| | | | | Dear SGE Alumni & Friends, | | It is hard to believe that we just completed the first full academic year not directly disrupted by the pandemic since 2018-2019…it is great to get back to some semblance of normality! In the fall, I noted changes taking place that reflect our efforts to make the College’s vision of building people-centered leaders who are empowered to create sustainable, shared prosperity a reality. In the spring, we saw those efforts move forward in some meaningful ways: | - This year, the Center is collaborating with Alumni Affairs and Development to produce 2023 Lifelong Learning Experience which is focused on the Business of Sustainability. The program includes webinars, virtual instruction on key topics, virtual cases, and other activities that enable alumni to learn more about sustainability from College faculty across Dyson, Johnson, and Nolan!
- In the first half of the spring term, we once again saw enrollment for the foundational Strategies for Sustainability course continue to surge and we came up with measures to accommodate demand which doubled our capacity.
- In January, our collaboration with the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business to facilitate private sector engagement and investment to address food insecurity in New York State deepened with the start of an SGE Immersion project focused on the viability of controlled environment agriculture (CEA) in the state. Relatedly, in June, we co-hosted a workshop on campus in Ithaca attended by the academic and professional leads of six additional projects on food-as-medicine, healthy retail, food hubs/infrastructure, food finance, and food & nutrition assistance. We are currently planning to hold a broader event for those interested in addressing food insecurity in New York in Ithaca in mid-October.
- In February, we launched a new LinkedIn page for the Center to highlight our activities and feature our students and faculty. Check it out and follow us! Note: the LinkedIn Center Alumni Group is still active and will continue to be the best place to share events, internships, and full-time job postings.
- In March, we began work developing a new teaching case focused on efforts in Rwanda to balance the tension between tourism growth which is essential to that country’s economy, and conservation of the natural resources which form the foundation of - yet are susceptible to pressures from - that growth.
- In the second half of the spring term, sustainability was added to the MPS - Management program as a new core required course. Similar changes are afoot for other programs - stay tuned for updates in the fall!
- In June, college dean Andrew Karolyi, who has been actively promoting sustainability as a cornerstone of the College’s future success, assumed senior leadership positions in two very visible external forums - the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management (PRME) and the Responsible Research in Business & Management (RRBM) network - which are focused on changing management education and management research, respectively. To get a sense of his vision, check out the interview Poets & Quants did with both Andrew and incoming Johnson School dean Vishal Gaur.
- In July, the Center, together with the Parker Center for Investment Research, as well as the Business of Sustainability and Investing@Cornell Interdisciplinary Themes will be hosting our 2nd Cornell University ESG Investing Research Conference. Research presentations will be streamed for those interested in learning about cutting edge work being done by leading academics from around the world.
| | On the administrative front, we are pleased to share that the college promoted Monica Touesnard to executive director of the Center, officially recognizing her as the center’s administrative director - congratulations, Monica! Additionally, I was reappointed to a new five-year term as clinical professor of management and will continue to serve as the center’s faculty/academic director - thank you to any of you who participated in providing feedback to the college in my reappointment process. | | One of our goals for the coming year is to connect as much as we can with our growing alumni base. Monica, Abby and I enjoyed connecting with alumni in Tokyo in January, Austin, TX in February, New York City in June, and look forward to connecting with alumni in San Francisco in July. If you are ever coming to Ithaca, please let us know! | | Sincerely, | | Mark Milstein | | Faculty Director of the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise |
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| | | | | Cornell ESG Investing Research Conference | | July 19 - 21, 2023, virtual. The conference will feature academic paper presentations focused on ESG issues. A livestream option is available to the public. |
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| 13th Annual Cornell Energy Connection | | November 17, 2023, Cornell Tech Campus, NYC. Keep an eye on our website for registration information. If your company is interested in being a sponsor, please reach out to Monica Touesnard. |
