Cheyenne Indicates the Green Way

Mixing passion for nature and business acumen Cheyenne Duz, a graduate of MaGER , the Master in Green Management, Energy and Corporate Social Responsibility at Bocconi, helps companies worldwide to understand their sustainability impact, and also that along their supply chain, and how to improve their environmental and social practices

A bachelor degree in Biology confirmed in fact her interest for the natural world while time out taken travelling across Europe made her think about how to transform this passion for the environment into action.

"I wanted to give the environment more of a voice and, to be practical, give business a more sustainable direction. I thought that the field of CSR could be the ideal way to bring together my scientific interest with a way to make a real impact," explains Cheyenne. "I chose Bocconi because the program was focused on what I needed, adding an economics and business background to my education, and I was also drawn to the prestige and the opportunities of the University."

Thus, in 2012, Cheyenne embarked on the 1-year Master in Green Management, Energy and Corporate Social Responsibility. "The course proved a big challenge and also very valuable in creating friendships and a network. It gave me the practical business skills I needed to enter this field and helped me confirm I had chosen the right direction for my career."

Part of the program foresees an internship and Cheyenne chose one in the supply chain management sector. And thus she moved to Paris for 6 months to work at EcoVadis, which offers services to companies to allow them to monitor the sustainability performance of their suppliers, across 150 sectors and 101 countries. The internship was a success and she was made a permanent offer once she graduated and has now been there for 3 years.

Cheyenne started out as an analyst – whose role consists in carrying out assessments of companies' CSR impact and also along their supply chain and providing reports then given to the clients, so as to make the best procurement decisions, and also to suppliers, so as to understand their CSR management and where they can improve. In the years she has progressed to the role of Senior analyst and also Global manager for training new analysts for the offices in New York and Paris. "It is a very satisfying and challenging job. We assess thousands of companies all over the world, giving them feedback on their CSR status and indications on how to improve their sustainibilty. So it really feels that you are making an impact."

"Many companies have already implemented a CSR strategy but there is still a lot of work in raising awareness for so many enterprises worldwide. And us CSR professionals will have to stay flexible and responsive to change as legislative requirements continue to tighten and concepts of CSR continue to evolve," concludes Cheyenne.