For Emma, understanding business and economics is key to effective sustainability

Business Analyst at Stena Recycling

Emma Fahle works as a Business Analyst in Stena Recycling's Key Account Management department. "Together with my colleagues, we act as a support function for KAM and our main job is to ensure that we have good, profitable business" explains Emma. Her day consists of analysing and developing action plans based on various types of data and KPIs, preparing profitability calculations and reservations during procurement and renegotiation, as well as participating in various forums externally with customer teams or internally on projects.

Emma brings many skills from her training, including tools to analyse data and trends, how to work in groups on complex problems and how to present her findings in a concrete and targeted way. "Thanks to the skills I developed during my studies, I feel more confident in tackling difficult tasks" she says. Emma got her first job through an advert on LinkedIn and her current one through internal networking. "I emailed the head of department and asked if we could have a coffee, which led to me being transferred there about a month later" she explains.

Choice of education and time at the School of Business, Economics and Law

For Emma, the opportunity to work with sustainability was crucial in her choice of education. "I compared many types of sustainability education until I realised that I needed to understand business, economic incentives and how decision-makers think in order to drive effective sustainability work" she explains. This led her to the Bachelor of Business Administration with a focus on sustainability at the School of Business, Economics and Law. One of Emma's favourite courses was the Bachelor's in Corporate Sustainability. "15 credits to dive into corporate sustainability and work with different topics from ethical marketing, sustainable business strategy and different ways to measure, report and communicate companies' sustainability efforts such as ESG, GRI, etc." she says. The course provided a good foundation for her bachelor's thesis on the subject.

One lecturer who made a big impression on Emma was Johan Åkesson. "His energy and ability to break down and explain concepts in a way that you understand and are interested in is incredible" she says. Emma appreciated that the education started broadly and then allowed for specialisation in different areas. "All business students start together, then you choose an area such as business, economics or finance, and then a specialisation within that" she explains. This structure gave her a broad education and the ability to work in many industries and roles.
 

Involvement created links with the business world

During her studies, Emma was involved in several activities that connected her to the business world. "A desire to expand my network and get involved in issues that interested me led me to join the sustainability group during Gadden, as well as the School's sustainability association, HaSS" she explains. Emma's advice to future students is to take the time to look at the different specialisations and degree programmes. "Either you'll find something you want to do immediately, like I did, or you'll be reassured that you don't have to decide at the outset as there are many options" she says.

Semester abroad sparked a desire to work internationally in the future

Emma took the opportunity to go on an exchange to São Paulo during her training. "I had never been to South America before and thought it would be an exciting and educational experience" she recalls. She spent five months in São Paulo and then travelled around for a month.

Emma has big plans for the future. "I want to continue to develop my skills and hope that with my background in economics and environmental issues, I can influence work in strategy and policy to make the right investments from an economic, social and sustainable perspective" she says. She dreams of working internationally, but this time not as far away as São Paulo. Emma feels that her education at the School has prepared her well to work with sustainability issues. "In addition to elements in several courses, we had entire sustainability days for all students regardless of specialisation, which was very rewarding" she says.