CESR Blog

Investing in Social Impact

Julie Waggoner — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 01:28:16 +0000

Investing in Social Impact Julie Waggoner Thu, 11/14/2024 - 18:28

Julie Waggoner

For Carlos Peña (MBA ’19), the education he received at Leeds and the ecosystem of entrepreneurship, venture capital, and social impact he found in Boulder and Denver transformed the trajectory of his career.

Carlos grew up in Ecuador and came to the U.S. for college where he studied economics at Notre Dame, drawn by the school’s focus on social responsibility. He used the Leeds MBA program to move into impact investing from a background in management consulting, as well as involvement in the Chicago entrepreneurial ecosystem and work in microfinance serving mostly Latino and African American entrepreneurs. The MBA program helped him learn about the intersection of venture capital and impacting investing, and enabled him to get a role at a mission-d Partners where he makes impact investments across asset classes and creates portfolios that move the needle on racial equity– all while generating a market rate of return for his clients. His work involves the same due diligence and financriven family office after graduation.

Currently Carlos serves as Director of Investments at ImpactAssets Capitalial analysis that any “traditional” investor would do, plus the additional layer of measuring social impact outcomes.

We recently sat down with Carlos to talk about why he sees finance as the way to solve social challenges, his journey into impact investing, and his advice for students looking to follow in his footsteps. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

CESR: What big challenges are you motivated to solve using finance and business?

Carlos Peña: The world is broken. The world is unfair. Unless we actively try to fix it, it’s not going to get better. We live and operate in a capitalist society. Every business requires capital, whether it is a nonprofit with grant capital or a for-profit with investment capital. That’s why for me it was impact investing. In terms of how, I built a skillset that allows me to identify the drivers of risk and value for a company, and if you can overlay impact inherently in that business model, then you can really drive change at scale in terms of social justice. When impact is truly integrated into the business model, it’s not a “nice-to-have,” it’s not an additional benefit. In true impactful companies the product or the service is the impact, so as you scale the company, the impact grows.

Folks like us won the lottery of life. Not being born in a war-torn country. Not growing up in a violent environment. Having a roof over our heads and three meals a day. I owe it to the world to pay it back, to make it better and give other people chances to improve themselves and live better lives.

CESR: What keeps you motivated working in the impact space where you spend a lot of time thinking about big challenges?

Carlos Peña: I continuously see the inequalities and the disparities that certain populations and communities experience. These issues are multidimensional – health, education, housing, access to capital, or even basic needs, and pervasive both within the U.S. and across the world. What keeps me motivated is knowing that I can make a change through my work. Also, the fact that my role is very intellectually engaging keeps me motivated. I’m constantly seeing different businesses, different models, different capitalization strategies, different risk-return profiles. It’s always changing, so I don’t get bored!

I also have more of a philosophical answer: we only have one life, so we should use it to make the world better, to reduce suffering for others. This is in line with the Jesuit concept of “ser más para servir mejor” – which is the idea of constantly improving oneself in order to be of (better) service to others.

CESR: You landed an incredible role as Investment Principal at The Beacon Fund in Denver right out of the MBA program. How did you do it?

Carlos Peña: Going into the MBA, I did not expect in my wildest dreams that I would get a role like that. ��Ƶ Boulder was critical in me being able to do that. I think it’s immensely important while you’re doing the MBA to visualize where you want to go, so that when you’re applying for a job it’s not about wanting to do what you’re applying for, it’s about how you want to continue in that space.

The classes at ��Ƶ were great. I crafted my New Venture Finance emphasis, which is what I called it. I focused on early-stage entrepreneurship, anything related to tech and took the Venture Capital Law class. That class was awesome! It really opened my eyes and gave me a skillset that very few people in the industry have. Taking that class was transformational.

Also, I got super involved locally. I mentored at Watson Institute, I interned at BIGR Ventures. I did a lot of internships, some paid and some unpaid, just to get the experience and the exposure. I was super active with networking by going to conferences like SOCAP and Opportunity Finance Network. Pro tip: if you volunteer at a conference, especially at the front desk, you get to meet a lot of folks working in the industry! Then you can follow up, have conversations and learn.

Through networking and at those conferences, I met people from the social enterprise and impact ecosystems, including individuals from The Beacon Fund. Also, I applied to a ton of jobs, not just the one that I got. A big piece of my success was my summer internship at Avivar Capital in LA. When you are seeking an internship, focus on the skillset and the experience, not the geography.

CESR: How did your education at Leeds prepare you for your career now?

Carlos Peña: First of all, the academics for my path were excellent from the get-go. Leeds is in one of the most important tech hubs in the country, if not the world, and that brought in great professors. Having access to classes like Early-Stage Entrepreneurship, VC Law and Entrepreneurial Finance was huge. Those topics are the building blocks of any early-stage investor’s skillset.

In terms of extra-curriculars, DCVF (the Deming Center Venture Fund) was pivotal for me. It’s what allowed me to get that first experience in venture capital in a real way. Doing it in a multi-disciplinary team with law students, engineers, business students, that was awesome and unique. Having faculty and investors involved on the board, and eventually co-leading it was an amazing experience. On the impact side, I also ran the Social Impact Prize in the New Venture Challenge, which allowed me to overlay the social piece over the top of the tech-enabled start-up models, so that I could say I had done early-stage impact investing during the program.

Finally, having access to Techstars, Start-Up Weekend, Watson, all the accelerators and venture capital funds in the area – that’s a rich ecosystem that very few other universities have in the U.S. We compete with the biggest brand names in terms of that. We are unique. No one looks down on us at ��Ƶ Boulder. We’re awesome. I’m proud to be a Buff, always. It transformed my career and my life.

You must be humble and be kind. Be willing to wear all hats. Be open to doing things outside of your role as needed. You must be passionate about the work. If you’re smart and you’re passionate and I can see that you care about the space, we’ll give you a shot.

CESR: What are some of the skills and knowledge that you look for in hiring new associates?

Carlos Peña: Impact Investing requires all skillsets and all roles, not just investors. You can be a marketing specialist, an accounting or operations specialist. For my team in research and due diligence, I want to see finance experience. Ideally investing, but not necessarily. Banking, valuation, advisory, consulting. I also want to see experience with being involved in different projects simultaneously where you manage your time and juggle different timelines and requirements.

