When Tiffany Clark first started as an undergraduate student, she didn’t plan on majoring in environmental studies. She also didn’t expect to be doing sustainability work for a multibillion-dollar company. Now, she’s had the opportunity to help two major U.S. corporations — IKEA and ALDI — improve workplace sustainability.
It was during a freshman year biology course when environmental issues first caught Clark’s attention. On the last day of class, her professor showed a slideshow on the dangers and impacts of climate change, which completely opened Clark’s eyes. “As I sat there while everyone else around me packed up their bags to leave, I couldn’t help but think ‘Where have I been? How did I not know about this?’ ” says Clark.
Even after realizing this and graduating with a degree in environmental studies, it took a few years before Clark pursued sustainability as a career. As a former Badger volleyball player, she continued to play professional volleyball in Germany for several years — but knew that she would eventually circle back to solving environmental issues. “I had this passion for the environment, and I knew that was going to be my next step,” she says.
After Clark’s volleyball career wrapped up, she began searching for her next job while pursuing a master’s degree in environmental sciences and policy. She soon realized, though, that finding a job working on environmental issues wasn’t as easy as having a passion for solving them. To get a leg up in her job search, Clark started asking people working in environment-related fields to join her for a “curiosity conversation.”
“Every week, I would find someone on LinkedIn and ask them to chat in a ‘curiosity conversation’ where I could learn about their role, how they got there, what they do day-to-day, and any advice they had,” Clark shares. Eventually, she connected with someone who was the sustainability developer for IKEA Joliet, an IKEA distribution center. Coincidentally enough, he was transitioning to another job — and thought that Clark would be a perfect fit to replace him. So, after officially applying for the position, Clark became IKEA Joliet’s latest sustainability developer.
“I had no idea what I was signing up for, but I stuck to one thing: I really cared about making a difference in the sustainability field,” Clark shares. “My advice to anyone starting out at a new job would be to actively seek out any opportunity to learn something new. Pick your colleagues’ brains — and this doesn’t have to just be people on your own team! Everyone you meet has something to teach you.”
Every day Clark walked through the doors of IKEA, she was working on something new — which, as a former athlete, was the perfect environment for her. Some days, she would work on the factory floor of the 1.25 million square foot warehouse, operating a forklift and investigating how she can help improve sustainability culture in the workplace. Other days, she led initiatives to help her coworkers become more sustainable and efficient in their positions.
Some of the events Clark helped organize include paint nights with reused water bottles, a sampling event for IKEA’s new plant-based hotdogs and meatballs, and a workshop to teach employees about different kinds of plastics. “Every single day I had the opportunity to be creative,” says Clark.
After a year and a half at IKEA Joliet, Clark has recently accepted a new position as a sustainability specialist at ALDI, focusing on the company’s zero-waste efforts. “There are roughly 2,400 ALDI stores across the United States today, and we are looking to expand and add hundreds of more stores in the next couple of years all while upholding our sustainability commitments,” Clark says. “As you can imagine, this brings with it exciting new challenges that require creative solutions and cross-departmental collaboration.”
While Clark’s specific role is to focus on improving food waste sustainability, ALDI’s sustainability team is working on many more initiatives in areas such as greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, human rights, and animal welfare. “Being on such a robust team of passionate individuals, there is always something new and exciting developing in the office,” she says. “It reminds me of the personal growth and connections I made during my volleyball career.”
No matter where she is, Clark’s work is fueled by her ambition to protect the environment. “One of my favorite aspects of my job is feeling like what I’m doing has a big impact — I entered this field because I want to make a difference,” she says. “I believe passion will get you really far in this field. Having a zest for what you do is contagious.”