Julia Tardy is a project leader for the Sustainable Business Society at the University of Georgia, which provides pro bono student consulting to help local businesses improve their sustainability. 

Q: What initially drew you to sustainability in business?

A: I don't really want to go into policy. I just think that, like, one of the biggest, like, areas of improvement is, like, through businesses. Because, right now, I think there's like, not a lot of motivation for businesses to make, like, better sustainable choices. 

Q: Has your perspective evolved regarding sustainability since joining the sustainable business society?

A: Yes. Before I got there, not that I was, like, more, like, pessimistic about it, but I think definitely, they do a great job of showing, like, the improvements that people have made. Seeing like, there are businesses that care about this type of stuff has been really, like, encouraging. 

Q: What’s your role? What position do you have? 

A: So I'm like, the project lead for one of the projects. So ours is Echo Base, and they're, like, a vinyl record production company. I'm, I guess like, sort of like the liaison.

Q: So what are you guys doing? What's your project? 

A: We have, like, a few different focuses. The part that I'm working on with another girl named Audrey [Brown] is we're doing, like, an energy audit for them and seeing, like, if they have like electricity waste, like, if they could be more efficient. More of a long term goal for them is to get that whole, like, production powered by solar. 

Q: For the most part, are you focusing on the energy sort of stuff, or sustainable products too?

A: It’s kind of some of both. Each member of the team has, like, something that they're mainly focusing on. We have two people doing, like, stuff about recycling because one of the things with like vinyl records, is it's kind of wasteful, because, like, if you misprint a vinyl, like, it doesn’t play. 

Q: Do you think there's a way to effectively balance sustainability and profitability? Have you had that conversation with Echo Base?

A: Not with them specifically, just because we haven't really started to, like, make, like, concrete suggestions. But that is definitely, like, the biggest sticking point. Especially when it's a smaller company, sometimes they don't have the money to invest in something like that right now, even though it would benefit them in the future.

Q: Sustainability is right now, especially, becoming really politically charged. Does it ever make you feel discouraged in what you're majoring in, and what you're doing in your extracurriculars, too?

A: Yes, but I try to not let it. I try to be more of an optimistic person about it. It's more of, like, a mindset, like, you can focus on the bad or you could choose to focus on the good. I think it's nicer to focus on, like, what people have been doing.

Comments trimmed for length and clarity.