The Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council will become an independent division of the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership on Jan. 1 as part of an agreement reached between the two organizations.
The agreement provides continuity of the council and its services ahead of the planned retirement of its founder and executive director Thomas Eggert.
“The WMEP is committed to assuring the legacy of the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council as it continues to grow and thrive, and we are honored to have been selected by the WSBC to carry this legacy forward,” said Tim Wiora, WMEP executive director and CEO.
Eggert founded the WSBC in 2008. The organization is a network of a network of Wisconsin businesses and organizations interested in sustainability challenges. The council helps businesses understand and improve their sustainability. It has been operated out of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where Eggert is a senior lecturer.
Eggert will assist with the transition but he will be succeeded by Jessy Servi Ortiz, who will become managing director of the council. Servi Ortiz most recently was sustainability manager at Outpost Natural Foods Cooperative.
“I’m extremely passionate about helping businesses be more sustainable,” Servi Ortiz said. “My vision is that all businesses in Wisconsin will have some sort of positive impact on their communities. There should be some level of sustainability woven into all businesses.”
