Seven questions with Jordan Calverley, Smith School MSc alum and former McDonald’s Sustainability Manager

Most of what we covered I had a general familiarity with, either through my work or through my undergrad degree in Science, Technology and International Affairs at Georgetown University. But it has been an opportunity to engage with some of these subjects much more deeply, and with a more academic lens. In my role at McDonald's, and prior to that my renewable energy and consulting role, I just didn't have the space to engage with the theory or the latest research in-depth because I was too far into the weeds with different projects. 

One of the most valuable aspects of this programme has been the opportunity to take a step back and see the big picture. To see how the work that I was doing in corporate sustainability fits into the broader climate action agenda, and what the strengths and limitations of corporate sustainability are. It's been great to get that perspective and to study with people from very different backgrounds – professional, cultural and academic – who came at the problem from different angles to my own. I feel like I'm much more well-rounded than I was before. 

When I started looking at graduate programs, I knew I wanted to study a dual degree programme combining an MBA with a sustainability focused masters, because I felt that combination would be the most useful to my career. The fact that the Smith School MSc is so specialised in the intersection of climate and business made it uniquely well suited to me. Now I’ll move to Saïd Business School to study business more broadly, which will be very helpful for when I re-join the corporate world. 

Learning to be a student again definitely took some adjustment. I had to re-learn how to take notes in class, take exams, and write papers. But at the same time, it was a very welcome change of pace. I was ready to switch things up a bit. The other big challenge, because we are so big-picture focussed on the MSc, was overcoming the climate anxiety and existential panic! But the school has been a very supportive environment in that regard, especially course director, Dr Laurence Wainwright, Departmental Lecturer Dr Quentin Coutellier and course coordinator Cemile Ozgu. 

The people, for sure. The cohort was incredible and, particularly because we're a small group, we became really close. We organised all sorts of social activities and trips and the group hung out multiple times a week. I feel like I've made a lot of great friends. They are all so smart, driven, and kind and I'm very excited to see the impact that this group is going to have on the world. 

I grew up in state of Oregon, in the US, which is known for its natural beauty and green politics. I grew up with a belief that we should care about the environment. I also went into my undergrad knowing I wanted to work on big global issues. And originally, I wanted to focus on security. But during the program at Georgetown, the more I learned about climate – and the more I realised not everyone cared about it in the same way I did - the more I wanted to focus on it, and so I took every opportunity to do that during my undergrad. 

In 2017, I had the opportunity to intern at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It was a really interesting time to be there, right after Trump came into office. Morale was really low. A bunch of people were leaving and they were doing these early buyout retirement packages. That experience shaped my perspective on government work and how vulnerable to political change it can be.

That experience, combined with the class I took in my last year of undergrad called Environmental Sustainability and Business Strategy, pushed me to take the private sector route, and then I started working in renewable energy advisory work. And just seeing how my work was actually having a tangible impact really motivated me to stay on this track.  

In a corporation of that size, you do have some of the same challenges of working in government – like the bureaucracy, which can slow the pace of change. In the US, McDonald’s runs a franchise business model so there is less operational control – the restaurants are owned by individual small business owners, essentially. And it can be tough for them to incorporate sustainability initiatives when they are busy just keeping the restaurant running. But on the supply chain side, that’s where a lot of progress can be made, because the relationship is different – the suppliers really want to keep their customer happy.  We were able to do a lot of work in partnership with our suppliers to advance climate action programmes. It was exciting to see the progress being made. 

I will continue to be focused on advancing the energy transition, decarbonising the economy, and accelerating private sector action to address the climate crisis. I'm keeping a fairly open mind to roles in corporate sustainability, sustainability advisory services, or more directly in the solution space, i.e. on renewable energy, carbon removal, or sustainable aviation and transport. I recently completed my MSc dissertation on the market for carbon removal, which I really enjoyed learning more about and would be open to exploring professionally. Wherever I end up, I know my first priority will be to find a role that maximizes my impact on climate change.