A board member with the Alliance of Hazardous Materials Professionals and Executive Director of the Environmental Transformation Podcast, Sean Grady is a dynamic and results-driven environmental professional with over 30 years of experience in environmental consulting, regulatory compliance, business development, and digital innovation. He’s demonstrated success in leading large teams, creating multimillion-dollar business groups, and driving sustainable solutions for his clients. Sean is passionate about delivering thought leadership through podcasting and video blogs.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Purdue University, and is a Masters Level Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM), and a former Board member of the Alliance of Hazardous Materials Professionals (AHMP) organization.

John Shegerian: Do you have a suggestion for a Rockstar Impact Podcast guest? Go to impactpodcast.com and just click, be a guest, to recommend someone today. This edition of the Impact Podcast is brought to you by ERI. ERI has a mission to protect people, the planet, and your privacy, and is the largest fully integrated IT and electronics asset disposition provider and cybersecurity-focused hardware destruction company in the United States and maybe even the world. For more information on how ERI can help your business properly dispose of outdated, electronic hardware devices, please visit eridirect.com. This episode of the Impact Podcast is brought to you by Closed Loop Partners. Closed Loop Partners is a leading circular economy investor in the United States with an extensive network of Fortune 500 corporate investors, family offices, institutional investors, industry experts, and impact partners. Closed Loop’s platform spans the arc of capital from venture capital to private equity, bridging gaps, and fostering synergies to scale the circular economy. To find closed loop partners, please go to www.closedlooppartners.com.

John: Welcome to another edition of the Impact Podcast. I’m John Shegerian, and I’m so excited to have my good friend with us today. Welcome, Sean, to the Impact Podcast.

Sean Grady: Hey, thanks, John. I really appreciate you having me on. This is a big honor, and I’ve been looking forward to it for quite some time.

John: We look like two brothers from another mother. We’re wearing the same glasses, the same white shirt, the same blue coat. My gosh.

Sean: We got good taste, John.

John: I guess so. That I’m sure is going to come out during this interview in this podcast. Sean, there’s a lot to unpack with you. A lot of amazing things you’re doing, including the podcast that you were so generous to have me on a while back, the Environmental Transformation Podcast. We’re going to put all the things you’re up to in our show notes. So if you’re driving your car or lifting weights or taking your dog for a walk, you don’t have to write anything down. It’ll all be in the show notes. You can just refer to them. Sean, though, tell me where this whole fascinating and important journey that you’re on began. Where did you grow up and how did you really get interested in the subject matter expert stuff that you became an expert at in terms of the environment and making an impact?

Sean: Yeah, I think, I grew up, born in Oklahoma City, moved to Orlando, Florida, as a kid with my parents and lived there for about six or eight years. Then moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, lived there for about six or eight years, and then ended up in Indianapolis my sophomore year in high school, and I stayed there ever since. So that was way, way back in the 1900s.

John: And these are a common theme there. Those are all just like all bom, apple pie, and the girl back home type communities, all of them.

Sean: Yeah, absolutely. And I grew up and I was a PK, so a preacher’s kid, and so this passion for giving back has always been a theme within, my core being, so to speak. And so when I look at how I’ve grown to love the environment, God’s creation and things like that, it really made me have a passion for, hey, what can I do to make an impact in helping preserve it and conserve and do good with people. And that’s what I started thinking through when I went to college and I’m a biology major, went to IUPUI, which is Purdue University in Indianapolis. So I’m a Purdue grad. And I started out as an environmental regulator. So I started working for the state of Indiana in the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. And I was in the Office of Water Management for four years, and I was doing stream surveys and total maximum daily loading concentration type evaluations for how much non-point source impacts happening in the rivers. And then I moved from there to our land quality division and cleaning up superfund sites, big, nasty, cleanups. And this is back in the, 90s. And so right around 2002, I had an opportunity to leave to go into consulting, and I felt like this was a good calling for me. All the way through college, I also worked in sales. And, if you’re going to be in consulting, you really have to know a little bit about sales too. And so it was a natural fit. I had great background on, the regulatory background of what’s going on, what’s important, and how to comply with regulations for clients. And I knew how to, promote those services because of my sales background. And it really helped me advance my career as I started out in 2002 as a consultant. And here I am, 23 years later, I’m still in the consulting business.

