Matt Bogoshian, Former Obama Administration Official, Discusses the Growing Trend of Socially and Environmentally Conscious Businesses

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YEREVAN, Armenia – On October 12, 2015, the American University of Armenia (AUA) hosted Matt Bogoshian, Chief Strategy Officer and General Counsel at REV Sustainability and former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Senior Policy Counsel under the Obama Administration, for a presentation on “The Power of Partnerships–American Trends that Entrepreneurs Around the World Can Use for Profit, People and the Planet.” The event, attended by more than 150 students and guests, was organized with help from the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment (ACE) and in cooperation with the Armenia Tree Project (ATP) Charitable Foundation.

Mr. Bogoshian’s presentation focused on the increasing American trend of combining moneymaking business ventures with socially and environmentally conscious decision-making. “Making money and being environmentally responsible are not mutually exclusive,” Mr. Bogoshian explained. “Sustainability is made up of three sectors: economic, social, and environmental. Businesses in America, and now around the world, are beginning to feel a responsibility to conduct themselves sustainably,” said Bogoshian.

This trend is also taking shape in Armenia. “It’s already happening here in Armenia. There are companies that want to make a difference in the world, in their community, and for the environment,” Mr. Bogoshian stated. Tim Straight, who runs the Homeland Development Initiative Foundation (HDIF) and Dave Beckett, Co-Founder of The Green Bean, are two entrepreneurs who run businesses in Armenia with a sustainable approach. Both were present at the talk and briefly shared their experiences with the audience.

Students attending the talk directed important questions to Mr. Bogoshian, including the ability of big corporations to respond to the rapidly changing needs of having a triple bottom line, the role of government in encouraging environmentally and socially sustainable business practices, and the role Armenia can have in the emerging world of impact investing.

Matt Bogoshian is currently the Chief Strategy Officer and General Counsel at REV Sustainability. From 2011 to 2015, Mr. Bogoshian served in Washington, D.C. as the U.S. EPA’s Senior Policy Counsel and as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center. During those years he helped to lead several Administration efforts to increase job creation with policies that advance public private partnerships and other tactics that help businesses produce smarter and more sustainable products and services.

He began his service in the Obama Administration in 2010 as the Deputy Assistant Administrator at the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance where he worked on a wide range of issues, including: criminal enforcement, federal facilities enforcement, implementation of the national environmental policy act, and civil enforcement matters concerning air, water and waste. Before going to Washington, he served as California’s Deputy Secretary for Law Enforcement and Counsel at the California Environmental Protection Agency where he worked on issues such as the enforceability of the cap and trade portions of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia and affiliated with the University of California. AUA provides a global education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality, graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values.