Then, are you a team player? You must be humble and be kind. Be willing to wear all hats. Be open to doing things outside of your role as needed. You must be passionate about the work. If you’re smart and you’re passionate and I can see that you care about the space, we’ll give you a shot. I want to see that you know who’s who in the space, that you know the trends, you know about things like full continuum of capital investing, pay-for-success models, family offices, foundations. Show your interest in the space.

CESR: What advice do you have for students interested in the intersection of finance, sustainability and social impact?

Carlos Peña: Be very proactive all throughout the program, from the first semester. Your time is precious throughout the MBA. It’s limited. Be very thoughtful about your extracurriculars. Volunteer, but volunteer for things that are going to give you the skills or connections that are going to help you get where you want to go.

Aggressively pursue your internship. That will be the defining tool you will have to talk about yourself. Be able to craft a cohesive narrative to talk about your prior work, why the MBA, what you’re doing in the MBA, and where you want to go. Always connect your experiences with the academics. That’s key. Read a lot. Network. Keep an Excel sheet of all the folks you’ve connected with. Reach out to people and learn what they do. Message them on LinkedIn, share some of your interests, acknowledge how busy they are and ask if they might have 30 minutes to talk to you in the next few months. Don’t expect them to squeeze you in next week.

Be able to be specific about the kind of role you want. Be willing to relocate. You can get to the geography where you want to go later, now focus on the skillset. Be open to more junior or entry-level roles. Once you get a foot into the space it’s easier to rise, rather than trying to aim at the senior level right off the bat. There’s a lot to learn about impact investing, even if you’re experienced in finance, so be willing to put your ego aside and then grow in the field.

Always submit a cover letter with your applications. Always reach out to the hiring manager before you submit an application, or at least look at everyone’s profile on LinkedIn so they see that you are looking at them.

Learn more about Leeds MBAs working at the intersection of business and impact, and explore CESR’s sustainability opportunities for graduate students.

Carlos shared a list of media outlets and books he’s used over the years to keep up on trends in impact investing and learn. Check out the list below to learn more about this space.

Follow media outlets like Impact Alpha, Conscious Capitalism, Stanford Social Innovation Review and Nonprofit Quarterly.

Big foundations like Ford, Kellogg, Blue Haven Initiative, etc. all regularly publish reports on their work and emerging models.

What’s Possible: Investing Now for Prosperous, Sustainable Neighborhoods by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Real Impact: The New Economics of Social Change by Morgan Simon

Investing With Impact: Why Finance is a Force for Good by Jeremy Balkin

Out Innovate: How Global Entrepreneurs--From Delhi to Detroit--Are Rewriting the Rules of Silicon Valley by Alexandre Alex Lazarow

Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World by Anand Giridharadas

The Solution Revolution: How Business, Government, and Social Enterprises Are Teaming Up to Solve Society's Toughest Problems by William D. Eggers and Paul MacMillan

The Innovation Blindspot: Why We Back the Wrong Ideas and What to Do ��Ƶ It by Ross Baird

The Purpose of Capital: Elements of Impact, Financial Flows, and Natural Being by Jed Emerson

From Poverty to Power by James Allen

Lean Startup : How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries

Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few by Robert B. Reich

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MBA Student Supports LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Colorado Climate Sector

Coco Goldman — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 17:59:14 +0000

MBA Student Supports LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Colorado Climate Sector Coco Goldman Fri, 11/01/2024 - 11:59

Julie Waggoner

Olivia Kefauver (MBA ’25) has spent their career working in impactful positions in a variety of industries. Now, they are pursuing an MBA to drive impact at a larger scale and become a changemaker in the decarbonization space. Olivia has not shied from bridging clean energy connections in Colorado, having been selected as a Clean Energy Fellow for the Colorado Cleantech Industries Association and kickstarting the launch of Out in Climate’s Colorado chapter.

CESR recently reached out to Olivia to gain insight on their experience as a Hybrid MBA student, the Clean Energy Pathway, and their advice for individuals with an interest in clean energy.

CESR: What inspired you to pursue a career in clean energy?

Olivia Kefauver: After getting my B.A. in environmental policy I worked in a variety of regional nonprofits and B2C companies that operated in different capacities at the intersection of people and their environment, spanning agriculture and food & beverages to think tanks and the outdoor industry. I loved each of these roles because they allowed me to better understand the broader environmental, social, and political systems within which they operated and the levers with which people have made widespread change.

Soon after moving to Colorado, I began working at a Mountain West law firm with deep roots in domestic energy policy doing marketing and communications. I found myself working with colleagues who not only had an acute understanding of the history of energy policy in this country but were also helping major companies understand the evolving issues and, in some cases, contributing to the trajectory of our national energy transition. Seeing the scale of impact that was possible through clean energy development and policy regulation energized me to go back to school to better understand the current clean energy landscape and how I could contribute to moving levers at a larger scale to accelerate the clean energy transition.

"Learning from the experience and perspectives of my cohort - who have worked in commercial real estate, wealth management and finance, the armed forces, to being entrepreneurs to being new parents or making major career pivots - has been the most enriching part of my program so far, and has influenced how I think about issues within the clean energy space"

CESR: How has your background in environmental studies meshed with your business education at Leeds?

OK: I strongly believe it has enriched my experience and business education thus far at Leeds. I hope to some extent sharing my experience with my cohort has been additive to them as their diverse experiences have been to my own education and how I approach business and broader social questions.

I sought out Leeds for its academic strength and industry network in the climate and clean energy space and since beginning my program, I’ve found that these strengths have enhanced my education in the ways I had hoped. My coursework and extracurricular opportunities have given me a whole new suite of tools and frameworks to approach the same environmental issues that my undergraduate degree had approached from a different angle.

I will say, for all of Leeds’ strength in clean energy, learning from the experience and perspectives of my cohort - who have worked in commercial real estate, wealth management and finance, the armed forces, to being entrepreneurs to being new parents or making major career pivots - has been the most enriching part of my program so far, and has influenced how I think about issues within the clean energy space.

CESR: What has been the impact of CESR and the Clean Energy Pathway on your MBA experience?

OK: Pursuing my MBA degree through a Hybrid schedule has necessitated that I am acutely intentional with my time and energy as I, alongside my peers, balance full-time jobs, community and professional engagement, and our personal lives with the responsibilities of our MBA program.

CESR and the Clean Energy Pathway’s extensive programming and resources - from carbon accounting bootcamps to coursework like Commercializing Sustainable Energy Projects - have fast-tracked my ability to connect directly with the professionals and evolving issues within the clean energy sector in Colorado and beyond.

