutique consulting firm)
  • 2003-2006 Environmental Scientist, Waratah Corporation (consulting with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)