John: That’s just awesome. So now I finally understood after all these years why you’re such a great public speaker. Your dad was a preacher. This is natural for you. You were trained from- this is in your DNA, come on.

Sean: Yeah. I got to sit and watch a lot of sermons over the years. That’s for sure.

John: I love it. Talk a little bit about all the other work you do and that interests you and that make an impact, such as talk a little bit about when and how and why you started the Environmental Transformation Podcast.

Sean: That’s a great question, John. Everybody in 2020 started to figure out what the heck am I going to do now, as they’re all hunkered down at home because they couldn’t go to work because of COVID. And I had extra time on my hands. And before COVID hit, I had been thinking about doing an environmental industry type podcast for quite a while, knowing that I’ve been in the business a long time. I’ve got a lot of a deep network of people I know, cover a lot of topics, familiar with a lot of different types of regulation. I said, and vendors that provide services in the business. I would love to do an industry podcast and really cover the industry topics that everybody in our business is working in every day that they want to know. And so I said, let me talk about digital technologies that are taking over and advancing a lot of the services in the industry. Let me talk about PFAS, the biggest topic in the industry as far as regulatory issues that people are being exposed by. Let me talk about the circular economy and how that’s driving our sustainability efforts in the business. Let me talk about leadership and climate change and all the regulatory aspects of EHS compliance. So it just started to proliferate and grow as far as what can we cover? We can cover all the topics. And I have enough of the background in the business that I can carry a good conversation with a lot of individuals on a lot of these topics because I’ve got a lot of background and experience in it. And so it just became a natural fit. And so in 2020, so we’ve been five years running now. Five years we’ve been doing the podcast. We do about two episodes a month. And we put out about 20 to 24 episodes a year. And that’s the cadence that I can keep up with. John, I’m a one man show. I don’t have a lot of resources behind me that can just keep this going full time. And if I had those resources, man, it would be very tempting to just do that full time because it would be so much fun, right?

John: Exactly.

Sean: But I have a day job. And I do that and I started out and I felt, hey, let me start off with, PFAS was our first topic. I was like, that seems to be the hottest thing right at the moment. And it just snowballed from there. And then I quickly went into a series on what’s the value of obtaining credentials in the industry to help advance your career? Because a lot of people, they start in the business and they maybe they’re not a professional engineer. And if you’re not a PE, then what? What do you need? Or if you’re not a professional geologist, then what? So I was like there’s still a tremendous amount of value in a credential that will separate somebody from the normal pack. And what does it mean? What’s the value? And so we did one on what’s the value of CHMM or a certified safety professional or, certified industrial hygienist or certified dangerous goods practitioner. We went through the gamut of just what’s the value, what’s the benefit. And did that credential help raise their profile? And the answer is yes, and yes, it was great. And so that was one of my little mini-series that I started. And then things just kept snowballing from there, John. So it’s been great.

John: That’s awesome. For our listeners and viewers, it’s called the Environmental Transformation Podcast. It’s wonderful. I’ve been on it. I love being interviewed by you because, like you said, you are such a subject matter expert when it comes to the environment. There’s just not enough of you out there that’s actually getting that the kind of information that you have on the podcast out there. So I highly recommend for our listeners and viewers to tune in to the Environmental Transformation Podcast. It will be in our show notes so you can just click on and listen to a couple episodes and you’ll see why Sean really is great at what he does. So you also have another life. You’re very involved with the Alliance of Hazardous Materials Professionals, AHMP. You were kind enough to invite me last year to come keynote your great event back in Kansas City, and I just had the time of my life, and it was just a wonderful event. We’re not a lot of friends in the audience and a lot of friends I get to reconnect with there. And this year, it’s not going to be in Kansas City. It’s September 8th through 11th in Louisville, Kentucky. Can you talk a little bit about that event, and what do you do generally for that organization, and why did that organization come to being to start with?

