SCS as a company draws on a network of sustainability expertise located in Canada and México. The principal of SCS is:

In sustainable development, Tom’s “specialties” are: Strategic Management for Sustainability (Sustainability Planning and Sustainable Development Strategies), Leadership (Governance) for Sustainability, and Educating for Sustainability.

From 2009-2014, Tom was engaged at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada as a “Subject Matter Expert” (SME) in sustainability for the G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education and its post-baccalaureate Certificate in Sustainability Management programme (http://ce-online.ryerson.ca/ce/calendar/default.aspx?id=5&section=program&mode=program&sub=cert&cert=SUSTAN01). He had contracts with Ryerson to re-develop and re-design the curriculum for each of, and to also instruct in, their CKSS100-Fundamentals in Sustainability I, CKSS101-Fundamentals in Sustainability II, and CKSS102-Capstone Experiential Learning courses; and to also develop and instruct in an online (distance education) version of the CKSS100 sustainability course.  Additionally, in 2013 Tom was contracted by Ryerson to design, develop, and deliver a series of introductory courses in sustainability for Ryerson caretakers & janitors, groundskeepers, electricians, plumbers and their administrators, so as to actively engage them in furthering the sustainability of operations at Ryerson. From 2010 until mid-2013, Tom helped lead Ryerson’s sustainability certificate programme as its Academic Co-ordinator (ensuring the highest levels of academic currency, integrity and relevance relevance for the programme, its students and stakeholders; including among instructor hire-responsibilities of the position) and over 2010-2012 he designed and co-ordinated the “Green Economy” stream of the programme that was created for “Internationally Educated Professionals”.

Tom supervised over 141 Ryerson sustainability students toward their successful completion of sustainability projects in the “CKSS102 – Capstone Experiential Learning” course of Ryerson’s sustainability programme. These sustainability projects were undertaken with corporate partners and intentionally-designed to put sustainability theory in to practice. Sustainability projects he supervised were undertaken and acted on by such prominent Canadian enterprises and organizations as: GHD Canada, Hubbell CanaLoblaw Companies Ltd., MaRS Discovery District, Ryerson University, Sheridan College, Staples Canada, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, Woodbine Entertainment Group, and Humber Arboretum.

Prior to its Autumn 2011 integration/merger with the Resource Library for the Environment and the Law of CELA (the Canadian Environmental Law Association), Tom was engaged over two years as the Executive Director of CIELAP – the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy (http://cielap.org), a then 40 year old and nationally-respected environmental sustainability think-tank. Additionally, in 2009 Tom was contracted by George Brown College to design the curriculum for the College’s then new “Sustainability – Thinking and Living Green” course.

From 2007 to 2009, Tom worked as a Professor at the Universidad del Caribe (www.unicaribe.edu.mx) in Cancun, México. He taught bi-lingual (English) courses in “Paradigms in Sustainable Development” (an advanced course in the subject) and “Topics in Sustainable Development” (an introductory course), as well as conducted research in sustainability issues. In the summer of 2012, UCaribe invited him back and contracted him to teach an intensive introductory course in sustainability to interested university faculty. Prior to UCaribe, Tom was chosen (through an international competition) as the inaugural Executive Director for the Sustainability-focused Clayoquot Biosphere Trust, the administrative arm for the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (www.clayoquotbiosphere.org).

Tom completed an MA in Sustainable Development from Staffordshire University, UK (www.staffs.ac.uk). His thesis was on: “Supra-national integration and sustainable development: An evaluation of NAFTA’s Commission for Environmental Cooperation”. He also has taken masters-level graduate in Political Studies through the University of Saskatchewan (www.usask.ca). His undergraduate degree, a BA with a major in Political Science and a minor in Philosophy, was taken at Simon Fraser University (www.sfu.ca). In addition to his research undertaken at CIELAP, Tom is also widely published (in both the English and Spanish languages) in sustainability and other matters (see: https://thomasesakin.com/publications/), including having co-authored three sustainability case studies for use in varied courses offered by The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education at Ryerson University.