Lauren Pepperman ’16
Context and community
By Kiera O’Brien ’18
For Lauren Pepperman ’16, sustainability has never been a mere buzzword. Instead, the term encompasses a dynamic set of passions, pursuits, and questions discovered during her first term at COA that she has nurtured and expanded upon ever since. Pepperman—now a sustainability developer for IKEA in her home state of New Jersey—considers hers a typical COA experience in that her student journey was entirely unique. “It was a whole process of experimentation,” she says. “I milked every experience that COA had to offer!”
Initially, Pepperman gravitated towards the technical aspects of sustainable energy. “I came to sustainability through the engineering side of things, starting with Physics and Mathematics of Sustainable Energy taught by Anna Demeo and Dave Feldman in my first year.” Her passion was clear from the outset. “I immediately fell in love with sustainable energy, thanks to that first class.” But she wasn’t certain how she wanted to apply her interest. “I didn’t know if I preferred engineering over the social part of the equation,” she explains. It wasn’t until she took a class on sustainable business models with Sharpe-McNally Chair of Green and Socially Responsible Business Jay Friedlander that all the pieces finally fell into place. As part of the course, Pepperman consulted for Milbridge-based nonprofit Mano en Mano, an organization dedicated to supporting immigrant and farmworker families across Downeast Maine. Tasked with developing meaningful strategies to make the organization more sustainable, she quickly realized that before she could offer useful solutions, she would have to adjust her own notions about sustainability.
“Up to that point, my only understanding of sustainability was in terms of energy efficiency: we need solar panels, we need to look at the heating systems in the building, we need to consider heat pumps,” reflects Pepperman. “But none of that was relevant for Mano en Mano. For them, sustainability meant time. How do you eke out more time? They are a powerhouse organization and couldn’t have a more hardworking team, so they needed to find a way to use staff hours more effectively.”
In the end, Pepperman focused on identifying digital interfaces that could replace the organization’s outdated paper filing system. “Working with Mano en Mano opened my eyes to the idea that sustainability is a lot like human ecology: how you define it becomes a critical question.” Like human ecology, sustainability requires a deep commitment to both context and community. “The basic definition of sustainability is ensuring that there are resources for future generations without compromising the needs of the current moment. But at the same time, it's all about efficiency. And asking how you can do more with less.”
Today, Pepperman explores similar questions on a much larger scale. “At IKEA, we have a detailed sustainability plan built into our business. It's my job to ensure that we execute that plan. I do everything from working on solar projects at our distribution center to securing electric vehicle chargers to educating community partners and team members about what sustainability means in the context of our work together.”
Pepperman is grateful to have found success by pursuing a passion she discovered as an undergraduate. “That doesn’t always work out. I feel very proud and very lucky to be doing work that I care so much about and sharing that passion with others.” She’s familiar with the invigorating feeling that comes with “truly falling in love with what you do,” something she first experienced in her sustainable business class with Friedlander. It’s a transformative experience she identifies as a trademark of any COA education: “I have not met one COA student who, by the time they leave campus, does not know what they love to do.”