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| | | eCornell Keynote: Sustainable Tourism on a Changing Planet, Episode 3 | | July 20. Keep an eye on our website for registration information. | | |
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| eCornell Keynote: Could Entrepreneurship and Innovation Advocate for Better Sustainable Impact? | | July 31. Keep an eye on our website for registration information. |
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| | Annual Joint Sustainability Alumni Network Reception: |
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| | Thursday, July 27th from 6-8p in San Francisco, CA. This event will feature speed networking with MBA alumni from sustainable business education programs at Cornell, Berkeley, Duke, Harvard, MIT, Michigan, Stanford, and Yale! Note the event is only open to sustainability alumni from the participating programs listed above. Space is limited. To register please contact Monica Touesnard. |
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| | 20th Anniversary Celebration: |
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| | The Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise turns 20 in 2024! If you'd like to be involved in planning, please contact Monica Touesnard. Stay tuned for information on events and celebrations. |
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| | | | | Thirty students made up the 18th SGE Immersion cohort this past spring, which included 22 first year, second year, and one-year MBA students and 8 non-Johnson graduate students from AAP, Economics, Brooks (public policy), CALS, Economics, Engineering, and Nolan (hotel school). Student teams completed practicum projects with Acadian Crossing, Acuamaya (in partnership with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’sCoastal Solutions Fellows Program), Corning, Google, InvestNYC (in collaboration with NYU Stern’s Center for Sustainable Business), OXTO Energy, PFS Energy, and Steve Madden. Remember - while one immersion just ended…it is never too early to discuss potential SGE Immersion projects for Spring 2024! |
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| | College Engagement in Sustainability |
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| | At the recent UN Principles for Responsible Business (PRME) Global Forum, an international community of educators and educational institutions working to transform management education, it was announced that College Dean Andrew Karolyi, the Charles Field Knight Dean and Harold Bierman Jr Distinguished Professor of Management, was stepping into the role as global Vice-Chair. In addition, Karolyi recently became the working group chair of the Responsible Research for Business and Management (RRBM) which is dedicated to inspiring, encouraging, and supporting credible and useful research in the business and management disciplines. These are in addition to his ongoing role as Advisory Councillor of Accounting for Sustainability (A4S). |
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| Dean Andrew Karolyi speaks at the UN PRME Forum in June. |
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| | Sustainable Tourism Asset Management Program (STAMP) |
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| | Megan Epler Wood and O'Shannon Burns with field team in Rwanda. |
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| With support from the Mastercard Foundation we are developing a new teaching case study focused on how Rwanda is working to balance the competing demands for conservation and tourism growth. The case is scheduled to be premiered with tourism professionals from around the African Continent at the 2023 Business Conservation Conference to be held in Kigali in August; and with both professionals and academics attending the 2023 World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit in early November. |
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| | Additionally, with support from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) we continue to offer scholarships for the eCornell Sustainable Tourism Destination Management course which was launched this past December and focuses on developing skills to assess tourism destinations on a range of dimensions, including development, infrastructure, carbon, climate mitigation and adaptation, and social, environmental and economic development indicators. To be eligible for a scholarship, applicants must reside in one of 154 qualifying countries. The second round of applications will be accepted until the end of July. For more information on the program or to learn how to support future scholarships, contact STAMP@cornell.edu. |
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| | Cornell Business Impact Symposium |