To be frank, pursuing these opportunities has also been a haul - adding the Pathway requirements on top of my existing commitments has challenged me, but I ultimately am grateful I’ve pursued this path for how it has added to my educational experience. This process has felt very much like “Type 2 fun” (not fun while you're doing it, but retrospectively rewarding) - a concept that I think many Coloradans embrace and often seek out.

CESR: Tell me about your experience with Out in Climate.

OK: In October 2023 Leeds had supported me to attend the Reaching Out MBA conference, a conference which organizes programming to educate and connect LGBTQ+ MBA students and alumni. It was the first time I had seen so many LGBTQ+ professionals in one place and importantly, the first time I had seen so many queer C-Suite and senior-level business leaders sharing their experiences. It was incredibly impactful for me, and when I returned home to Colorado, I was eager to find both LGBTQ+ peers and mentors in the climate sector in Colorado.

Not long after, the organization Out in Climate (OIC) popped up in my LinkedIn feed and I reached out to the leadership team to see if OIC had a presence in Colorado, and offered to help start one if they hadn’t. I was soon connected with one of OIC’s founding members, Johnny Daugherty, who helped build out the now-bustling New York City chapter under the same motivation I had - to cultivate the professional climate community he sought. He and I are currently planning out our 2025 events, which will touch on a wide range of exciting local climate initiatives with big reach. Today, the Colorado chapter joins several new OIC chapters across the United States planning clean energy treks, panels, and social events to gather and support LGBTQ+ climate professionals.

"Underrepresented groups have been revisioning what the world can be - regardless of current constraints - since the beginning of recorded history. I can’t think of an effort in more need of that drive and vision than the race to address the climate crisis and global clean energy transition."

CESR: What advice do you have for LGBTQ+ individuals and individuals of other underrepresented communities interested in pursuing clean energy?

OK: Acknowledging that I can only speak from my own experience - which by nature can’t and won’t be applicable to everyone’s identity or experience, what I’d say to folks in the LGBTQ+ community and other underrepresented communities pursuing clean energy as a career would be:

Find your people. Being connected to professional and community networks where you can see your identity and shared experience reflected can be foundational in the trajectory of your career and ability to see yourself in leadership positions. These networks will be both a springboard for opportunities as well as a salve for challenging points throughout your career.

While there are certainly identity- and experience-based MBA organizations, you may well find that your networks may not be formally established or geographically close and may take some time to find. “Your people” also includes committed allies - Leeds has a wealth of resources and highly qualified folks to help you succeed - be proactive in reaching out to them and articulating what you want to do and what support you need in order to get it done.

If what you want doesn’t exist, consider building it. With the caveat that underrepresented groups are often juggling a lot while pursuing graduate degrees, if you have the bandwidth and the professional network you want or need doesn’t yet exist in a way that’s accessible to you, make it happen.

Each time that I have steeled myself for what felt like it would be an inevitably awkward or cringey process of putting myself out there to organize events or build a network, I’ve been floored by the positive reception I was met with, and how - in the best way - completely unoriginal my desire for community and mentorship had been.

Your experience and skills are critical to the clean energy transition. Underrepresented groups have been revisioning what the world can be - regardless of current constraints - since the beginning of recorded history. I can’t think of an effort in more need of that drive and vision than the race to address the climate crisis and global clean energy transition. This is an effort so awesome and consequential that it necessitates the lived experience and perspective of many diverse communities in order to have a hope at being successful. I can’t think of any better group to vision and deliver a just, equitable, and lasting solution to our climate crisis.

CESR: Where do you see yourself after wrapping up your MBA?

OK: I’m planning to work in Colorado in strategic partnerships and negotiations or communications for a clean energy developer or organization supporting the decarbonization of traditionally heavy industry. I am driven by the immense opportunities inherent in these paths to accelerate the clean energy transition in a lasting way and am excited by the prospect of joining others across Colorado who have been doing this critical work.

Interested in learning more about the Clean Energy Pathway? Visit our page and subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated on upcoming events throughout the semester.

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Transferrable Skills Opened the Door to Leeds Alum’s Sustainability Career

Coco Goldman — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 17:44:15 +0000

Transferrable Skills Opened the Door to Leeds Alum’s Sustainability Career Coco Goldman Thu, 10/17/2024 - 11:44

Julie Waggoner

Amy Halvorson (MGMT, ’10) has worked on sustainability for large companies like Cargill and Starbucks for almost a decade. She credits her education from Leeds, including classes like Leadership Challenges (CESR 4000), and the skills she learned in her first job (that was not in sustainability) for laying the foundation for her career.

We recently sat down with Amy to talk about why she’s excited to serve on the CESR Advisory Board, values-based decision-making, and lessons she’s learned along the way.

CESR: How has your education at Leeds shaped your career trajectory so far?

Amy Halvorson: When I think back to my time at Leeds, and in particular because of the CESR courses I took, my main takeaway was around the importance of ethics in business. My experience in Leadership Challenges helped me to more easily identify ethical dilemmas that arise in the workplace and how to use a values-based approach to solve them. Tough situations do come up in my day-to-day work, like they do in anyone’s, and there’s not always a black and white answer. There’s rarely a perfect solution. It’s most important to understand the tradeoffs and how you are going to weigh them. I walked away from Leeds and CESR having a clear sense of this business reality. It’s not straightforward, and there is a role for values in making decisions.

CESR: How have you seen this kind of values-based decision making show up at work?

AH: Everywhere I’ve worked, there have been people I could compare notes and work together with on finding a solution to the ethical dilemma. Not necessarily in a formal setting, but there are some very explicit ways that a company can do this. I’ve worked for values-based organizations where values come up in team meetings and leaders model talking through values in conflict. The leaders that are the most authentic are the ones who are willing to express when they are not 100% sure if a decision was the right one. You still come together and move forward to support the organization, but you can do so being clear eyed about what you will and won’t do. Seeing that from the leader allows everyone to have those conversations more openly.

CESR: What are you most excited about regarding your work with the CESR Advisory Board and your upcoming talk at the Sustainability Bootcamp?

AH: It’s such an honor to be a member of the CESR Advisory Board, especially as a mid-career professional. Preparing the next generation of leaders is a huge priority for me, both personally, because it was not super long ago that I was in school and I remember what it was like, but also to make sure that our organizations have a strong pipeline of talent that can come in and look at situations critically and holistically. One of the things that CESR does really well is to create that holistic, systems thinking about business challenges that bring different perspectives into decision-making. The board is a great opportunity to collaborate with faculty, staff, other business leaders, and ultimately students to move forward that mission.

