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Community Engagement
In addition to partnerships with local cities, counties and municipalities, PCGS also works with corporate partners to help develop new sustainability solutions for businesses.
During the Fall 2019 semester a team of graduate students from the Patel College of Global Sustainability, led by Dr. Sharon Hanna-West, Director of Sustainable Business partnered with Clearwater based Tech Data. Tech Data is a multinational leader in technology distribution. They have helped distribute technologies for companies such as HP, Apple, and Microsoft. Many of the software and hardware components to your devices went through Tech Data.
The project components as agreed to by Tech Data and PCGS included a sustainability assessment, vision, and plan for the company, as well as specific recommendations for solutions/next steps in seven sectors based on ROI. The work is tracked by a template used in Dr. Sharon Hanna-West’s Ethics, Law and Sustainable Business Practices course which is known as the “S-Lab”. The template was tweaked to fit Tech Data’s specific organizational needs as they are interested in formalizing a project that could be implemented through the company and lay the groundwork for future sustainable business interns. The students performed an industry analysis, sustainable investing performance analysis and made the business case for adopting sustainable practices. They included some internal and external marketing ideas and strategies to help you get all stakeholders on board.
In December 2019 student project leaders Amanda Shelton and Cara McGowen presented to Tech Data leadership at the conclusion of the Sustainability Project. The recommendations were enthusiastically received and Tech Data looks forward to future collaborations with PCGS. Other corporate partnerships and sustainability projects were completed with the Tampa YMCA, Busch Gardens, Armature Works and Campus 1 Real Estate. Through PCGS, students have been able to conduct projects in partnership with different businesses. PCGS will continue to support businesses and their mission to reach their sustainable goals.