One on One with Trip Chavis, President and CEO of Milliken Advisors
Trip Chavis has been a member of our Corporate Membership Network since the beginning. He’s also a Sustainability Leadership Initiative fellow. We took a “trip” down memory lane with him to reflect on our year long partnership and how its impacted his business, Milliken Advisors.
What has Sustain SC meant to your business?
I was fortunate to be part of the conversation when Sustain SC came about. It’s allowed our business a unique opportunity to sit at the table with folks we wouldn’t normally have access to and to talk about common ideas despite the fact we normally walk on very different paths. Sustain SC has allowed us to see Milliken Advisors has more to offer now than we did 70 years ago. There is a direct correlation from our involvement in Sustain SC to the growth of our “Nature-based Solutions” business line, without a doubt. It’s a business opportunity but also a chance to do some real good in the world, so it’s a win-win for us.
What’s been your favorite part of membership?
The Sustainability Leadership Initiative. It’s been a real eye-opener for me, personally, coming from the land management business and speaking a totally different language than my other SLI fellows. I felt intimidated at first but now, it’s a great dynamic. I think those will be long-lasting relationships, business and personal. The whole experience has been enlightening and helped me understand what the rest of the world is thinking when it comes to the conversations about climate change and plastic versus paper. It’s really a potpourri of people and thoughts coming together.
In your experience, what are the biggest hurdles for businesses and sustainability?
The fact that there’s no playbook or set of standards. For example, there’s no guide on how to write an ESG report. Right now, you just figure it out, put it out there and let people respond to it. Some business’s ESG reports are 125 pages long, some are 25 pages long. What happens after you’ve devised an ESG report? Other than change lightbulbs and switch to electric vehicles, what are the next steps? This is exactly what Sustain SC is doing—crafting a standard and guide for tackling and accomplishing sustainability in South Carolina.
What is Sustain SC doing to help South Carolina?
I believe Sustain SC has singlehandedly changed the landscape of corporate sustainability in South Carolina. It’s changed the landscape so much that I believe South Carolina is on its way to being a leader in the United States in terms of sustainability and how corporations are responding to the challenge. Sustainability in corporate America used to be this thing that some would push for or against but now it’s the fabric of who they are, but nobody really knew how to do it. There’s no rules or playbook. That’s where Sustain SC comes in. It’s a think tank to write the playbook of how sustainability is tackled in South Carolina. I want to give a giant shout out to Ethel Bunch. She is that change agent in our state. She’s done an amazing job of taking Sustain SC from an idea to something literally garnering global attention.
