The Refinishing Touch Blog

As we saw with the world trade summit in Copenhagen, central government has a long way to go before reaching concrete solutions to environmental problems. Still, there are other ways in which individuals can work to reach their own solutions. A recent article in the New York Times showcased how universities across the country are training postgraduate students to deliver practical solutions to the sustainability issues that many businesses face.

Universities in Massachusetts, Colorado and New York have taken sustainability focused post-graduate programs and included urban environmental issues to better fit the demographics of the student population, most of which live in urban areas. Whether they began their studies in engineering, biology or public policy, doctoral and masters students are now finding value in incorporating sustainable issues into their programs to better fit the jobs they aspire to have.

One of the major challenges for the future is finding ways to equip people with the practical know-how to engage with existing businesses and show them that making the shift to a more sustainable business model doesn't have to mean sacrificing profitability. We here at TRT have worked hard to build a successful business organized along environmentally friendly lines, to work in a way that balances the need to generate income with the desire to work in a way that is sustainable. We know that it's possible, and these programs are great stepping stones to help get people and businesses to realize that too.