In terms of the bootcamp, I’m really looking forward to it. I’m planning to share an overview of what’s happening in the environmental sustainability space, which is ever-changing, but always comes back to the core issues of protecting the climate, nature and people. I love these types of events because I learn a lot from the students, from their questions and perspectives. It helps me to check my own biases, which is critical in this type of work.

"When I look back, most of the best decisions I’ve made both personally and professionally came with a little bit of risk. You have to believe that you will figure it out; you are your own best advocate."

CESR: Tell me about how you got into sustainability, and some of the most important things you learned along that journey.

AH: I’ll be honest; I really lucked out. When I graduated from ��Ƶ, I didn’t really know how to break into the sustainability field. It was a passion of mine, but I didn’t really know that those careers existed. Sustainability as a job function was just being stood up. My first job out of undergrad was working in workforce and economic development for the State of Colorado. That job taught me two critical skillsets that helped me land my first sustainability job: project management and stakeholder engagement.

After I got my master’s in international business from ��Ƶ Denver, I wanted to move into the private sector. I was applying all over the country to jobs with any company that aligned with my values. I got a project management job with a big company, and I was fortunate that the projects I was managing and the relationships I was developing were related to sustainability. From there I learned the issues by working on them. I listened to the experts in the room, asked a lot of questions, read up on things later to learn more, sought out mentors, and asked for stretch assignments to help me learn and grow in sustainability.

So that’s how I got here, but in terms of what I learned along the way, there are a few things.

Any job can be a sustainability job. When I started there wasn’t a sustainability job function at my company. We were more of a center of expertise where we had different functions working on sustainability. While I was there it matured, and a global sustainability team was set up. What I learned was sustainability needs people in all disciplines. Any job function that you can think of, there is a need for people from those job functions and those perspectives to work on sustainability.

Your first job likely will not be your dream job, and that’s OK. My first job was not my dream job, but I came away learning so much. I set goals to pick up certain skillsets that benefitted me down the road. I made connections and embraced the different opportunities that job was offering me. Now I see that organizations most want to see that you are making connections and working to transfer skills. They don’t expect you to have the exact same job that’s posted in the job description, but they want you to be able to make those connections.

Taking some calculated risks is important. When I look back, most of the best decisions I’ve made both personally and professionally came with a little bit of risk. You have to believe that you will figure it out; you are your own best advocate. If it feels a little bit uncomfortable, that might be the right decision. You have to lean into that discomfort.

"In terms of values-aligned careers, recognize that wherever you end up, there will be trade-offs. The existence of trade-offs doesn’t make it a bad fit. It just gives you the opportunity to apply your values-based lens."

CESR: What advice do you have for students who want to pursue values-aligned careers?

AH: Do your research but be open to the possibility that you might be biased. In my experience most companies, not all, but most, are trying to do the right thing. Even the ones in “Big XYZ Industry,” be that “Big Oil,” “Big Food,” “Big Ag,” etc. There are good people in those companies trying to help their company do the right thing.

Try to find at least one person in the company outside of the interview panel to have an informal chat with to get a feel for what it’s like to work there. The interview panel is trying to sell you on the company just as much as you are trying to sell yourself, so you’ll get their corporate talking points. If you can find someone outside of that through LinkedIn, a referral or a connection, that informal chat is really valuable.

In terms of values-aligned careers, recognize that wherever you end up, there will be trade-offs. The existence of trade-offs doesn’t make it a bad fit. It just gives you the opportunity to apply your values-based lens. I don’t want students to end up at a company and the first dilemma that pops up they see it as a red flag and try to leave. There are trade-offs no matter where you are and it’s just a question of figuring out how to navigate them.

CESR: Anything you would like to add?

AH: I’m fortunate that I’m a sustainability professional, but it’s important that students don’t limit themselves to one job title and keep an open mind as they’re applying. For your first job, it’s just important to get a good job. It’s important to start working in a professional environment, building your resume, networking, building skillsets. It might not be what you thought you wanted to do. The competition is high for any job. Be really open to learning from any experience that you’re afforded.

Meet experts and alumni like Amy at CESR’s Upcoming Events, including the Sustainability Bootcamp where Amy will be speaking on Nov. 8th.

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Colorado is on Track to Becoming the Nation’s Climate Tech Hub

Coco Goldman — Fri, 04 Oct 2024 18:11:08 +0000

Colorado is on Track to Becoming the Nation’s Climate Tech Hub Coco Goldman Fri, 10/04/2024 - 12:11

Katherine Ratledge

In late September it felt like the world descended on New York City. In some ways it did—the UN General Assembly was in town for their annual meeting. But there were also more than 6,000 people in town to participate in Climate Week, an annual gathering of investors, innovators, NGOs, academics, and politicians tackling the climate crisis.

Because it’s New York, and because there was $1.3 trillion invested in the climate economy last year, Climate Week felt more Wall Street than Greenpeace. The DOE’s Loan Program Office shared that for every public dollar spent on the energy transition there were $5-6 dollars put in by the private sector. Professors from NYU and Columbia discussed innovations in the financial markets to derisk the energy transition and first of a kind (FOAK) investments. Top executives from the beauty industry considered the merits of aluminum versus plastic packaging. Deloitte hosted a two-hour workshop on the integrity of carbon markets. And new technologies with promising results were being discussed everywhere. Lines for some tech demos were like getting into the hottest club in Manhattan. The climate tech excitement was palpable.

Climate tech, an amorphous term, usually refers to any technology that mitigates greenhouse gases or helps society adapt to a changing climate. Think electric vehicles, renewable energy, and low carbon materials. However, climate tech can also refer to efficiencies in mining, the digitization of buildings, regenerative agriculture, and carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). It is a massive sector with a growing influence in the marketplace. Almost all Fortune 500 companies have investments in climate tech and estimates suggest it will be a nearly $9 trillion economy by 2030.

Is Colorado Ground Zero for Climate Tech?

It’s common to think climate tech is synonymous with the Bay Area, however, Colorado is rapidly becoming a new hot spot. There are more than 80 climate tech start-ups with headquarters in the Front Range. Denver-based Koloma, a natural hydrogen company, just raised a quarter billion dollars in its Series A. Electra, a green steel company, is building its first pilot plant in Boulder. Another Colorado company, Solid Power, was just awarded $50 million from the DOE to expand its development of solid-state batteries for EVs.

