{"268901":{"#nid":"268901","#data":{"type":"news","title":"MBA Alumnus Brings Green Touch to \u201cBlack Gold\u201d Production","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EMikey Mulford (MBA 2007) wouldn\u2019t have envisioned that the passion he developed for green business during his time at Georgia Tech would translate into working on projects related to oil and natural gas drilling.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EBut as national business manager of energy services for Waste Management, Mulford is developing environmentally friendly strategies for a company that has worked hard to clean up its act. \u201cYou might not think of oil and gas providing opportunities to be green, but you can also look at it from the perspective of reducing environmental impact and reusing raw materials,\u201d he explains.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EDrilling into the Earth for oil and gas produces a lot of \u201ccuttings,\u201d broken bits of solid material that are produced as rock is broken up by the machinery. Instead of leaving that waste on the ground, domestic oil companies can hire Waste Management to extract value from the cuttings (hydrocarbon, residual oil) and monitor lined landfills containing the remainder, Mulford explains.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4 class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EShifting Priorities\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cWhile 10 years ago, Waste Management was primarily a landfill company, we now try to view everything we collect as resources and not trash,\u201d he says. \u201cWe can produce a lot of renewable energy from the methane in landfills. We\u2019re the largest recycler in America and ranked on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EBased at the company\u2019s headquarters in Houston, Texas, Mulford says he enjoys the strategic analysis side of his job. For example, he looks at where oil rigs are relative to Waste Management\u2019s operations and figures out ways to enter promising markets, either through new site development or acquisition of businesses.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EMulford appreciates that his company is environmentally focused, but he recognizes that its business practices still have to be economically viable. \u201cSustainability is growing in importance, but the economic side still matters most,\u201d he says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBurgeoning Interest\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EMulford says his interest in the environment developed while working as an assistant construction foreman for Habitat for Humanity after graduating with a BS in mechanical engineering from Tech in 2004. During his year with the organization, he became fascinated with houses designed for zero net-energy consumption.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cThen when I entered the MBA program and learned about resource efficiency in business, everything clicked for me,\u201d Mulford says. \u201cWhy not be as efficient as possible? It made logical sense to me to reduce the environmental impact of doing business.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring his second year in the MBA program, Mulford served as co-president of the Scheller College\u0027s Net Impact chapter. Net Impact is a nonprofit organization with more than 300 chapters worldwide, including more than 40,000 students and professional leaders who are focused on creating positive social and environmental change in the workplace and world.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter graduation, he went to work for in Waste Management\u0027s Sustainability Services area for a few years before taking a 1.5 year sabbatical to travel the world with his wife, Meredith Mulford (MBA 2007). Then he returned to the company in 2011. He was recently promoted from senior program manager to his current position.\u003C\/p\u003E\u0026nbsp;","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMikey Mulford\u0026nbsp;develops environmentally friendly strategies for Waste Management.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Mikey Mulford develops environmentally friendly strategies for Waste Management."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2014-01-16 15:41:42","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:40","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-01-16T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-01-16T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"268911":{"id":"268911","type":"image","title":"Mikey Mulford","body":null,"created":"1449244077","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:47:57","changed":"1475894959","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:19","alt":"Mikey Mulford","file":{"fid":"198587","name":"mulford_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/mulford_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/mulford_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2167641,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/mulford_0_0.jpg?itok=vUOnA8U1"}}},"media_ids":["268911"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/scheller.gatech.edu\/","title":"College of Management"}],"groups":[{"id":"1274","name":"Scheller College of Business"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"479","name":"Green Buzz"},{"id":"1209","name":"MBA"},{"id":"167089","name":"Scheller College of Business"},{"id":"166890","name":"sustainability"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brad.dixon@scheller.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EBrad Dixon\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EScheller College of Business\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}