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| | After three years of hosting the event online, Cornell Business Impact Symposium was back in-person on the Ithaca campus in April! Six undergraduate and graduate clubs (Cornell Global Business Club, Cornell Sustainability Consultants, Impact Investing at Cornell, Students from Emerging Economies Professional Association at Cornell, Sustainability Global Enterprise Club and Voiz at Cornell) worked with the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise to identify relevant topics and design an exciting event attracting more than 100 participants. Topics included sustainability consulting, impact investing, carbon neutral strategies and solutions to sustainability challenges. In addition, the Impact Investing Pitch Competition finals were incorporated into CBIS. To see the complete agenda for the day including topics and speakers, visit the website here. |
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| | Impact Investing Pitch Competition |
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| | The Impact Investing Pitch Competition, a joint collaboration with the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise and the Impact Investing Club now in its third year, is an undergraduate competition where students research and pitch an impact-focused start-up to a panel of judges. Participants consisted of students from various departments at Cornell as well as other universities. This year the competition finals were held in-person as part of the Cornell Business Impact Symposium with winning teams from Cornell and Duke University who pitched BIOMILQ (cell-cultured human milk), Harvest Thermal (ultra-efficient heat pump solution) and Air Protein (meat made from air). Many thanks to the Cornell alumni who judged the first round of video submissions and mentored the teams in the final round and to Neil Mandal with Corbin Capital, Minjia Yang (MPA ’15) with International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), Ryoko Nozawa (MBA ’16) with Empire State Development, and Jeddy Yuan an Entrepreneur-in-residence at Cornell who judged the final round and engaged with students through a panel discussion. Thanks to our sponsors Corbin Capital, Anthropocene Ventures, and Galway Sustainable Capital. |
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| | | Finance and Sustainability Colloquium |
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| | We want to recognize and thank the Spring 2023 speakers in the Finance and Sustainability Colloquium who shared their experiences and knowledge, including: | |
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| | Environmental Finance and Impact Investing Fellows |
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| | Congratulations to the 11th cohort of our Environmental Finance and Impact Investing (EFII) Fellows Program! Students presented their capstone projects during a poster presentation fair held in Sage Atrium in May. Projects included: | - Mohammed Alhussain (MPA ‘23) – Financing the Other EVs: Electrifying Medium and Heavy-Duty Fleets in New York State
- Ken Caccavale (MBA ‘23) – Financing Markets for Home Efficiency Solutions
- Tapan Kar (MBA ‘23) – Energy Transitions
- Kyle Karnuta (MPA ‘23) – Solar Power is Local Power: A Guide to Solar Development Partnerships Designed for New York's Local Leaders
- Jialu Li (MPA ‘23) – The True Cost of Food: Incorporating Environmental Externalities in the Local Food Procurement by Public Agencies
- Raghu Reddy Sarsan (MBA ‘23) – Elevating Sustainable Buildings: The Heat Pump Revolution
- Ben Roberts (MBA ‘23) – The Power of Incentives: Is the Inflation Reduction Act Impacting Corporate Strategy in the Energy Sector?
- Ben Roche (MBA ‘23) – Versa Verde: Sustainable Architecture Solutions in Ecuador
- Courtney Schneider (MPA ‘23) – Pricing Climate Inaction: The Case of Ithaca, NY
- Brad Troxell (MBA ‘23) – Moving Mountains for Carbon Neutrality: Opportunities for Telluride Ski & Golf
- Tony Ye (MBA ‘23) – Not Your Grandpap’s Mortgage: Catalytic Capital for an Inclusive Energy Transition
- Shuo (Tracy) Zhang (MPA ‘23) – Carbon Credits as an Evolving Asset Class
- Stef Cainto (MBA ‘23) & Morgan Phillips (MBA ‘23)– Can AI Accurately Measure Scope 3 Emissions and Hold Companies Accountable?
- Adit Desai (MBA ‘23) & Melissa Lee (MBA ‘23) – Funding Impact: How Can Profitable, Impactful Projects That Do Not Make Market-Rate Returns Gain Access to Capital?
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| | | | Enrollment in Big Red Microenterprise (BRM) hit a new record this academic year! In the spring, 29 students were paired as coaches with 12 regional entrepreneurs and small businesses. For the first time, we concluded the term with a poster showcase held in Sage Hall Atrium which highlighted each team’s work which ranged from branding and strategic planning to e-commerce and financial stability. We want to thank this year’s BRM clients, which included: | - AficaPure: a natural and organic skin and hair care product company which provides a safe, clean, and natural way of expressing beauty
- ApotheKara: an herbal apothecary and integrative health clinic specializing in herbal health education and consultation
- BaldGoddess: a new venture which seeks to support those experiencing hair loss issues