Why Colorado? One investor dubbed the Front Range the ‘Goldilocks’ of clean tech-- not too built out or too expensive, and with just the right amount of talent, funding, and government support. Colorado has a unique set of amenities that makes the state attractive to founders and investors. Home to 24 federally funded scientific labs, like NOAA, NREL and NCAR, and major research institutions like ��Ƶ, CSU and Colorado School of Mines, Colorado is a ‘hub of climate research and technical expertise.’ Its traditional strengths in aerospace research and the pharmaceutical industry give it an additional competitive edge.

With so much research happening, there are plenty of opportunities to commercialize big ideas. ��Ƶ, for example, is among the top five universities for startup creation. Co-founders Greg Reiker and Caroline Alden are examples of this ecosystem at work. Their company, LongPath Technologies, came from quantum technology developed in a ��Ƶ lab and is now playing a crucial role in monitoring methane emissions around the state. Another startup, Prometheus Materials, producer of low carbon cement, licensed IP from ��Ƶ’s biotech and engineering departments. Eat Meati, a mushroom based meat, was originally developed by Tyler Huggins and Justin Whiteley as PhD students at ��Ƶ. Capitalizing on this momentum, Venture Partners launched the Embark Deep Tech Startup Creator program in 2023 to pair university technologies with seasoned entrepreneurs.

(Interested in learning more? CESR is hosting LongPath Technologies on October 15th with the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship. Register here.)

Additionally, Colorado has a suite of policies in place to support climate companies. Colorado has been at the forefront of energy efficiency and clean energy for some time, approving a renewable energy portfolio standard back in 2004 and being an early adopter of PACE (property assessed clean energy), an innovative program that helped expand rooftop solar. Money from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is speeding things along, as well. Vestas, the wind turbine manufacturer, invested $40 million to expand their operations in Brighton and Windsor. Colorado is using money from the IRA to meet emission goals in the state’s Climate Action Plan, through initiatives in transportation, land use and regulation of the oil and gas industry. The state was recently designated a Quantum Tech Hub by the Biden-Harris administration and received $41 million to strengthen its quantum computing capacities. Finally, NSF awarded $160 million to fund the Colorado-Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine, which will support the development of new technologies for drought and wildfire resilience.

Finding a Shared Vision

In some ways, what’s happening in climate tech could not be more exciting. There is definitely a revolution to remake and reorder the world to respond to climate change. When I started working in climate nearly 20 years ago, the community was mostly made up of NGOs, government partners, educators, journalists and scientists. But now the business community is involved, and the rooms are full of accountants, financiers, analysts, strategists, entrepreneurs, and it's great! We need all of these people and more.

And yet the excitement is masking some hard truths. To start, we are not meeting our climate goals. The world has warmed 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the Industrial Revolution and though the results are not yet apocalyptic, they are certainly getting there. Last week, Hurricane Helene became a category 4 storm overnight dumping 40 trillion gallons of water across the Southeast and killing nearly 200 people. In 2023, the United States had 28 weather disasters costing a billion or more in damage. (For context, there were three such disasters in 1980.) I heard little at Climate Week about adaptation—in other words how can we not just mitigate greenhouse gases but also build resilience to withstand the impacts of climate change? Should we have a massive government program like the Civilian Conservation Corps to shore up defenses against extreme heat or sea level rise? Do we need new financial tools to help homeowners move away from climate danger zones? Can we create better building materials to withstand heat, wildfire and floods? Weather disasters are leaving communities with crippling consequences, and we need a massive infusion of talent and capital to solve these problems now.

Second, we need to be honest about how the digitization of everything is actually going to affect the planet (and people). Data centers are gobbling up farmland, using millions of gallons of water daily and generating an energy crisis in America. In Virginia, which is already the data center capital of the world, big Tech has proposed 180 million square feet of data centers—the equivalent of 1,000 new Walmart Super Centers. The IEA predicts artificial intelligence will double data center electricity use in the next few years. It caught my attention at Climate Week when developers were touting CCS as an offset to the data center emissions issue. Emissions are just a small fraction of the environmental impact of AI and yet enthusiasts seem to always cite clean energy as a panacea to the industry's problems. What if instead of seeing climate goals as an emissions math problem we took a more comprehensive look at environmental impact? What then would 'net zero’ look like?

Lastly, and most importantly, nature needs a spot at the table. Discussions of biodiversity and the millions of other species on Earth were eerily absent from Climate Week. In all the hustle and bustle and techno excitement few people mentioned the reason all this matters — the necessity of ecosystem services for survival and a general awe at the power of nature. In fact, it was a conversation between Jane Goodall, the famed primatologist, and Craig Foster, the director of My Octopus Teacher, that brought a room full of business leaders to a grounding halt. Craig showed a video of an octopus stealing his camera and filming him, the 1001st species in the kelp forest. Jane performed a ‘hello’ in chimpanzee and talked about the first time David Greybeard, her beloved primate friend, touched her hand. And then they both waxed poetic about how Mother Nature needs a spot at the Board Room table, leaving much of the audience in tears.

Accomplishing the insurmountable is a favorite pastime of the human race. The Pyramids? The Manhattan Project? The Moon Landing? These are all moments in history that happened due to extraordinary orchestration, precision, technical prowess, money, leadership . . . all things we have in multitudes if only we have a shared vision. I have my fair share of anxieties about the planet, but I am a climate optimist. I am a strong believer in the power of collective action and in the role of business to create meaningful change. Here at the Leeds School of Business we have the opportunity to lead and train our business students to be a part of the solution. I am hopeful we can do just that.

Want to be a part of the solution? Check out CESR’s programs and the SRE certificate for undergraduates in business.

Katherine Ratledge is the Program Manager at CESR and attended Climate Week in NYC earlier this month. She manages the Clean Energy Pathway for MBAs and the SRE certificate program for undergrads at Leeds.

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SRE Certificate Alum Uses Video Games to Create Social Impact

Erik William Jeffries — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 19:20:02 +0000

SRE Certificate Alum Uses Video Games to Create Social Impact Erik William J… Thu, 10/03/2024 - 13:20

Julie Waggoner

Zhenghua “Z” Yang (Fin, SRE ’14) is the Founder and CEO of Serenity Forge, a values-driven video game development company based in Boulder. He was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2020. His games have saved lives, helped kids learn rocket science, and inspired gamers to turn enemies into friends.

