We sat down with Thomas Grace to further, a previous San Diego State student and sales manager at ENVOCORE, to discuss what our planet may look like in the future if people continue to ignore their carbon footprint.
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Tell us a little bit about your background.
Coming out of high school, I quite honestly didn’t know what I wanted to do other than get out of the house and spread my wings. My Dad was an engineer and I was always good at Math, so I ended up Studying Civil Engineering at San Diego State University since I felt I could take it many directions and liked the broad scope of the “Civil” aspect. I ended up getting involved in some clubs my senior year for construction management, which turned into summer internships, and a job offer after graduating in that field. I quickly realized I wanted to be in front of people, so tuned to sales and found a role in the Sustainability world. It was perfect because I got to exercise the extrovert in me and realized I really care about this stuff. I was well aware of climate change, and always love the outdoors, and now was my chance to get involved and make an impact.
What would you do with $1 billion dollars?
1.)Invest in a dream home, make it fully sustainable. 2.) Start a business for recycled/re-purposed arts where independent artists could sell their art while playing a part in sustainability. 3.) Travel, a lot… 4.) Donate to underprivileged kids seeking education.
Why do you think sustainability is such an important topic today?
Because the planet is definitely changing, and I don’t think for the better when it comes to carbon emissions and things of that nature. I think it’s very easy to put the issue aside while things are still seemingly okay when we wake up, but soon it may be too late. I think sustainability also means improving the quality of life for both humans & animals.
What do you envision your industry looking like in ten years?
I think the industry will be much bigger because the issue of climate change will continue to become more pressing. Soon, I think even people who neglect it the most will be willing to learn once their lives are personally affected. I don’t think the issue will be fixed but I do believe in 10 years sustainability & climate change won’t be so polarizing, and the industry will be larger and more prevalent.