Sean: So I am the committee chair that heads up the annual conference. And so I’m the kind of the ringleader organizer for the actual event and securing sponsorships and exhibitors and keynote speakers like yourself and others and really attracting people to come to this event because this is an educational conference associated with the industry professionals, environmental industry professionals. And you don’t need to be just a CHMM or a CDGP or a CSP or any of those guys. You can, if you are great because you can get continuing education credits, which is, one of the big values of coming because you can pretty much get almost, 16 to 20 CEUs by just attending the conference over the two and a half, three days. So it’s amazing event. It’s also a great networking event. And you get to meet people that you can connect with in the industry and probably do business with, whether you’re a vendor or a consultant or whatnot. So it’s a great opportunity. But the organization’s been around for, a little over probably 35, 40 years now. And it initially started out as the CHMM membership organization for CHMM. Certified hazardous material managers. And all of us who obtained that credential, that was our organizational membership meeting place to advance our career with industry knowledge, socialize, network with our own peers in the industry. And it was a great opportunity just to meet up once a year. And a couple years ago, they changed the name to the Alliance of Hazardous Material Professionals, AHMP. Last year, I was on the board. And so I served on the board. And I felt because they need help. It’s a volunteer organization. And I could provide some leadership help. And I came in to support that. And we changed the name of our annual conference to the EHS Hazmat Summit because all our attendees are EHS environmental health and safety professionals, hazmat professionals, sustainability professionals that are all coming to- waste management professionals, they’re all coming to the conference to learn and educate and connect. And so that was the big value for me is look, I want to continue growing, help this organization grow. And so it was a big basically a labor of love to come in there and do the work. And I enjoy it.

John: What else can people expect at this great conference?

Sean: Oh my gosh. So we have, I think, five or six, maybe seven different like specific tracks that are covering topics like we have a EHS compliance track. We’ll have a digital technology track. We have a sustainability track. We have a remediation track. We have a hazmat response track. We’ve got remediation emerging contaminant track. Like you want to learn what’s going on in the industry. You want to hear from the professionals. You can go to either one of these tracks of those types of topics and pick up new information or stuff that you need to refresh your memory on and learn what’s going on and connect. And so that’s a big part of it. And then we’ve got a couple, we do have an absolutely amazing keynote speaker coming, John. So you may be familiar with the movie Dark Waters. Have you seen that movie, Dark Waters?

John: I haven’t seen that. I’ve heard of it. Tell me about it.

Sean: Okay. So it is about the PFAS contamination in Lewisburg, West Virginia, that was impacted a whole community, a former DuPont or DuPont facility there impacted. And it’s the legal battle that a local attorney, his name is Robert Blatt, works for TAF environmental here in the Cincinnati area. He fought and won a 20-year battle against DuPont for the plaintiffs, the community. And it was really the pivotal case that really moved EPA to regulate PFAS. He is our keynote speaker. So Robert Boulat is coming to be our keynote speaker at the conference.

John: When was that case?

Sean: I think the case was, I think, I want to say like 2017 or 2018. It was, they maybe finalized and won some of the court cases. But the movie came out in 2019 in December 2019. So it’s been out a bit. But it’s got Tim Robbins, Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, big name movie stars in this movie. And for those who haven’t seen the movie, I highly recommend it’s on Prime, Netflix, whatever. But we are actually having a movie night at Tuesday night’s event to show the movie the night before he comes the next day to do the keynote, which is the day you’re going to speak at the panel. So you’ll get to probably meet Robert Boulat as well.

John: I want to definitely shake his hand. So you want to say, so it’s fair to say it’s modern-day Erin Brockovich.

Sean: Yes, exactly that. That’s the kind of the theme of the story a bit, exactly, but it is a true story. So it’s amazing.

