Thought Leadership.

Stewardverse Strategies launches its Leadership Institute on Earth Day 2026, convening business leaders in Minneapolis to advance stewardship-driven leadership.

For Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), sustainability is no longer a "nice-to-have"—it is a business imperative driven by customer survey requests, shifting regulations, investor demands, and consumer expectations. However, many SMEs may not need a chief sustainability officer or can’t justify the $200k–$300k+ annual salary of a full-time executive. But relegating sustainability to a “side job” of employees without the background and expertise doesn’t meet stakeholder demands, nor does it position a business to capitalize on what sustainability truly is -- an engine of growth, risk mitigation, and competitive advantage. How can companies add sustainability expertise without the headcount? Enter, fractional sustainability roles. 

Photo that leads to an article by Devry Boughner Vorwerk on the importance of businesses and brand outwardly expressing support for Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

DevryBV Sustinable Strategies is now doing business as Stewardverse Strategies.

As we close out 2025, most executives feel and are constrained and are looking for ways to lead more effectively. I don’t believe it’s because leadership capacity has diminished, but because the business environment has drastically changed shape this year.

Disinformation is not just a political problem—it’s a growing threat to businesses. For communications professionals, actively addressing the ethical and financial challenges posed by disinformation (deliberately misleading information) and misinformation (inaccurate information spread unintentionally) has become a core focus. In the age of AI, false narratives can spread with unprecedented speed, capable of inflicting severe, lasting damage on a brand’s reputation.

A call for more capital in global food and agriculture. Graphic depicts harvesting investments.

Building Human Capacity to Lead in An Age of AI.

Devry shares her thoughts from this week’s Biomimetics International conference held at the University of Minnesota. Looking to nature for business solutions is the way forward.

Trade wars aren’t just fought in Washington or Beijing—they’re felt in the homes and businesses of women worldwide. In When Trade Wars Turn Personal, Devry Boughner Vorwerk, Founder & CEO of DevryBV Sustainable Strategies, argues how “Pink Tariffs” — gender-biased import duties — drive inequality from the Salinas Valley to supply chains across Asia, Africa, and beyond. These tariffs raise prices on women’s goods, curb wages, and weaken communities. Drawing on data from the World Bank, WTO, and UNFAO, the article calls for gender-inclusive trade reform to empower women, strengthen local economies, and build a more sustainable global trading system.

Minnetonka High School launched the 2025 VANTAGE Mentor Kickoff in spirited fashion this week, with keynote speaker Devry Boughner Vorwerk, founder and CEO of DevryBV Sustainable Strategies, delivering a message that challenged students and mentors alike to embrace getting out of their comfort zone as the starting point for growth.

Amid the confusion surrounding what is truly sustainable, one thing is clear: whenever possible, we need to do more good by finding ways to reduce the amount of waste we produce rather than settling for “less bad” alternatives. James Diebel, a Sustainability Analyst at DevryBV, looked into a range of options for a common source of plastic waste: cups at major events.

Devry Boughner Vorwerk’s latest op-ed, “The Real Trade Emergency—Why the Business Community Must Lead Again,” was published August 18, 2025, in Newsweek. Why does trade matter? Many reasons. But for one, it’s because there’s arguably no better way to achieve business and sustainability goals than enabling the most efficient flow of goods, services, capital, and innovation across borders.

Summer Intern Emily Nicholson shares her experience working on the Main Street Strategy in Minnesota and New York this summer working to build community and relations in preparation for brand expansion. Read to hear directly from Emily and the valuable insight she brought and gained through her Main Street project.

How can interns and students add value to our firm and transform fresh perspectives into action? Time and again young minds have proven to be a vital force in our business development and expansion. Read to learn about how our Summer Interns tackled this question.

My roles in and around food are many. I’m a former executive in Big Food and experienced in international agriculture and food policy. I am also a mother and a board member of the Caux Round Table. From the vantage point of all those roles, I am witnessing a rapidly growing, food-related health crisis in the U.S. and worldwide. I have dedicated my career to food, and it’s time for essential changes to meet the nutritional needs of a growing global population.

How do companies manage their brand when they do not control the message or how and where consumers get their information? This is not a new business issue by any means, but managing brands is much more complicated in the age of AI. Handing the keys to a company’s brand to Artificial Intelligence (AI) is unsettling and dangerous, yet what I have come to understand is that it is too late. Your company’s brand and even an executive’s personal leadership brand are already in the hands of the algorithms that power the AI, and every LLM has its unique algorithms for sourcing information and spitting that back to the requestor. How do we get to the TRUTH ALGORITHM, not just the Truth Discovery algorithm for a company’s sustainable brand? Read further for recommendations.

The global drive for sustainable supply chains is at a crossroads. New, ambitious regulations are clashing with rising political pushback, creating uncertainty for businesses worldwide. At the heart of this tension is double materiality, a concept that urges companies to look beyond just profits and deeply consider their environmental and social impact.

The current wave of tariff escalation has reignited long-standing debates about the U.S. trade deficit, economic nationalism, and global supply chains. Yet beneath the surface of policy headlines and political soundbites lies a deeper story—one that links trade disruption not just to macroeconomic shifts, but to the future of sustainability and environmental resilience.

It’s one of those questions that people ask you at business events, social gatherings, and countless other settings. So, what do you do? When you work at a company that most would know–Apple, BMW, Nike–people might smile and say, amazing! And there it ends. When you work at a small firm that’s not a household name, however, you might get another question. What’s that? When the name isn't instantly recognizable, the follow-up is inevitable: 'What exactly is it that you do?' After a year at DevryBV Sustainable Strategies, I've learned firsthand the breadth and depth of our work. Boiling it down to a concise answer took time, but here's how I now respond to 'So, what do you do?’

Small- and medium-sized businesses are concerned about the US economy and global headwinds, as consumer confidence hit a 12-year low in March. Can SMEs cope with the chaos? Let’s check in and talk about some ideas.

At DevryBV Sustainable Strategies, we are committed to inspiring businesses to courageously serve humanity. To advance this mission, we align our purpose with performance. By embracing a Results-Oriented Work Environment (ROWE), we prioritize outcomes over rigid schedules, fostering a culture of trust, flexibility, and innovation.

DevryBV Sustainable Strategies is a proud sponsor of the Minnetonka Youth Hockey Association. Ice Edge Diplomacy was conceived by our founder while she was living the full experience of being a “hockey mom” for her son, Charlie, and daughter, Seanna.

A question clients often ask us is: “why should my small business report…why does this matter to us?” Even if your business is not yet subject to new disclosure laws and regulations, preparing your company now will lay the groundwork for a more responsible and resilient business in the future. That means more growth and profitability.

Clients and potential clients are calling. The debate over ultra-processed foods has reached a tipping point. It’s one of the rare issues that Democrats and Republicans have converged upon, and momentum is building. What’s around the corner, and what practical steps can businesses take? Read on.