Mexican climate activist and Tec professor rewarded for her work

Professor Odile Cortés, operational director and founder of IntegraRSE and professor at Tecnológico de Monterrey , has received The Climate Reality Project’s Green Ring Award from American politician, economist, and philanthropist Al Gore, a distinction given for her career in sustainability and the environment. 

According to the professor, the award was presented at The Climate Reality Project’s Virtual Latin America Training, an online event for activists to learn about the environmental crisis and how they can help build an inclusive and equitable movement for climate action.

Odile shared that this initiative came about when Vice President Al Gore lost the election and made the film, ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, which talks precisely about climate change and the impact it has, and above all about what humans generate.

“After that, this movement, which is an organization, was born. In 2013, I decided to train in Chicago, with the aim of going out and raising awareness about the importance of combating climate change and the actions we can take,” she said.

This award was created five years ago to recognize the work of leaders who’ve been trained and who are doing things to support sustainability.

“I was very surprised to receive the award. I’ve been a mentor for several years, accompanying leaders in their training to help them put together a united front against climate change. This year, I had the honor of being selected.

“The award means a lot to me, because it’s not one of those things you apply for and win a prize, but rather they’re recognizing what I’m doing, because obviously I’ve remained active and close to the movement. We’re constantly seeing that we can grow together,” she said.

Her career at the Tec

When she began her career at the Tec, Odile started on the training program. From then on, she’s observed the evolution of the topic within her subject areas, from mainstreaming to talking about sustainability, social responsibility, and climate change throughout all courses.

“The Tec has always kept me very up-to-date, not only because they train us in many topics related to the issue of sustainability, but also due to having contact with young people.

“In the end, young people are the ones who’ve changed their mindset on taking care of the environment because they’re more aware of it. It’s really helped me to be able to convey this to other generations, companies, and the other areas I work in,” she said.

Making individual changes that have a collective impact

For Odile, this recognition is focused on her day-to-day work.

“I already said it when I received the award, I work on an individual level, because sometimes I think we lose focus of the fact that it’s not only large companies that should change their policies, but individuals should be more demanding. 

“The Tec gives me the opportunity to create conscientious citizens, and that’s part of the recognition, the ability to make changes in individuals who have an impact on the collective,” she said.

Finally, the award-winning professor shared that she’ll start giving a class solely on climate change and its aspects for the new Tec21 model.

“I think we’re already beginning to understand that it’s not an additional topic, it’s a vital and central issue on which every other course should be built,” she concluded.

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