John: Let’s go back to sustainability. As you and I know, this it’s, when we were doing sustainable work, environmental work 20, 25 years ago, it wasn’t a thing yet. It wasn’t part of our vernacular. There was no huge wind at our back. This was before iPhones and this was before recycling and before An Inconvenient Truth came out. Now sustainability and the circular economy, and the shift from the linear to circular economy, like you say that, and material resource recovery are all growing trends that this are limitless. There’s a lot of organizations that are still trying to figure out how to put their toe in the water, how to really get involved. It seems a little daunting. It seems a little scary. And for a lot of C-suite people, they still think that sustainability equals costing them money. They don’t understand. It creates resilience and these cost savings and these all sorts of net positives that can be garnered from doing sustainability right. Where do you come out when you advise organizations that are looking to get on this journey? It could be big corporations, small corporations, publicly traded, privately held, nonprofits, or governmental entities. What sustainability-related actions do you share with them to get them at least on the journey to take some positive steps in the right direction?

Sean: A lot of companies are, they’re starting to get involved and they really need to develop a strategy around sustainability. And get into okay, where are the actions we can take, to make an impact, to start reducing, to start minimizing our impact to the environment? And it becomes sometimes it’s a process where they go through and they’re doing a materiality assessment. They want to know, hey, what’s really happening? Who’s affected here by my changes? Or are there areas in our business that we can reduce or recycle or minimize our impact by changing certain aspects in our operations or our chemical usage? And so a lot of times you really need to start with kind of an assessment that you would like to come in and help a company identify where they see the opportunities are. So because sometimes they’re too close to it, they can’t see it. Because they’re in the middle of the operations. They don’t really realize there’s things that they can do. Sometimes hiring a consultant to come in and provide that objective third party review will make a big difference in helping them pull together a good strategy. I think a lot of times companies are also, they struggle for management of change and implementation. And the challenges around, okay, we’ve identified these low hanging fruits or these strategies that we’re going to implement. And they don’t really know how to make it to the next level. They don’t know how to convince employees to get on board with the approach. A lot of it’s education and stakeholder engagement. And so all these little factors play into a lot of this sustainability journey that a lot of these companies are on. I think it starts also with educating your senior leaders on what sustainability is and how that is important to them because they’re mostly going to be focused on the bottom line. How do I generate more revenue? How do I pump out more products? How do I become more efficient and make more money? And those are all good things to have and their great objectives because at the end of the day, especially if you’re a publicly traded company, the shareholders want value. And we get that, right? We understand we need to have a product and a business that is making money. But if you can weave in a sustainable process into that product and that delivery and that production. Now you start to see, okay I’m having an impact, what does my supply chain look like? Who are they? Are they sourcing their materials properly and sustainably? And could I change my product usage from maybe this harder, more toxic chemical to a less toxic chemical and still be as effective? And yeah, those are evaluations that need to take place. And I think, like I said, it’s a journey. It takes time. But the sooner you would engage a consultant to come in and help you do that, unless you already have the expertise in-house. Because in some big companies, they can afford to hire experts like this, and they just bring them in.

John: Sean, you are a sustainability OG. So let me ask you, if sustainability, as you just said, it’s a journey. There’s no finish line. But where are we? If it was a baseball game and there’s nine innings to it, are we in the bottom of the first, top of the fifth? Where are we in that journey right now here in the middle of 2025?

Sean: I think we’ve made a turn, we’ve turned second base. We’re heading for third. I guess is what I would say.

John: Fair enough.

