NYU Stern School of Business: Championing Sustainability at Home and Abroad
New York University’s Stern School of Business doubled down on its commitment to social impact with the launch of a brand new Center for Sustainable Business in 2016. The Citi Foundation put $1 million of its money toward the cause, and leading environmentalist and former Rainforest Alliance President Tensie Whelan came on board to lead the center. It offers expanding sustainability courses for undergraduates and graduate students, works with companies interested in specially designed courses to help their executives learn sustainable practices and, in time, establish consulting projects with partner firms to help students take what they learn from the classroom to the boardroom.
social impact and the MBA
Center for Sustainable Business Director Tensie Whelan
At first glance, NYU Stern might seem an unusual pick to serve as a nexus of sustainable business. Historically, the school has sent massive percentages of its graduates into finance at nearby Wall Street banks or to the major consulting firms. In fact, that’s a huge plus in Whelan’s eyes. “We need more business leaders in finance who are looking to incorporate sustainability into their investment decisions,” she told us in an interview when the center first launched. “On the consulting side, I believe that more and more consulting efforts will be focused on helping companies transition to become more sustainable,” she added. “It is exciting to have students going into these sectors where they will have real impact.”
But to think that Stern’s focus on social impact is new or that it’s an attempt to woo would-be bankers and consultants away from more traditional paths would be folly. There is a strong contingent of Sternies who come in deeply passionate about social impact and look to get involved in many ways. Some choose a specialization in Sustainable Business and Innovation, taking courses on topics ranging from impact investing and microfinance to energy and the environment and global poverty alleviation. Others take part in numerous clubs on campus related to sustainability and the environment or social impact.
As part of the course called “Doing Business in (DBi),” students travel for one to two weeks during traditional break periods to gain international experience in a rapidly changing global economy. In January 2017, students traveled to Costa Rica, where they interacted with students and professors from Incae Business School, experience the country’s culture, and gained a better understanding of the opportunities for sustainable development and responsible labor practices.
Beyond the classroom, the Social Impact and Sustainability Association (SISA) MBA club organizes events centered on their namesake—social impact and sustainability. Annually, they bring together professionals from across industries for Executives-in-Residence Speaker Series, skills-based workshops, industry and student/alumni speaker panels. Members are also encouraged to partake in case competitions, including The Aspen Institute Business & Society International MBA Case Competition and the Patagonia Case Competition. The club also offers support for recruiting and career efforts, including resources for the interview stage of the career search process. Each year, MBA students in this club team up with others from NYU’s policy and law schools to host the Social Innovation Symposium. Past keynote speakers included: Hannah Jones, Chief Sustainability Officer and VP of Innovation Accelerator, and Rick Ridgeway, Vice President of Public Engagement at Patagonia and founding chairman of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. Last year, the theme of the conference was Social Intrapreneurship: Transforming Business from Within and the next symposium is slated for the Spring of 2020.
Stern also offers a wealth of support to students pursuing jobs in the social impact space. One example is the Social Impact Internship Fund (SIIF), which supports MBA students who choose to pursue summer internships with a social impact focus between their first and second years. Through the recently founded CSB, Whelan co-hosted a job fair with Collectively and VICE Media and slated for March 30th, to showcase social impact job opportunities.
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