MBA Students Lead Global Sustainability Summit

Students from 26 peer schools met to track environmental concerns and potential solutions at an annual conference hosted this year at Texas McCombs

Global business innovation took center stage when nearly 300 MBA students from around the world convened at The University of Texas at Austin in February to talk through the risks and opportunities of climate change.

MBA students from the McCombs School of Business hosted this year’s ClimateCAP, the annual Global MBA Summit on Climate, Capital, and Business, after winning a competitive bid among MBA programs nationwide.

The fifth annual event drew MBA students from 26 schools and sold out in less than two hours, with a waitlist more than 200 students long.

These future leaders are recognizing that sustainability needs to be part of any business strategy, said Alexis Greco, a second-year MBA student and ClimateCAP co-chair.

“Every single MBA will have to be aware of it,” she said. “It’s not just the ideological thing to do. It’s the right business move.”

Event speakers concurred: “This is, hands down, the most exciting time in our industry and the most rapid pace of change,” said Rebecca Kujawa, president and CEO of NextEra Energy Resources, who spoke on stage with Michael Webber, deputy director of UT’s Energy Institute, about massive shifts in the utilities game and her own journey into renewables.

Having passion for the work fuels progress, Kujawa added. “When things don’t go well, perseverance makes a huge difference in whether or not you excel. In our industry there’s lots of turns and twists, and so passion and perseverance are critically important.”

For solving the complex problems of the climate crisis, keynote speaker Ron Gonen advised students to take the long view.

“Progress is a journey. It doesn’t happen overnight,” said Gonen, founder and CEO of Closed Loop Partners, an investment firm focused on the “circular economy” — the movement to redesign products to be more durable, reusable, repairable, and recyclable. “You’ve got to commit and have a sense of urgency while also being patient.”

Other keynote speakers included McCombs alumni Paul Knopp, MBA ’83, CEO of KPMG U.S. Advisory Services; Ray Cameron, BBA ’88, BlackRock Inc.’s managing director and head of corporate client strategy for the Americas; and Jane Ewing, senior vice president for sustainability at Walmart.

Nineteen of the 50 speakers were UT alumni, and nine were Texas McCombs graduates — evidence of the school’s legacy role in the sustainability space, said summit co-chair Patrick McPadden.

“McCombs has always bred innovators, and environmental challenges have given students and alumni another channel for these skills,” he said.

The conference aims to prepare MBA students to build or lead climate-resilient businesses, and for many of the students who attended, it was a first look at the business implications of climate. The effects are sweeping, and they affect every area of a company, from finance to marketing.

Sessions explored agriculture and food systems, powering business and transformation, the circular economy, innovation for the built environment, financing, net-zero goals and ESG reporting, scaling breakthrough technology, and hard-to-decarbonize industries.

“This conference is a way to speak to the people who don’t see themselves as climate evangelists but know this will impact their career,” said co-chair Samantha Hea, who oversaw programming. “Very selfishly from an MBA student perspective, it’s a way to be well-prepared for our own careers.”

Texas McCombs’ Global Sustainability Leadership Institute was a founding partner of the ClimateCAP consortium of schools and has sent students to the conference every year.

After winning the opportunity to host, Texas McCombs students worked with the institute to raise nearly $300,000 — two-thirds of it in cash — and spent many hours inviting nearly 50 speakers, building the program, mapping logistics, and attracting sponsors.

“This student-directed initiative was a natural fit for us, and we were thrilled to help students organize this year’s event,” said Meeta Kothare, managing director for the institute. “The speakers and panelists gave MBA students an in-depth look at sustainability challenges they’ll face when they step into business leadership roles. But the takeaway message was one of hope: that thoughtful, innovative organizations will be part of the solution.”

Attendance at the summit has grown every year since its inception in 2018 at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, even as the urgency of climate change is creating business opportunities never seen before, McPadden said.

He said many people with MBAs see sustainability as a way to marry executive ambitions with purpose. “If people can leave ClimateCAP thinking, ‘I can have a cool career, and it can be mission-driven work that feels really relevant to me,’ I think it’s a huge accomplishment.”

Texas McCombs Dean Lillian Mills, who gave opening remarks, applauded the impact of this student-run event. “This worthwhile effort is further proof of our students’ trail-blazing spirit, and it was exciting to see MBAs across the globe imagine a future together,” she said. “Their passion makes me proud to know that we have a generation rising to confront the challenges of the 21st century.”

Story by Sally Parker