Pathways in Business and the Environment: Burt's Bees
Join us for a conversation with Matt Kopac, Sustainable Business & Innovation Manager for Burt’s Bees. Matt will talk about his role at Burt's Bees, his career journey and advice for students as they consider a career in business and the environment.
About Matt Kopac
Matt Kopac is the Sustainable Business & Innovation Manager for Burt’s Bees, a leading natural health and beauty care business, where he protects and promotes livelihoods and nature by setting and delivering on the brand’s sustainability strategy.
Matt’s work spans responsible sourcing, sustainable packaging, operational footprint management, customer and industry relations, cause marketing, and employee engagement. Matt is also a champion of community and culture, directing community service efforts and serving as Vice President and Treasurer of The Burt’s Bees Foundation.
Beyond Burt’s Bees, Matt promotes a more equitable local economy as Co-founder and Chair of the Durham Living Wage Project, and advises local government officials on environmental policy as an appointee and Chair of the Durham Environmental Affairs Board. As a recent Eisenhower Fellow, Matt has immersed himself in the circular transition of local economies.
Prior to joining Burt’s Bees in 2012, Matt led sustainability efforts for a tech company in North Carolina, was a consultant to high impact social enterprises on three continents, advocated for triple-bottom line community economic development policy in Washington, DC, and was a Small Enterprise Development Peace Corps Volunteer supporting women’s cooperatives in Benin, West Africa.
Matt has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MBA from the Yale School of Management, where he was elected Student Body President. He is a University of Wisconsin-Madison Forward Under 40 winner, a Triangle Business Journal 40 Under 40 awardee, a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, an avid international traveler, and a student of languages and cultures. Matt lives in Durham, North Carolina with his wife and two boys.