UMass Boston

Research into sustainable organizations and collaborations is led by Dr. Vesela Veleva, senior lecturer in management, director of the MBA program, and co-director of the Center for Sustainable Enterprise and Regional Competitiveness. Her research and teaching are focused on examining the drivers and barriers to adopting more sustainable practices, and defining the business case for sustainability. Dr. Veleva is leading several research initiatives currently:

Business, sustainable consumption, and the circular economy

This research examines the emerging business models and collaborations between large corporations and environmental entrepreneurs focused on product reuse, waste repurposing and upcycling. Some recent publications include:

Veleva, V., “The Role of Entrepreneurs in Advancing Sustainable Lifestyles: Challenges, Impacts, and Future Opportunities,” Journal of Cleaner Production, 2021, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652620347028

Veleva, V. and G. Bodkin, 2018, “Corporate-Entrepreneur Collaborations to Advance a Circular Economy”, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 188, pp. 20-37, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652618308679.

Veleva V., and S. Foley, “RISE Products: Transforming Organic Waste into Healthy Product”, SAGE Publishing, April 9, 2018 (Shane Foley worked on this research while pursuing his PFM degree and the Certificate in Clean Energy and Sustainability).

Veleva V., and G. Bodkin, 2017, “New business model innovations and collaborations to support the circular economy”, Innovation Management, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability (IMES 2017) Conference Proceedings.

Veleva V., and N. Weber, “AEC Computer: Adopting Circular Business Model for Used Electronics,” SAGE Publishing, 2019, http://sk.sagepub.com/cases/aec-computer-adopting-circular-business-model-for-used-electronics

Veleva V., Lowitt P, N. Angus and D. Neely, 2016. “Benchmarking Eco-Industrial Park development: the case of Devens”, Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 23, Issue 5.

Veleva, V., Todorova, S., Lowitt, P., Angus, N., Neely, D. 2015. “Understanding and addressing business needs and sustainability challenges: Lessons from Devens Eco-Industrial Park”, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 87, Jan. 15, 2015, pp. 375-384.

Green chemistry adoption by the pharmaceutical industry:

This project examines the adoption of green chemistry by the pharmaceutical supply chain, the environmental and business benefits as well as the drivers and barriers to greater adoption. Recent publications include:

Veleva, V., and B. Cue, “The role of drivers, barriers and opportunities of green chemistry adoption in the major world markets,” Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry, Volume 19, October 2019, Pages 30-36, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452223619300045.

Veleva, V., Cue, B., Todorova, S., Mehta, N., Thakor, H., Padia, K., “Benchmarking Green Chemistry Adoption by the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry”, Green Chemistry Letters & Reviews, 2018, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17518253.2018.1530802.

Veleva V., B. Cue Jr. and S. Todorova, 2017, “Benchmarking green chemistry adoption by the global pharmaceutical supply chain”, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, November 2017, http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b02277.

Veleva, V. and B. Cue Jr., "Benchmarking green chemistry adoption by “big pharma” and generics manufacturers", Benchmarking: An International Journal, 24 (6), June 2017.

Veleva V. and M. Sarkar, “Pfizer: Environmental and Business Benefits of Green Chemistry”, Case # 9B15M043, Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario, Canada, June 2015.

SERC-Company Name Fellowship in Sustainability:

This fellowship creates an opportunity for local companies to work with outstanding graduate students from UMass Boston and conduct applied research in the area of sustainability. For three years in a row Biogen supported a Fellow, resulting in the following research and publications:

Nafisa Hunedy (Biogen 2017 Fellow), “Biogen: Healthy Building Features and the WELL Building Standards”, May 2017.

Gavin Bodkin (Biogen 2015-16 Fellow), “Biogen: Non-hazardous Waste Assessment and Recommendations for Reduction”, May 2016.

Sandeep Gummadi (Biogen 2014-15 Fellow), “Biogen: Developing a Strategic Process for End-of-Life Management of R&D Laboratory Equipment,” June 2015.

Veleva V., and G. Bodkin, 2017, “Emerging drivers and business models for equipment reuse and remanufacturing in the U.S.: Lessons from the biotech industry”, Journal of Environmental Planning & Management, http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09640568.2017.1369940.

Veleva V., Bodkin G, and S. Todorova, 2017, “The need for better measurement and employee engagement to advance a circular economy: Lessons from Biogen Zero Waste Journey”, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 154, pp. 517-529.