Sean: Yeah, because we’ve, I think, society’s awareness of why we should be more sustainable. It’s in the front of front mind of a lot of people. And I think that’s positive because now there’s an incentive for manufacturers and people, people want to buy from companies who are meet up with their values. And so there’s a big- I think that’s been a big shift in the past, say 10, 15 years where now we’re seeing, okay, now we’re talking. People are really paying attention and companies are wanting to basically market towards that segment of the population, the consumers to help drive revenues as well. Hey, I have a greener product. This is a better solution. And people like, this is great. I want to buy that. So we’re making a big shift, but I think that we still have a long way to go. It’s not as easy to recycle everything we want to recycle. The everyday residential homeowner or, wherever you live, is it easy to recycle your all the waste products that come off of the groceries and every your household products? It might be. But it’s not as prevalent across the industry where every community has got curbside recycling or single stream recycling or things like that. It’s not where it needs to be. And then our circular economy is, I think, it’s growing. It’s starting to really take shape. But we need more. We need more industries. We need more entrepreneurs creating these solutions or providing these types of services in their communities to increase our recycling and dependency on raw materials. Let’s recycle the materials we’ve already unearthed out of our environment. So we don’t have to deplete our natural resources. So I think that’s a big part of what I see coming out in the next, say, 10 years or so here in front of us, five to 10 years, where we’ll see a lot more circular economy infrastructure being built. Look, John, you guys at ERI, and you’re not talking much about ERI, but I’ll talk about it. You guys are doing a fantastic job of fixing and solving electronic waste recycling for many companies across the world, really. And that is huge because a lot of people struggle with that. And we all know what the fastest growing waste stream is right now. It’s this little puppy right here. Right there. It’s right there. And every other little electronic component gadget that’s out there. And so to me, we need more people like you and ERI, more people that are in the plastics recycling, industry, the paper recycling industry. I think we’re going to see a big increase in the circular economy over the next few years because there’s going to be the extended producer responsibility rules that are going to come out in the US. And they’ll start hitting harder and harder. They’re already starting. But that’s going to push producers to establish and create these circular economy networks because they’re responsible for managing their products more. And they’re going to have incentives to invest in companies that will create these infrastructures, or they’ll do it themselves, one or two, depending on how they see the revenue. And I think that’s what’s going to shape the next five to 10 years as we look forward into the circular economy. And more people will start talking about it, John, in the same language because we’re OGs. We talked about this. We actually have been doing the circular economy and sustainability our whole career in this waste industry. We just didn’t talk like that. We’re like, oh, we’re recycling everything. We didn’t know, but it’s sustainability. That’s what it is.

John: Giving back is part of a common theme throughout your life and career. Talk a little bit about giving back is so important to you and how really giving is really one of the most rewarding things you could do as a professional and just as a human being.

Sean: Yeah, there’s this saying, I think, that I don’t know if listeners have ever been in maybe like a mission trip and they go, I’m going to go and help some remote community in some other country. And I’m going to go and install wells or help build houses or things like that. And you’re going to go and just make their life great. And you get out there and you start doing that, and all of a sudden you realize, you know who’s really getting the biggest ministry out of the whole thing? It’s you because you get you just cannot believe the love you receive and the value you feel from giving back. And you feel you’re more self-worth than giving. But it increases so much. So yeah, you’re helping others, but you’re also feeding your own personal value system with the service you’re offering. And so giving back is innate. You always get what you receive. And I think, it’s like reap what you sow. Because give back and it comes back to you in tenfold typically. If you do it well with the right heart, it’s going to pay dividends. And you don’t do it for that. You do it because you’re trying to help people. But you know you’re going to have a blessing coming back to you doing it. And I think that, if you can find an organization or a group of young professionals, like we have, I like the mentoring aspect of young professionals who are coming into the industry. And they want to know, hey, what did you do to advance your career? I was like yeah, I started out working in a state agency and I only made like $26,000 a year. And I was married and, I had a kid on the way. And then I had to realize I needed a part-time job because I couldn’t quite make ends meet the way I wanted it to. So I started working Saturday and Sunday at a blood lab at a hospital. I did that for five years. So for five years, I worked seven days a week. So I worked hard. I made some things happen. And then eventually my wife was able to advance in her career as well. Then I didn’t have to work so hard. And then I- things happen. But you just, you got to spend the time and the effort and then look to see like, how can you advance and put the effort into working alongside someone who has a little more maturity in the industry that can guide you, that give you some good pointers. And I think, if you can do that and you give back, John, you- I don’t know about you, but for me, I still need mentoring. I still need people to help me in my professional growth. I’ve been doing this for 30 years, but I don’t know at all. And I need help.

John: I call it the up and down approach. I’m 62. I have mentors in their 70s and 80s. I also have younger people in 40s, 30s, and even in their 20s that I mentor. So like you said, you get so much from giving to the next generations below us but also seeking out the wisdom of those above us that you that have inspired us, that have guided us and staying close to them. There’s so much value to be gotten from both, because who do you know, Sean? I don’t know anybody that knows it all, that has it all down pat, and they just say, hey, I’m good. I’m good. I don’t need any of it. I just don’t need that.