We recently sat down with Z to talk about how Leeds and the SRE Certificate (Social Responsibility and Ethics Certificate) have impacted his career, the power of video games to create positive change, and advice for college students figuring out their next step. This interview has been edited for clarity. This article mentions depression, suicide and severe illness.

CESR: How did your time at Leeds, and particularly the SRE Certificate, help in establishing the trajectory of your career so far?

Z Yang: Serenity Forge would not have happened without Leeds. The professors and programs like the SRE Certificate made me think outside the box. That is how I got all of this started.

The most impactful classes for me talked about responsible accounting, communication and leadership. We learned about how companies greenwash and that’s bad, but there are ethical ways to talk about your work in sustainability. We learned how to tell what is being done just for marketing purposes or to drive up share price, versus what is truly giving back.

The Leadership Challenges class really helped me. I remember talking to leaders like Michael Leeds (former President and CEO of CMP Media, Inc.) and Larissa Herda (former CEO of TW Telecom). Being able to speak with these business leaders, learn from their insights, learn from the traumatizing experiences that they’ve had and how they’ve had to deal with them, was very eye-opening for me.

These experiences are the things that have stuck with me over time and now fuel what I do. Very often I think back to what I learned then when I’m making decisions about how to drive the company forward, and how to do the right thing by the stakeholders within the company and outside the company.

"Very often I think back to what I learned [from the SRE Certificate] when I'm making decisions about how to drive the company forward."

says Yang.

CESR: What excites you about video games? What does being a values-driven company mean in this space?

ZY: I am a first-generation immigrant from China. I moved to the U.S. when I was 10 years old, and I’ve lived in Boulder since then. When I was in middle school and high school, I was a big gamer. I didn’t really have a lot of friends. I didn’t really speak English. It was pretty difficult for me to get into American culture. Video games caused a lot of detriment to my life at that time because I was so addicted to them and playing them in an unhealthy way.

At 18 years old I was diagnosed with a severe illness that caused me to be hospitalized for two years. During my first semester of college, I had to go to the ER one night and wound up having to drop out of school and come home. It was a very difficult time. I was going through chemo. Doctors didn’t really know what I had. I was in and out of the hospital. I didn’t really have anyone there for me. I don’t have siblings, my parents were really stressed all the time, and the few friends that I had disappeared. I had to turn to video games again.

I was playing all sorts of games. I was playing single-player games that made me feel like a hero, going out there saving the world, and that made me feel good. I was playing multi-player games where I was able to connect with people from all around the world. I was able to build these friendships where they would check in with me. They would ask how I was doing that day, had I taken my meds, was I getting proper rest, because they cared about my wellbeing. Eventually I was able to meet medical researchers who connected me with some of the world’s best hematologists who gave me crucial advice and treatment that was vital to keeping me alive.

"I started thinking, games like League of Legends, they aren’t designed to help me, but in the end, they saved my life. What if I created video games with the intention to help people, what kind of power could I unlock?"

says Yang.

Two years into this I was able to go back to school, and I came to Leeds. I started thinking, games like League of Legends, they aren’t designed to help me, but in the end, they saved my life. What if I created video games with the intention to help people, what kind of power could I unlock?

I come from a low-income background, so I didn’t have the money to take extra classes. My first year at ��Ƶ I used the course catalog to find out when the programming classes were taking place, and I would sit in the back and just listen, take notes, and borrow the textbooks from the libraries. That’s how I learned programming. I have always done art, so I just started making my own video games.

The summer after my first year of college, I created a non-fictional game that was based on the trauma that I had been through with my illness. I put it out there online for free just to see who was going to resonate with it. ��Ƶ a month after I put the game out there, I got an email from a kid in Spain who had been struggling with depression. He had been planning to take his own life, but he found my game online and after playing it he felt so inspired that he decided to stop his plans and enroll in video game design school so that he could share his story in the same way.

That was my first year at ��Ƶ. I didn’t make a million dollars over night, but I saved someone’s life, so I thought that maybe I was onto something. I kept working on the company. By the time I graduated from college I already had six full-time employees working out of a basement. This is our 10-year anniversary. Now we have 40 employees, mostly in Colorado, some remote, and a new office that we just opened in Budapest, Hungary.

CESR: How do you think about social impact and sustainability as they relate to your business?

ZY: There was a quote that I learned from John Mackey, the Whole Foods founder, that really stuck with me. “Just as people cannot live without eating, so a business cannot live without profits. But most people don’t live to eat, and neither must businesses live just to make profits.”

That quote is so simple, but also so easily forgotten in the corporate world we live in today. Probably 99% of companies out there don’t have any concept of the fact that we’re out here to do something more than make money. At Leeds, we learned about the Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet and Profit. That’s the kind of mindset that permeates Serenity Forge.

The game industry is very much a money-driven space. It is a gigantic industry with big players out there designing games for your phone that will trick you into spending more and more money for another turn or whatever it is. However, we came out of the gate saying that’s not how we do things. We’re going to do things very differently. We think about sustainability and social impact. We think about games that are going to be able to change people and make the world a better place.

As a result over the past 10 years, people have wondered about this philosophy and that distinct approach has created a ton of fans around the world. We’ve created games that are raising awareness for mental health, war, and trauma. Games that make social commentary on family abuse or child abuse. These are topics that we’re talking about constantly, and our games are showing people through real and fictional stories how the world can be bad, but also how it can be better. A lot of the things I learned in school really resonate through Serenity Forge.

Our company mission is that we create meaningful and emotionally impactful experiences that challenge what we think. Anything we do has to be meaningful. It has to make the world a better place. It has to do something that pushes the world forward. And if it’s not that, then we won’t look at it no matter how much money it might make.

"Why not take some of the things that you learn from the SRE Certificate about values-driven decision making and apply them to yourself? What are the things that you care about, that really define who you are? And then think about what you are doing every day to achieve those goals."

says Yang.

CESR: What are some of the challenges you’ve encountered as a founder, particularly of a company that’s so focused on values?

ZY: Now that we’re 10 years into the business, one of the things I’m noticing is really difficult is sticking with your values. The world is changing so fast nowadays. In this industry, you see technology pop up left and right and with each new technology you have to decide if you want to capitalize on it or not. Every step of the way it’s almost like the forces of the universe are testing you to see, “Are you sticking by your guns, or are you just here to make a quick buck?” All the time you see companies that are throwing money at new technologies, which can have big upsides and big downsides.

