UCM student to help businesses adopt sustainable practices

Emma Sayle, who is studying for a Masters degree in Business Sustainability at University College Isle of Man, has started a placement with UNESCO Biosphere Isle of Man (UBIOM). She writes about her project and how Partners can get involved:

A quick introduction. My name is Emma and I am currently doing a placement at UBIOM as part of my Masters Degree in Business Sustainability through the University College Isle of Man.

The Isle of Man is where I have grown up and spent my childhood exploring so I knew that, once I had finished my undergraduate degree, I wanted to move back to the Island and help our community in some way.

The pandemic helped me to focus on what my goals were and here I am. 

My undergraduate dissertation was focused around sustainability within businesses on the Isle of Man so I was already aware of some of the work UBIOM was doing and was keen to be a part of it and luckily the right opportunity arose.

So what’s the aim of the project?

There is a growing trend within businesses of all sizes to become more sustainable but, often, knowing how to achieve this can present a challenge.

And encouraging businesses to engage with the issue of sustainability is always going to be a challenge when there are other issues they face, such as Covid.

The aim of the project is to establish what being a part of the Biosphere broadly means to businesses that are currently partners and how the relationship moving forward between UBIOM and their partners can be enhanced.

I had hoped to start reaching out to partners this month.

However, due to the current circumstances on the Island, I have decided to put the project on hold for the time being.

If you would be interested in partaking in the project please contact me via email at emma.sayle@gov.im and we can get talking.

I hope to meet you, online or in person, as my project progresses.