Sean: Exactly. And you know what? I get it. I’m tickled when I talk to a younger professional who knows more about certain things than I do. So I start becoming mentored by a younger professional, say like in social media.

John: AI, I’m having young people teach me AI.

Sean: And I’m like, okay, could you teach me how to do this? I’m the baby here. You teach me. You’re the big part, you’re the- and so that’s where, you have to have the problem.

John: The student becomes the teacher, but that’s okay.

Sean: Yeah, totally agree. And if you’re humble enough to do that, I think that’ll really help you advance in a lot of areas of your life, not just your career.

John: I fully agree with you, and I think that’s just a great way to be. I think that’s just a great value that you give to everybody that you touch on. Whenever I see you in a public setting, you’re just one of those people that, hey, everyone gravitates towards, but you’re always trying to make everyone- you have such great social fluency. You’re trying to make everybody feel comfortable and at home. That’s great skill sets. That’s great skills. By the way, on giving, for our listeners out there, is there any such thing as starting too young? Can’t anyone start, whether they’re 15 or 20 or 25 or 30, starting that practice, the sooner the better. Isn’t that correct?

Sean: Yeah, it’s, the sooner the better. It’s just like investing. Think about it. You start out, start putting away in that 401k as much as you can. 5, 10%, as soon as you can, as soon as you can possibly afford it. And it’s the same way. Invest in others, in social organizations as soon as you can, because now all of a sudden you’re going to start developing relationships. And this will segue into one of my topics that we wanted to get to, which was networking. You start early and start networking and start connecting with people that you want to learn from in the business, that you’re excited. John, I didn’t know you from Adam, but I saw your podcast. I said, I want to talk to that guy because he runs an amazing business. I’m a waste expert savant. I want to talk to him because we got a lot in common. And then I come to find out, yeah, you got a podcast too. This is amazing. We connect. And then all of a sudden, hey, we got a connection that’s pretty special. And now I can recommend you to somebody. You can recommend me to somebody. And now because you’ve developed this level of trust. You would do that and start to build your network as a young professional and start doing that. Learn from others. Be inquisitive. Understand what these individuals are doing and how that you can help them in their career. Don’t think about it as how you help it in my career. How can you in this network process help them? And before you know it, we’re all going to face a trial in life. It’s a fact. I spent 22 years at my previous firm as a senior principal, pretty highly invested in the firm. And that journey ended, January of 2024. And then I was in a position I needed to find people, I needed to find a new job. And what did I do? I relied on my network. I started connecting. I started talking to people. I met some great, amazing new people too along the journey. And I ended up here where I am today at WSP because of my network of people I know and it was a great fit.

John: Two things that you just touched upon. First of all, you likened networking to your 401k. Similarly, I liken networking, starting young, and networking to what you get out of the 401k is compounded interest. There’s a compounded interest that you get out of networking and starting that and building a great group of folks that you can help and that can help you. Secondarily, when we were young, Sean, everything was done in person, analog, face-to-face, nose-to-nose. As we know, the advent of Google in ’98 helped democratize information, but also kicked off the technological revolution. And because of that, things became more and more personal as technology and the boom of technology and cell phones and tablets and laptops and desktops grew and grew. COVID accelerated that trend. And now there’s a whole generation of young people who really think that networking is how many friends you have on Meta. And this is no knock on Meta or Instagram or anything else out there. It’s all wonderful in its place, contextually speaking. But the truth is, the best networking is nose to nose. The best networking is going to organizations like your EHS Hazmat Summit, having a coffee with somebody, having a tea, just shaking their hand, giving them a hug and building a relationship and a bridge with somebody in person. And in fact, I would even think to say that in-person networking is even more valuable today than it was when we were 21, because when we were 21, it was ubiquitous. Now, in-person networking has become special. So the more in-person networking someone could do, the better career they’re going to have, the better life they’re actually going to have.