The founding fathers of Wells Fargo had a unique perspective relative to company values and technology, and that is that technology should never be the goal of what you do, rather technology should be a tool that helps you to achieve your goals. And that’s why we take our company mission statement so seriously. We look at whether any new technology fits with our goals of creating meaningful, emotionally impactful experiences and making the world a better place, and that’s how we decide whether or not to invest.

CESR: What advice do you have for current students looking for the right path for them after graduation?

ZY: I have two stories I share when asked about this topic.

The first story is about Shigeru Miyamoto, who was the creator of Mario. He met Hiroshi Yamauchi, the president of Nintendo, when he was 32 years old, and Yamauchi was 50. Yamauchi was owning the company from when he was 18 until he was 50 years old before he even met the creator of Mario. The way that I think about it is that someone like Miyamoto essentially messed around doing whatever for 10 years after graduating college before becoming the grandfather of a multi-billion industry that generated so much difference in our society.

When I was in college and when I talk to college students now, one of the common themes that I see is that there’s all this focus on a roadmap to a specific kind of job seeking stability, a Big 4 firm or something like that. But very commonly what I’ve found in my friend groups from Leeds, is that once you actually get into those positions, many people realize it’s not a good fit for them, and then they go through a huge revelation in their mid-to-late twenties where they’re directionless before they’re able to find their real calling again.

A lot of times, I wonder what is the right way to approach your own career. I’m not trying to say that working for a Big 4 firm is bad. I have friends who work for those companies and love it. What I’m saying is, why not take some of the things that you learn from the SRE Certificate about values-driven decision making and apply them to yourself? What are the things that you care about, that really define who you are? And then think about what you are doing every day to achieve those goals. Are you doing what you’re doing because your mom told you to do it, or because it’s on your roadmap to achieve your ultimate goal in life? I think that taking some time to examine those choices for yourself is going to yield better, healthier, happier results for you to go out there and achieve something great.

"Don’t be afraid to think big. Don’t be afraid to think about doing good for society, because you are already in the position to be able to do it."

says Yang.

The second story is about when I interned with the Federal Reserve in Kansas City. That was my dream job at the time. I realized that the Fed made all the economic decisions, and I wanted to understand how it worked. My time at the Fed was great. It had great benefits, and I really liked the work, too. For me, even if Serenity Forge didn’t exist and I had just stayed there, I would probably be happy. However, what changed my life was at one point we were invited to have lunch with then Chairman of the Fed, Dr. Ben Bernanke. That was very interesting because during the time I asked him what advice he had for kids like us coming out of college.

What he said was, if you think about it, a lot of people in the world are really unfortunate. People in rural Africa and China, these are people who have to spend hours every day just trying to get water and food for their families to survive. If you are one of the few people in the world who is able to choose what you want to do with your time, rather than be forced to do what you have to do to survive, then you have the ability to make a difference. That freedom of choice is what you need to find true happiness, and to change the world.

That moment is when I recognized my privilege as someone who is speaking English and living in America. I realized that if I wanted to create something that I wanted to see in the world, I was in the position to do that. That’s when I made the decision to leave the Fed and start Serenity Forge.

That is probably one of those things that college kids need to hear more. Life is not just about all the stuff that’s in front of you. You really can do whatever you want if you put your mind to it. Anyone who is attending school at ��Ƶ Boulder is already in the top 1-2% of human civilization in terms of luck and privilege. So why not use that position and privilege to go out and do something good for the world?

So that’s my closing advice to college students: Don’t be afraid to think big. Don’t be afraid to think about doing good for society, because you are already in the position to be able to do it, way more than 99% of the people out there in the world.

_______________________

Learn more about upcoming sustainability and social impact events, as well as the SRE Certificate.

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Ethan Poskanzer on Democratizing Innovation

Anonymous — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 16:23:21 +0000

Ethan Poskanzer on Democratizing Innovation Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/15/2024 - 10:23

Julie Waggoner

Every year, CESR gives out awards to recognize research excellence and enable new research projects related to environmental sustainability, DEI, and ethics. Ethan Poskanzer is an assistant professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at the Leeds School of Business, and his recent paper Through the Front Door: Why Do Organizations (Still) Prefer Legacy Applicants?, co-authored with Emilio Castilla at MIT, was recognized with CESR’s 2024 Highest Impact Paper Award.

We recently sat down with Ethan to talk about the big questions he’s trying to address in his research, how inclusion and sustainability come into his teaching, and how gatekeepers of all kinds can make access to opportunities to innovate more inclusive.

CESR: How would you broadly describe your research? What big questions are you trying to answer?

Ethan Poskanzer: I’m interested in innovation, and I’m motivated by this idea that our innovative capacity as a society is under-utilized because you need a lot of resources and training to take an idea and make it into a reality. It’s difficult to get access to those opportunities for certain people based on their identities and the inequalities that exist in our society. Now I’m working on a project in Ghana where the opportunities to get advice and funding for an idea are incredibly limited. I’m conscious of the fact that most people on the planet live under those conditions.

"I’m motivated by this idea that our innovative capacity as a society is under-utilized because you need a lot of resources and training to take an idea and make it into a reality."

-says Ethan Poskanzer

CESR: Could you please share a little bit about your research on legacy admissions? What inspired you to look into this topic, and what did you discover?

EP: We wanted to examine why colleges enact legacy preferences given the amount of hostility that these preferences engender publicly. I also think that legacy preferences are a relatively curious practice, which made us wonder – why would colleges do this? We tested three possible reasons, which are the reasons that colleges publicly state they consider when admitting students in general.

Universities say that they aim to admit the students that merit it, or the most qualified students, that they aim to admit a diverse student body, and that they aim to admit students who will be financially supportive of the institution. Being financially supportive of the institution means many things, including students who are less likely to need financial aid, who are more likely to matriculate when admitted, and who are more likely to contribute philanthropically in the future.

We tested which of these objectives legacy preferences support. We find that legacies are not any better qualified, so they didn’t merit admission more. The data show that legacies are actually less diverse than the rest of the student body. However, we see that legacies are much more financially supportive of institution in a variety of ways. They are less likely to need financial aid, more likely to matriculate, and more likely to come from families that are flagged as potential donors.

CESR: What are the implications of your findings?

