Scott Rice has been visiting the Mata Amritanandamayi Math for several years now.

It was during one of these visits that he learned about cotton scraps discarded by the textile industry in India. Where others saw waste, he saw potential wealth. He was quick to grab the idea of using these cotton scraps to make artistic packaging material for photographers.

As Founder-President of a US-based business, he embarked on this green initiative to help reduce the burden of waste and pollution on Mother Earth.

Today, after nearly two decades of existence, Scott’s company, Rice Studio Supply is the top distributor of packaging material to the photo industry in the US. Many leading photographers have been inspired to source their albums and frames from this pioneer. Its eco-friendly approach has generated much customer goodwill.

Scott was recently in the Amritapuri campus where he spoke to first-year students enrolled in the Bachelor of Business Management program.

Describing his entrepreneurial journey as that of a shy and timid young man who began his business in his garage, he detailed his transformation to the confident and successful business man he is today.

“Amma speaks so much about protecting the environment. I am glad that my company is able to help in some humble way. The fact that we source such products from India contributes also to supporting sustainable livelihoods in this land,” he said.

When a businessman embraces the greener perspective and shares his experiences, that is potentially of much benefit to students.

“The session was very useful for us. We got the chance to listen to some interesting experiences,” shared BBM students Reshma Suresh and Vivek V. Nair.

Next time Scott is here, he may be teaching these students a 4-credit course.

“The students have a class on e-commerce in their curriculum. In my class, they will have the opportunity to also develop websites for entrepreneurial commerce ventures. This will definitely help them as they step out into the corporate world, whether they work for a company or start one.”

The green entrepreneur will be sure to emphasize eco-friendly approaches in his teaching.

“Such approaches can help one become more efficient and cut costs, not to mention that they help the planet and us,” he underlined.

April 6, 2012
School of Arts and Sciences, Amritapuri