Going Beyond Sustainability in Everyday Life

By Sarah Moratto

It’s been about three months now since my incredible study abroad experience in Brazil. Thinking back, it almost seems like a vivid dream. I know I was there and I haven’t forgotten what I learned during my time there, but somehow the contrast of my experiences there and my day-to-day life here in Arizona is so drastic that it feels almost unreal.

Traveling to Brazil was an experience unlike any other. The trip was filled with the social and cultural excitement I’ve experienced in many of my other travels, but was supplemented with an interesting and arduous academic lens. Analyzing the complex issues that Brazil is facing such as social inequality, water scarcity and the realization of basic human rights was such a unique experience. Apart form the feelings of privilege and guilt that I felt while I was there, I mostly wanted to make sure that when I returned home I would do something different in my life. It was a bit overwhelming because combating such large issues that take place so far from home can be hard to tackle, especially as a graduate student with a million different things on my plate.

During the course in Brazil we discussed the impact we as individuals can make in our day-to-day lives simply by living a more sustainable life and leading by example. As a student of sustainability, I tried my best to be a responsible consumer and integrate sustainability into my everyday life at home, work, and school, even before the trip began. Although sometimes I still get this feeling that it’s not enough, and I try to envision how I can do more. But it can be hard to think of ways to do that especially at this point in my life. As I write this I realize that, even though it might not be obvious at this moment, by being in school I am currently preparing myself to hopefully make a larger impact in the future.

While we were in Brazil there were several discussions regarding large enterprises and the impact of international trade on social and environmental systems. Much of the course highlighted the negative impacts of these large enterprises and the unsustainable lifestyles to which many people within developed countries have grown accustomed. I find it very conflicting though because, although I don’t wish to support this, I still feel locked in a system that forces my hand. In my time at ASU I have started thinking more and more about how businesses function and looking at positive examples of businesses that integrate sustainability into their operations and aim to reduce their negative environmental and social impact. As my culminating experience in my MSUS program I am planning to do an applied project that looks into sustainability assessments of businesses. I would like to see how effective assessments can be and how we can use sustainability as a way to improve the way businesses operate and their overall impact on social and environmental systems.

I will never forget my time in Brazil and I find it to be a great motivator in my studies and career goals. I think there are many ways to approach sustainability, and I hope that in my efforts to look into sustainable business practices that my work will have a ripple effect through businesses and supply chains that I work with and to smaller communities like the ones I visited in Brazil.