About Our Company
We are sustainability consultants working with your organization to guide your evolution toward a more sustainable world.
Shinka Sustainability Consultants
Shinka Sustainability Consultants provide expertise and an innovative approach to enable our clients to discover, evolve, and develop new business models that support a sustainable future. We collaborate with our clients to develop their sustainability vision, identify opportunities for circular products and services, and support the transition to a low carbon future.
Wherever our clients are on their journey, we are here to understand the needs of the organization, recommend strategies and goals, and implement sustainability initiatives that drive value.
Meet Our Team
Our consultants will recommend strategies and goals, and implement sustainability initiatives to meet your needs.
Education
MBA, Entrepreneurship
Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, Illinois
MS, Environmental Management and Sustainability
Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, Illinois
BS, Environmental Science
Saint Mary’s College of California
Moraga, California
Maureen Stroud
Founder and Managing Director
The name "Shinka Sustainability Consultants" is inspired by the Japanese word "shinka" meaning evolution. Maureen's husband is from Japan and they travel there as much as possible with their family.
In her practice, Maureen is helping her clients evolve on their sustainability journeys and is passionate about product design and innovation. Her expertise is in developing sustainability strategies.
She is also currently an Adjunct Professor in the Institute of Environmental Sustainability at Loyola University in Chicago. She teaches an online course on Assessment and Reporting for Energy, Air, Buildings and Transportation.
Stroud formerly managed the North America and Global Carbon programs at Whirlpool Corporation. In her role at Whirlpool, she was responsible for Whirlpool’s North American Sustainability Strategy and managed the sustainability initiatives for products under the Amana, Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, and Jenn-Aire Brands.
Previously, she developed sustainability standards for products in the building industry, managed a university sustainability program, provided sustainability and risk assessment services for large industrial and commercial clients, and managed hazardous waste remediation projects.
Maureen has held several voluntary and appointed positions including serving as a Board Member for the West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum (WMSBF), Southeast Michigan Sustainable Business Forum (SMSBF), serving as a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)’s Emerging Professionals National Committee, and providing Pro Bono consulting services through Net Impact Chicago Chapter.
Amy Schultz Blaine
Director of Policy & Data Analytics
Education
MS, Environmental Management and Sustainability
Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, Illinois
MS, Statistics
Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
BS, Statistics
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Amy Blaine is a strategic leader with experience helping Fortune 500 companies make data driven decisions for over 20 years. She has demonstrated effectiveness in building and leading teams recognized for their ability to deliver complex projects on-budget and on-schedule.
For the past three years, Amy has been working in the non-profit industry bringing her expertise in metrics management, project management, and overall organizational management to non-partisan organizations focused on citizen-led government reform to ensure safe and fair elections and eliminate gerrymandering.
Prior to her experience working with The People and Voters Not Politicians, Amy was VP, PMO, Analytics and Sustainability for Donlen, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hertz. She led a variety of major initiatives including implementing Agile Methodology, building a data warehouse and implementing visualization dashboards that provide financial, operating and environmental KPI’s across the company’s approximately 600 customers. In her role as Sustainability Leader for Donlen, Amy consulted with customers to reduce the GHG impacts of their fleets and was invited to speak on the topic at several industry conferences.
Amy was an onsite consultant for several years for ComEd, a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation providing electricity services to northern Illinois. At ComEd, she assisted the organization with managing and improving the GHG reporting process. She was also a key contributor on the Environmental Management System implementation and Environmental Procedures Process.
The key theme in Amy’s career has been a life-long interest in helping organizations harness data to optimize operational and strategic decisions to achieve goals such as reducing environmental impacts and improving the bottom line.
What does
Shinka mean?
In Japanese, Shinka means
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Evolve / Transition
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New Change / Discovery
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Deepening / Serious
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True Value
Don't Miss Our Upcoming Training Opportunities
From free webinars to introduce you to the Circular Economy to more in-depth trainings about Circular Canvas; we are teaching organizations how to evolve.