Sean: I 100% agree with that. One of the things I see in society and business today is, we are taking advantage of technology. We do these calls. We get on video calls. We have our communications. We get things done. And it’s somewhat personal, we can’t have a good conversation, but it doesn’t replace that in-person connection, that touchpoint. And I think that we’re missing out on those, developing those personal connections. Because if I’m a buyer of services, I want to sit across the room and actually see and meet the person in person before I commit to spend a couple hundred thousand dollars with them. Because I got to know that I can trust that person or, that type of thing. And so how do you do that? You only do that by meeting them in person, by breaking bread with them, by connecting with them over coffee and that kind of stuff. And then developing and delivering on the work. And I think, when you start to do that’s how you really start to advance, your relationships, your clientele. For instance, I love being a consultant. It’s a great position to be in. I can solve people’s problems that need help. And I’m able to establish a long-lasting relationship typically with some of these clients where they want to- they trust me as a trusted advisor. They’ll call me and say, hey, what do you think? I need help with this. That’s a great position to be in with a client because you don’t have to do the upfront work to try to convince them anymore that you’re the resource they need. You now have already- you’ve been moved into like that trusted advisor position. You’re your go-to’s. They solve my problems, I just go there. I don’t need to go and spin my wheels trying to find that person anymore. And it just makes things so much easier and then you get to do life slash work together, right?

John: Correct. And the cool thing is, even though you’re a subject matter expert on the environment and the circular economy, nobody has all the answers. So for you, someone calls you, you’re the trusted advisor. You have 73,000 plus colleagues that you can lean on to get them the answers that they need to progress.

Sean: 100%. And that is the true value of being in the industry, having a great network, interested in everyone’s, what they do. When someone asked me, hey, I’ve got electronic waste. I know somebody. I say call this guy or here’s who you need to call. And of course, I’ll give them somebody maybe that’s a lower level than you, John, because you’re a busy man. But we’ll get a hold of Paul or we’ll get a hold of, some of the other guys. That’s the thing. And I think that developing those relationships at a high level is important because a lot of times you get on projects and stuff doesn’t go well, and you need to know that I can call the big guy to help answer maybe some difficult problems. And it’s not the local sales guy who could solve it. And so having relationships at, CEO, CFO, CRO levels, that’s a great place to be because now you can really have true dialogue and impact when you really have some business strategy or challenges or whatever you want to do. So then I think we’ve got the reshoring of manufacturing jobs. NAFTA is now dead and gone. I think the Trump administration saying, hey, bring it back here. There’s a lot of focus on growing, manufacturing in the US again, which is fantastic because, who doesn’t want to have US made products here and supporting our economy? And I think it’s great to see that happening. I’m right now on the forefront of watching, some of these foreign companies that are coming into build chip manufacturing facilities and other types of companies that are wanting to invest in the US, because of these incentives that are out there for the Department of Commerce, for the growth of their industry, but also the industry in general within the US And we’re reshoring a lot of facilities and manufacturing here. You look at the automotive industry. That’s another huge industry that offshoreed a lot of jobs and manufacturing facilities overseas. A lot of that’s coming back now, which is great.

John: If you have to go back and you have to go back to your alma mater and give a seminar to the incoming class, a bunch of 17-year-olds coming into your alma mater on how to become like Sean Grady, how to make a really nice living to support your family, so how to make a living, but also to make an impact in the work that you do. What advice would you give them now? Because it seems as though there’s a whole generation of young people that are caught in the crosshairs of being told, you don’t need what was historically when we were uncalled classical upper education anymore. You don’t need that. You can just go out and work and be fine. What’s your advice to the incoming class at your alma mater?

Sean: Well, for those students who are graduating, obviously they’ve decided to go through college and that’s great because now they’re practicing a discipline and Purdue’s, they’re one of the top engineering schools in the country. I would say, look, pursue your passion, whether that’s civil engineering or, depending on the discipline you really want to go after and get involved with trying to perfect your craft. But start out and be hungry and be a learner and really look to try to advance through taking on projects that maybe most people wouldn’t try to take on or at least volunteer to be part of the project team. Don’t sit back. Take the initiative. Don’t be just waiting for someone to tell you what to do. Ask what you can do. I think that’s a big comment right there. Don’t sit back and wait to be told what to do. Ask what you can do. And if you can do that, John, I think our students will start to see opportunities that they all kind of envision. But you also need to put the work in. You got to put the work in to understand what the business is that you’re working in the environmental business. You really understand- you need to have a pretty good grasp of regulations. And the problem that we see that I see, we used to have to read text and read online, what the rule means. And you’d have to go to courses and you’d have to like, spend time studying. But now, you know what happens? They go, hey, Google, what is hazardous waste? And is this a hazardous waste? And then it tells you what it is. They don’t need to have the rote memory like we did.

