Apr 6, 2021
Tim serves on the executive leadership team guiding long-term social and environmental strategy for a 220+ acre campus that includes the 4M SF convention center, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the former Georgia Dome, Centennial Olympic Park, and the upcoming Hilton Signia hotel. GWCCA also operates the Savannah Convention Center in Savannah, GA. In this role, he oversees a team focused on executing day-to-day practices including waste diversion and volunteerism. Tim also helped develop and now leads the organization’s first Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) council.
Tim Trefzer Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss:
Tim's Final Five Question Responses:
What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability
professionals that might help them in their careers?
I'd give different advice to professionals in different stages of
their careers. If I had to give one common piece of advice, it'd be
to network and generate those relationships with other individuals
that are in the industry, or maybe even not in the industry. When I
moved to Atlanta in 2008, I met with a gentleman who is part of, at
the time it was called Sustainable Atlanta, it's evolved into the
city's sustainability department. The first thing he told me was,
it's not about what you know, it's about who you know in this
industry. I've really come to find and believe that that's true.
It's really about those connections and sustainability. If you're
looking for success, whether it's in a business or just personally,
it's all about creating those relationships with other individuals,
understanding where they're coming from and getting them speaking
their language. I've really found that it's a person to person
business, and generating those close relationships and that network
with others has been really beneficial to me. That's where I'd say
others would also benefit.
What are you most excited about right now in the world of
sustainability?
You mentioned it's November and last week was the presidential
election. Without getting too political, I'll say that with a Biden
administration coming in, I think they will turn the trajectory of
our environmental work, at least in this country, around. They, I
hope will, reset some of the practices and policies that we've seen
change over the last four years. Based on the plan of the Biden
administration from an environmental standpoint, rejoining the
Paris climate accord, setting very strong targets for the country
from a carbon emission reduction standpoint, I'm excited about
that. I hope that they'll have a tremendous impact on the world of
sustainability, and I believe they will.
What is one book you would recommend sustainability professionals
read?
Ray Anderson is a hometown hero in Atlanta, and his book
Confessions of a Radical Industrialist, I think is a phenomenal
book that any sustainability or business professional should read.
Ray Anderson is the founder of Interface, the carpet manufacturing
company here in Georgia. It's really just a great book looking at
how business can change the world from an environmental standpoint;
it can do positive good for both business from a bottom line
standpoint, but business from an environmental standpoint. That
book, which was written in the nineties, has come to set the
standard for business. I think it's just a phenomenal book. That's
probably the first of a number of books that Ray Anderson has
written that I'd recommend the audience read.
What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help
you in your work?
Some of my go-to resources: GreenBiz, Sustainable Brands. I do a
lot of research in the Harvard Business Review, Bass company. One
that I've found a lot of value lately has been Boston College's
Center for Corporate Citizenship. They provide a lot of great work
from a CSR standpoint. But going back to your first question, I
think networking and creating those relationships and working with
other individuals like US Green Building Council and the Green
Sports Alliance, those organizations have really provided a lot of
benefits. I've got a number of different resources and tools, but
those are some of the ones that stand out.
Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and your work at
the Georgia World Congress Center Authority?
You can go to our website GWCCA.org. You can also find me on
LinkedIn, or on Twitter at Tim_Trefzer. Any of those would be great
and I'd love to connect with your audience.