Across programs and subject areas, the McGill Desautels Faculty of Management recognizes the vital role that research, teaching, service and media engagement play in enriching the student experience and inspiring the next generation of leaders through the annual Faculty Awards. This year we recognize the following outstanding members of our faculty:
Research
What does accounting have to do with sustainability? Essentially, everything. Just as research and regulations around sustainability have expanded in recent years, so has sustainability accounting, focusing on activities of an organization that have a direct impact on its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects.
One of the largest contributors to climate change worldwide, the agricultural food supply chain crosses international borders and reaches across industries and sectors. Reducing its environmental impact requires complex, high-tech solutions like artificial intelligence—and the people to implement them at the right time, in the right places.
Congratulations to Javad Nasiry, Professor in Operations Management who was awarded a 2022-2023 SSHRC Insight Development Grant
“Analytical Models for Electronics Waste Management”
We all need to wear clothing, but the environmental impact of purchasing clothing is significant, and a new initiative asks people to reflect on their own consumption. Participants in the New Clothing Detox Challenge refrain from clothing purchases during the month of March.
Clothing companies used to offer just a few collections each year. Today, fast fashion companies like H&M or Zara offer dozens. One way they accomplish this is by reducing the quality of their clothing, but this increases the resources needed to make what we wear, and increases their environmental footprint as a result, said Javad Nasiry in an interview with BNN Bloomberg.
Black Friday offers cut-rate deals, but low prices can come with a high environmental cost. If shoppers don’t make choices wisely, their purchases could end up in the landfill.
Speed and variety. These are the pillars of the fast fashion model. Retailers like H&M and Zara seek to bring style to the masses by emulating the trends of Paris and Milan, but their model of disposable clothing comes with a high environmental cost. With this business model in place, it simply is not possible for these businesses to be sustainable, said Prof.
As heatwaves increase around the world and weather patterns become even more unpredictable, top researchers at McGill’s Desautels Faculty of Management are finding novel solutions to the climate crisis—solutions that link multiple industries, regulatory bodies, leaders, entrepreneurs, workers, and consumers. Because the only way forward is together.
Reducing waste can help lower the environmental impact of any business, and Javad Nasiry believes that policy can help achieve this. The fashion industry is a major source of carbon emissions, and fast fashion retailers have made it worse with low-quality apparel designed to be worn only a few times. The Associate Professor of Operations Management argues that the fashion industry could be made greener by requiring the sustainable disposal of waste and taxing waste to make both manufacturers more waste conscious.
On Friday, May 13, members of the Desautels Faculty of Management gathered to celebrate the innovative and impactful research conducted by its scholars.
Fifteen professors were on hand to deliver two-minute presentations of their most interesting and research.
Before jumping into the presentations, Dean Yolande Chan took the time to highlight this year's Desautels Faculty Scholar awardees. Congratulations to this year's awardees!
Fast fashion is a rapidly expanding subsection of an already environmentally problematic industry. What does a truly sustainable fashion industry model look like—and will customers buy it?
