Envisioning a World Without Waste—One Reusable At a Time
For many businesses, finding the balance between profits and sustainability can be challenging. Now more than ever, social and environmental impact is a top business concern. UBC Sauder is at the forefront of this movement, encouraging students to challenge conventional solutions and arming them with the tools and skills they need to solve the world’s biggest problems.
Anastasia Kiku, a 2021 graduate of the UBC Sauder’s Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) program with a specialty in logistics and operations, has already put this philosophy into practice by making a significant impact in the sustainability sector with her wave-making startup, Reusables.
Growing up, Kiku was deeply impacted by her grandmother’s stories of surviving the Leningrad blockade. Witnessing such resilience ignited her passion for sustainability and made her more aware of how precious resources are. As she grew older, Kiku spent most of her time in the mountains, training as a competitive ski racer. At 16, she was faced with the decision of pursuing an Olympic skiing career or focusing on her education. Ultimately, she landed on the latter and began researching international post-secondary opportunities. Along with UBC Sauder’s competitive commerce program, Kiku was swayed by Vancouver’s west coast lifestyle and the school’s proximity to Whistler, ensuring she’d still have a taste of home even when thousands of kilometres away.
Finding a passion for sustainability
As a student at UBC Sauder, Kiku took advantage of every opportunity to get involved through her studies and extracurriculars. She was captain of the alpine ski team, participated in clubs inside and outside of UBC Sauder, and studied abroad through UBC’s exchange programs in Denmark and Indonesia. These experiences broadened her perspective and continued to fuel her interest in sustainability.
“We have a perception that sustainability costs more or involves a lot of sacrifice. My time in Copenhagen really showed me how communities could live more sustainably while keeping costs down,” said Kiku, adding that she spent a lot of her time reflecting how she could apply those practices in Canada.
In her third year, through support from the school’s Business Career Centre, she was offered an internship at an online grocery delivery company known for their circular system of using reusable boxes. Kiku was tasked to find a way to expand their sustainable model and implement it more widely within the organization. Her work and research later inspired her to co-found Reusables in 2020 alongside Jason Hawkins, one of the colleagues she met from her internship program.
Thinking outside the blue bin
Today, Reusables is leading the charge towards a more sustainable food industry. Their innovative system enables enterprise foodservice operations like university and corporate offices to achieve their climate goals by eliminating single-use packaging waste and cutting operating costs associated with waste management. Reusables has already gained traction in British Columbia, Ontario, and California and is expanding its reach to the U.S. through partnerships with major food service giants to implement its solution at universities and corporate campuses across North America. Kiku and Hawkins were recently recognized as Forbes 30 Under 30 honorees for their sustainable impact.
“During the peak of COVID-19 in 2020, there was an explosion of online ordering and recycling was overflowing. The cost for all of this packaging was also rising due to the supply chain being interrupted,” said Kiku. “This was a very volatile time in the industry and the perfect opportunity to try something new. It gave us the confidence to go all in.”
UBC Sauder’s BCom program provided Kiku with a strong foundation for her entrepreneurial journey. From mastering Excel through operations and logistics courses to studying food resource economics abroad, Kiku’s education at UBC Sauder equipped her with the practical skills and unique global experiences needed to build complex tracking models for the startup and shape her entrepreneurial journey.
“What surprised me the most was the amount of freedom the degree allowed me to have,” said Kiku. “UBC Sauder’s BCom program gave me a lot of opportunities to explore things that I was curious about.”
Education as the catalyst for environmental change
UBC Sauder’s Dean, Darren Dahl, echoed Kiku’s reflections by emphasizing the important role businesses and business schools have in addressing global challenges and preparing students for real-world obstacles and experiences.
“When you look at the largest problems in the world today, many are caused by businesses—whether they be environmental, geopolitical or otherwise,” said Dahl. “Businesses need to recognize the role they play in being a part of the solution. As a business school, we aim to teach our students about responsible business. Our goal is to play a part in shaping the next generation of leaders to create sustainable opportunities and adapt to the realities we face, ensuring that we meet the needs of today without compromising the future."
Dahl added that continuous adaptation allows the school to stay up-to-date with their curriculum by updating or adding courses and experiential learning opportunities that reflect real world issues. One example being their new Centre for Climate and Business Solutions, among their many research centres, aimed at educating students on environmental, social and governance (ESG) measurements, including how to calculate the carbon footprint of an organization.
“Let’s think outside the norms that we’ve fallen into and move society forward in a positive way,” said Dahl. “It’s a challenging frame to strive for better.”
Kiku’s journey demonstrates the power of UBC Sauder’s education in fostering innovation and driving positive change. By equipping students with the knowledge and skills to address pressing global challenges, as the top business school in Canada seven years in a row, is shaping a new generation of leaders who are committed to creating a more sustainable future.
Are you interested in a school that combines theory with practical practice? Learn more about UBC Sauder’s program offerings to find the right fit for you.