Last month, Sustainable Innovation MBA (SI-MBA) program students returned from winter break and were treated to their first Innovator in Residence speaker, Jed Davis, vice president of strategic engagement and sustainability at Agri-Mark/Cabot Creamery Cooperative. Jed spent the day sharing the story of what led him to his position as sustainability director and expounded about the challenges he faces in his role that are ever changing.
Jed was the first director of sustainability at Agri-Mark/ Cabot Creamery Cooperative. He has also worked in marketing, sales, and operations positions. Cabot Creamery is owned by the dairy farm families of the Agri-Mark cooperative and is proud to be a certified B Corporation and a recipient of the U.S. Dairy Sustainability Award.
After a delicious “cheese snack” break, students workshopped ideas on what they thought were the biggest sustainability issues facing Cabot Creamery today. After choosing to discuss issues over single use plastic packaging students broke up into small groups to brainstorm what factors needed to go into decision making on addressing this issue. Jed was thrilled to hear the unique and wide-ranging solutions and factors the students came up with.
In his closing remarks to the students, Jed spoke of his belief that true sustainability comes from integration into every aspect of the company rather than a top-down approach. The biggest changes often come from the areas you least expect them. Jed advised the students to stay curious, ask questions, and get to know the businesses they will work for in the future.
Agriculture was in Jed’s blood from the start. He was born and raised on a six-generation family dairy and fruit farm in central Massachusetts. After completing his MBA straight out of college, Jed returned home to the family farm. Soon after, with the passing of his grandfather and the splitting of the farm into two separate dairy and fruit farms, Jed decided to move on and was between two job offers. He ultimately accepted a position at Cabot Creamery; the tipping point, the Cabot job meant more opportunity to ski!
Though skiing may have been the tipping point, Jed looks back fondly on this decision because it gave him an opportunity to experience so many different aspects of the company. Talking with farmers and working in sales and marketing allowed him to see both the buyers’ and sellers’ perspectives. In 2008, when Jed was named the first director of sustainability at Cabot Creamery, he brought his diverse perspectives to address the ever-changing questions on sustainability that Cabot’s customers were asking. Jed is a big proponent that sustainability is a team sport, and by working together you can accelerate what you are trying to accomplish. This is exactly what he did at Cabot.
The SI-MBA Innovator in Residence speaker series provides an open and intimate forum for SI-MBA students to hear from and interact with thought leaders in the socially responsible business arena. Innovators in Residence share their personal experiences drawn from work in B Corporations, sustainable development, social enterprises, impact investing, socially responsible businesses, and leading nonprofits. Learn more about the SI-MBA curriculum and Innovator in Residence program and past speakers.