- Dish Truck: a veteran-owned, pollution prevention business that provides clean durable dishes to event coordinators, small-scale food enterprises and the general public
- Ithaca Toy Company: a manufacturer of privately labeled, engraved and screened wood products
- Modern Alchemy Game Bar: a game bar/restaurant featuring board and video game entertainment
- Nia Nunn: a community-based, art-centered, mental health professional service working to affirm, empower and foster the development of self-pride among the African American citizens of the greater Ithaca area
- Radical Mama Housing: offers quality, seasonal low-income housing
- She Messy Tacos: a woman-owned catering business seeking to support women
- Shibui Bath: a premium artisan skin care products company which features virgin and organic oils, butters and botanicals with a commitment to sustainable packaging
- The Learning Farm: a sustainable agriculture teaching farm focused on youth development and environmental justice
- Thrive at Ecovillage Ithaca: the educational arm of Ecovillage at Ithaca
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| | | | This year the Samuel C. Johnson Award in Sustainable Global Enterprise for Individual Leadership was awarded to Tony Ye (MBA ’22) in recognition of his excellence and leadership in the area of sustainability while at Johnson. Additionally, the Samuel C. Johnson Award in Sustainable Global Enterprise for Team Impact was awarded to Adit Desai, Morgan Phillips, Maegan Reichling, Carly O’Brien, Matt Lipper, Kevin Uniacke, Justin Liu, and Hannah Dempsey (all MBA ’22). Congratulations to all of them! |
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| | | | Center-Advised Student Clubs |
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| | Sustainable Global Enterprise Club (graduate) |
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| | This past semester the Sustainable Global Enterprise Club achieved Net Impact's Gold Status, which recognizes the top chapters from around the world. Earth Day Sage Social on April 20th saw a new partnership with Dish Truck, a local Ithaca business that provides reusable plates and cutlery, to make Sage Social a more environmentally friendly event. The hope is that the school will use this service next year for more Sage Socials. |
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| | In collaborating with other sustainability clubs on campus to co-host the Cornell Business Impact Symposium (CBIS), the SGE Club organized a panel about sustainability consulting, and is grateful to alumni panelists: Jim Doucette (MBA ‘89) from EY-Parthenon, Isabel Band (MPA ‘16) with Guidehouse and Cindra Maharaj (MBA ‘10) of Baringa Partners. |
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| | | The Cornell Energy Club welcomed the new leadership board and hosted three events including a climate discussion with Dr. Karl Hausker (BA ‘79), a conversation with Dr. Max K. Zhang on the future of renewables, and a guided tour of Cornell’s Nuclear Fusion Lab. The club wants to recognize Joan Aburime Irianan (MBA ’24), Brenda Zetune Calderon (MBA ’24), Ali Almuzaini (MBA ’24), Aigerim Zhumatova (MBA ’24), and Julian Galarza (MBA ’24) for taking 1st place at the Tepper Cleantech Case Competition! |
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| | Impact Investing at Cornell (undergraduate) |
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| | Impact Investing at Cornell (IIC) has been busy this past semester, hosting their annual Impact Investing Pitch Competition, organizing the undergraduate 2023 Social Impact Gala, and working on client projects. The projects allow club members to work alongside companies and hear from industry professionals to gain real world experience. This semester members completed a long-term engagement with the women-owned venture capital firm, Buoyant Ventures, that involved conducting market research on waste reduction software solutions. In April, a new project was launched with the Center on Rural Innovation (CORI) to assist them in identifying entrepreneurs for potential partners in rural America. The club played a central leadership role in the undergraduate 2023 Social Impact Gala, a formal event between impact-focused professional clubs on campus. The event, its first since COVID, attracted students from seven clubs, nearly 100 attendees, and featured a guest speaker and musical performances. |
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| | Cornell Sustainability Consultants (undergraduate) |
