by Meagan Smith
We hear it all the time. Do what you love?
Are you?
I have been with PepsiCo for 7 years. I started after I left the US EPA and then went to business school. I have a passion for environmentalism and for business. Now “green” is part of our every day but it wasn’t always like that. When I started with PepsiCo in 2004 I could not get over seeing Styrofoam cups in the cafeteria every morning. I was in marketing – - Styrofoam cups had nothing to do with my official role. But I had to do something about it.
My passion drove me to start PepsiCo Green in 2007 – a grassroots volunteer employee group working to promote environmental sustainability within PepsiCo and our communities. I had no idea where this would lead but I knew I had the drive to make it a success.
By building the group and leading the team I was able to meet tons of people within the organization I had never met before and learn more about the company’s efforts around resource conservation. Through all of this work, I became known as a “green” person in PepsiCo Chicago.
Then about a year and a half ago I learned from my expanded network about the start of a new initiative called the Dream Machine. Because of my experience of doing both business and environmental work within PepsiCo I was able to move into this newly created business and role. And now I am working on an initiative that encapsulates both my passion for environmentalism and my passion for business.
I learned a valuable lesson from all of this. Do “do what you love.” Do it somehow, in some way. Not only will you be doing what you love…..it can lead you into whole new places you never knew existed.
www.DreamMachineRecycleRally.com
