"Business as usual for the environmental movement isn't getting the job done," said CEO of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Middlebury's 2013 Environmentalist-in-Residence Mark Tercek to a full room of students, faculty and community members in McCardell Bicentennial Hall on Thursday, Feb. 21.
Tercek, who comes from an investment banking background at Goldman Sachs, spoke about the need to approach the environment as "natural capital" during his lecture titled "Nature's Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature." In highlighting various TNC projects, Tercek explained his work in convincing business leaders that "it makes economic sense to care about nature."
"A lot of environmentalists don't like talking to people who aren't environmentalists," said Tercek to a room of — you guessed it — environmentalists. Though audience members challenged his cross-sector approach during the Q&A, Tercek held fast to his foundational belief that environmental goals can be achieved alongside economic development.