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| | Cornell Sustainability Consultants (CSC) had a successful semester maintaining long-term relations, while also forming new partnerships. The Sustainable Chambers Team continued work with the US Green Chamber of Commerce and the Tompkins Chamber to educate local businesses on sustainable practices and wrote a report about the state of sustainability in local businesses. The SWEEP team wrapped up their long-standing relationship with the SWEEP Standard and began transitioning their research towards the applicability of the standard in college environments. The Sustainable Beverage team took on two projects this semester, working with Hosmer Estate Winery and Prison City Brewing on a variety of sustainability issues. Sustainable Branding began working with DrawDAO and Dunia Bora on marketing strategies while the Ocean Recovery Group (ORG) team continued work with ORG. The Carbon Calculators team completed a follow-up consultation with Snacktavist Foods and began working with Vital Surf Gear, Anabel’s Grocery, and AEIS to quantify carbon emissions and advise businesses on ways to reduce such emissions. |
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| | | | | Note: The Publications and news articles below reflect the work of the broad Business of Sustainability Interdisciplinary Theme affiliated faculty across the college. Some work is directly related to sustainability in business; other work is indirectly related to the domain. |
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| | | | | Chen, Li, Hau L. Lee, Christopher S. Tang. September 2022. Supply Chain Fairness. Production and Operations Management, 31, 4304– 4318. |
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| | | | | | | | Upton, Joanna, Elizabeth Tennant, Kathryn Fiorella, and Chistopher B. Barrett. 2023. COVID-19, Household Resilience, and Rural Food Systems: Evidence from Southern and Eastern Africa, Chapter 9 in Christophe Bene and Steven Devereux, eds., Resilience and Food Security in a Food Systems Context, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 281-320. |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Class of ’06 | | Carrie Mae George (SGE Immersion ’06, MPA ’06) on the birth of her daughter in November | | Class of ’07 | | Tom Stebbins (SGE Immersion ’06, MBA ’07) for being recognized on City & State’s 2023 Law and Power 100 recognizing the most influential legal professionals in the world of New York politics and government | | Class of ’08 | | Colin Harris (MBA ‘08) for launching his own consulting business, C Harris Advisors | | Class of ’10 | | Thomas Murray (BS ’10) for starting a new position as Senior Vice President at Macquarie Group | | Class of ’11 | | Nupur Pande (SGE Immersion ’10, MBA ’11) for starting a new position as Managing Director, EPC & Supply Chain at Linea Energy | | Amath Gomis (SGE Immersion ’10, MRP ‘11) for starting a new position as Lead Sustainability Director at CVS Health | | Brianna Walsh (SGE Immersion ’10, MBA ’11) for starting a new position as Director, Financial Business Partnering at National Grid | | Class of ’13 | | Nirupama Prakash Kumar (MBA ‘13) for starting a new position as Senior Product Manager at Enphase Energy | | Class of ’16 | | Georgia Maloney (SGE Immersion ’15, MBA ’16, BS ’07) for starting a new position as Senior Manager, Sustainability Reporting at Rivian | | Isaac Toussie (SGE Immersion ’15, MBA ’16) for starting a new position as Director, Project Valuation Group at New Leaf Energy | | Class of ’17 | | Katherine Leonetti (SGE Immersion ’16, MBA ’17) for starting a new position as Chief of Staff, Office of Sustainability at the City of Philadelphia | | Mauricio Medaets (SGE Immersion ’15, MBA ’17, MEng ’17) for starting a new position as Senior Product Operations Manager II, AV Performance at Cruise | | | | |
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| Class of ’17 (cont'd) | | Katherine Gerber (SGE Immersion ’16, MBA ’17) for starting a new position as Director of Global Strategy and Performance at Liberty Mutual Insurance's Energy and Transition Risk Office of Underwriting | | Class of ’18 | | Miles Archer (SGE Immersion ’17, MBA ’18) for starting a new role as Senior Manager, Charging and Partnerships at Rider System | | Di An (SGE Immersion ’17, MBA ’18, MILR ’18) on her marriage. | | Amanda Archila (SGE Immersion ’17, MBA ’18) for starting a new position as Executive Director at Fairtrade America | | Preet Jassi (SGE Immersion ’17, MBA ’18) for starting a new position as Principal Product Manager Technical, Alexa Smart Properties Developer Experience at Amazon | | Seth Olson (MS ’18) for starting a new position as Senior Manager, Food Systems at GreenBiz Group | | Cisco Rey (SGE Immersion ’17, MBA ’18) for starting a new position as Development Manager at Treaty Oak Clean Energy | | Class of ’19 | | Andrew Johnson-Lopez (SGE Immersion ’18, MBA ’19) on his marriage to Maria Johnson-Lopez | | Class of ’20 | | Keith Devas (MBA ’20) for starting a new position as Vice President, Equity Research at Credit Suisse | | Pamela Graybeal (SGE Immersion ’19, MBA ’20) for starting a new position as Talent Development at New York University | | Dana Havas (SGE Immersion ’19, MS, Agricultural Applied Economics ’20) for starting a new position as Project Manager at American Farmland Trust | | Class of ’22 | | Yimi Zhao (SGE Immersion ’21, MBA ’22) for starting a new position as Senior Program Manager, Amazon Hub at Amazon | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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