Maddie Parrish

MBA/MS Candidate 2024

Erb Institute | Business for Sustainability

Throughout her 10-year career within the global packaging industry, Maddie has experienced first-hand the difficult challenges global brands face to reach their sustainability goals. Many have made public commitments to reduce their carbon footprint, to use fully recyclable or compostable packaging, and to influence responsible consumer behavior such as increasing global recycling rates. These commitments have been met with the significant challenges of complying with government legislation, internally justifying the business case financial costs for sustainability, and influencing overall consumer behavior. Solving these challenges is critical for the future of our planet and is my inspiration for pursing a dual-degree in business sustainability.

At the core of conquering these challenges is influencing the behavior of the individual consumer to select more sustainable choices and habits. Through her education with the Erb Institute, Maddie seeks to learn how consumers view sustainability, what influences their decisions, and how to motivate their behaviors to benefit both the environment and business. She aims to understand the strategies that can be used to influence consumers to pursue positive behaviors, such as recycling or purchasing sustainable products. Additionally, she also seeks to learn how global brands can use their market and product influence to inspire this needed consumer behavior.

Maddie holds a Bachelors of Arts in Economics and Communication Studies from Davidson College.