John: And our brains get lazy.

Sean: But what happens is, John, is the critical thinking and the critical thinking doesn’t carry over into, I have a real situation now what? And I think that’s where you need to spend a little more time thinking through. But for the individuals, and I’ll just touch on that don’t feel like they need to go to college and they just want to get into a trade, oh my gosh, John, we need plumbers. We need electricians. We need all of those guys that are, construction, welders. We need all those guys. And we need more of them than we really think we need because we’re still a really growing society. And so I’d say, look, you know what, pick a- and they can make a great living. They can make a fantastic living, and they can have their own business. They could be entrepreneurs and create their own business. You don’t need to do it just the way of just going to college. And I guess I just would mention that because I like going to college. It helped me mature and grow and learn things. But you can do the same thing on the job training in real life and have that kind of street smarts about yourself and grow that way too. There’s no one real path. But I think if you have a desire to learn, to make something happen. I think that would really help you. And so that’s the big thing I would take away there.

John: I love it. Sean, for our listeners and viewers to find Sean Grady, you can go to seankgrady.com. Obviously, we’ll have WSP and also join Sean and myself and so many other EHS professionals at the EHS Hazmat Summit in Louisville, Kentucky, September 8th through 11th, 2025. That link will also be in our show notes. And of course, listen to Sean and his great podcast, Environmental Transformation Podcast. I’m going to put a link in there so you can click on and listen to an episode that interests you. And you can hear how Sean really does it right. Sean, you do podcasting right. I’ve listened to a few of your episodes. I love your show. I’ve been on your show. And I just want to say thank you. But more important, you spent with me today about an hour. And the generosity of your time, again, just speaks volumes about who you are, about how you like to give. But more important than the hour you just spent with me, I just want to thank you personally, Sean, for making the world a better place.

Sean: Well, John, thank you so much for your Impact Podcast and your platform of doing the same thing I’m trying to do with my podcast is shining a light on leaders in our industry that are making an impact and a difference every day. And that’s just the nature of my platform and your platform. And I love doing it just like you do. And it just gets you up in the morning. You’re just like, you excited. Oh gosh, I got a great interview coming up. And you just meet so many fantastic people that all have a lot in common. And there’s some people that you’re like that’s interesting. But you know what? It’s fun, nonetheless. And I enjoy it. So, thank you for having me on your show, John. You do amazing work. ERI, oh my gosh, guys. For those listening, he doesn’t talk about it enough. ERI is one of the top electronic recycling firms in the country worldwide, and he’s got the answers. You need data destruction, you need data security, you need recycling of batteries, of CRTs, electronic devices, you name it, he’s got it. Give this guy a call. He can help you out.

John: Thank you, Sean. You’re the best. I can’t wait to see you in September in Louisville, Kentucky. It’s going to be awesome. And thanks again for your time today. And again, thank you for making the world a better place. That’s why I love you as a friend and I love you as a professional. You really make it happen.

Sean: Thank you, John. Really appreciate it. Looking forward to it. Talk to you in September.

John: This edition of the Impact Podcast is brought to you by Engage. Engage is a digital booking platform revolutionizing the talent booking industry. With thousands of athletes, celebrities, entrepreneurs, and business leaders, Engage is the go-to spot for booking talent for speeches, custom experiences, live streams, and much more. For more information on Engage or to book talent today, visit letsengage.com. This edition of the Impact Podcast is brought to you by ERI. ERI has a mission to protect people, the planet, and your privacy, and is the largest fully integrated IT and electronics asset disposition provider and cybersecurity-focused hardware destruction company in the United States and maybe even the world. For more information on how ERI can help your business properly dispose of outdated electronic hardware devices, please visit eridirect.com.