EP: These findings are important because, for better or for worse, who gets to an elite college is very determinative of career outcomes in the United States and the world. There’s a lot of research showing this. It’s predictive of earnings, of the opportunity to go to certain grad schools, and to pursue certain careers. Legacy considerations mean that family connections are predictive of who gets those spots. As a society, we need to decide if that’s how we want to choose who will get these scarce spots.

It's also important because the legacy advantage is really big. I want to commend the college we worked with for letting us investigate this. Legacies have almost double the chance of being admitted to these elite schools. At Ivy Leagues it’s a particularly big deal because the schools are smaller and they have been around for a long time, so they have a lot of legacies and a smaller number of spots.

CESR: How do you see AI and automation impacting innovation and access to innovative opportunities for diverse groups?

EP: Overall, AI and automation are difficult to generalize, because they are blanket terms that cover lots of tools that have different effects. We’re doing a study on code contributions to a larger software infrastructure. Code is fairly objective, in that a machine can evaluate its quality. This tool summarizes the quality of the work and gives that evaluation to a human reviewer. When that tool is there, there’s no difference between how likely they are to accept men’s and women’s code contributions. Without that tool, there is a gender gap where men’s contributions are more likely to be accepted than women’s. This tool can reduce gender inequalities in terms of which contributions are accepted.

We think this is because of time and attention. It takes a long time to read code blocks, so when there is no tool, the evaluator will use the coder’s identity to make a determination about the code’s quality. Whenever there is uncertainty evaluators will use the creator’s identity as an indicator of quality. This is also true when evaluating something requires more resources than the evaluator has at hand.

"I think it’s counter-productive that sustainability is so often seen as a political issue. I use sustainability to talk about the opportunity for new technologies that are cleaner and better. It doesn’t have to be about your political views."

-says Ethan Poskanzer

CESR: What big trends are you seeing in innovation and in equity/inclusion?

EP: I’m curious about what colleges will do after the recent U.S. Supreme Court case that limited the use of race in admissions. College admissions officers are now in a very unknown position because race has been a factor for a very long time. It will be very interesting to see how colleges will navigate the new legal landscape. I would love to have one volunteer for a study. There’s a lot of uncertainty about what is OK to do.

CESR: Have you found opportunities to bring topics of equity, inclusion, or other aspects of sustainability and/or social impact into your teaching?

EP: In my teaching, I talk about inequality in the frame of lost contributions to innovation. Regarding sustainability, I think it’s counter-productive that sustainability is so often seen as a political issue. I use sustainability to talk about the opportunity for new technologies that are cleaner and better. It doesn’t have to be about your political views. I talk with students about how inventions that allow us to produce the same amount of stuff with less pollution are better for everyone.

I take this approach because it’s better if we are using all of our innovative capacity and having as many people working on sustainability as possible. The politicization of sustainability makes fewer people want to be involved. When things enter a two-party political sphere, we end up with two views on every concept. For a problem like this that would benefit from innovation from everyone, the less it enters a politically divisive realm, the better.

CESR: What can leaders and investors do to encourage innovation in an equitable way across diverse groups?

EP: We see that designing standardized evaluation processes can reduce biases. In other research I’ve done we see that how an evaluation is framed can affect the degree of gender bias. When there are evaluations that are communicated as participatory, there’s less gender bias. When things are framed as being higher stakes, people get really risk-averse and lean on the person’s identity more to evaluate quality. When there is more risk, people will choose the highest status option because there is less personal risk to them. Framing innovation as “Failure is OK,” can help to break people out of that cognitive rigidity.

For entrepreneurship in science where innovation is a long process, having advisers is really important. Because you learn tacit knowledge from someone over time. Having diversity in the adviser roles is supportive of diverse mentees. We see that people tend to form stronger relationships with people who are similar to them. When the advisers are representative of mentee population, everyone has the same opportunity to bond with advisers who are like them.

CESR: What is one piece of advice you would like to share with current and future business leaders?

EP: Failure is a healthy part of the innovation process. In a lot of ways, larger processes that produce the best ideas have a lot of failures along the way. Early in an idea’s life, it’s really hard to tell if it’s good or not. Innovation processes where people are not penalized for failure when a good faith attempt is made are more likely to produce great ideas. The best process for innovation would allow multiple ideas to grow and be tested before culling them and choosing which ones to select.

Learn more about CESR’s research prizes on our website, and read about other sustainable business research on our blog.

Ethan recently spoke with ��Ƶ Boulder Today about another project that found people will knowingly support falsehoods when they align with their personal politics.

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Laird Grant: On the Trail to Clean Energy

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 19:14:52 +0000

Laird Grant: On the Trail to Clean Energy Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/01/2024 - 12:14

Jacob Gorovoy

Laird Grant (MBA’25) is a current student at the Leeds Business School pursuing the Clean Energy MBA Pathway. He recently attended the ClimateCAP MBA Summit in Michigan, a global conference discussing the effects of climate change on modern business operations, with seven other Leeds MBAs and two staff from CESR. Leeds is a leading partner of the ClimateCAP Initiative that prepares MBA students to rise to the climate challenge. In a recent interview with Grant, he took the time to reflect on his ClimateCAP Summit experience, his interesting background as both a bike shop owner and a professional bike racer, and the clean energy issues he is currently focusing his attention on.

CESR: You have recently returned from the ClimateCAP MBA Summit in Michigan? How was your experience overall? What themes stuck out to you?

Laird Grant: The conference was a fantastic networking event for meeting other students and working professionals who are interested in climate, sustainability, and energy across the country. My key takeaways fit into three different areas: (1) networking with a new community, all with similar interests; (2) focusing on meeting people who were already in clean energy jobs or have signed away for their second year and were going to be working come May; and (3) listening and talking to some of the speakers in a casual setting. In a more informal setting, many of the keynote speakers were open to sharing their experiences and talking about the specific ways their programs work. For example, I was able to hear varying suggestions for club leadership in MBA programs across the country which was extremely insightful as I am in leadership roles for a few of the clubs here at Leeds (VP of Community Outreach for the Net Impact Club, Co-VP of the Outdoor Industry club, first-year rep to the MBAA). I had lots of questions about club engagement, the events that other MBA programs lead, and the treks that these leaders organized. Additionally, it was interesting reflecting on some of the people who already had jobs and seeing what recommendations they had for a first year. Talking to some of the working professionals who participated in the panels was also very interesting. I look forward to implementing their clean energy insight into my internship and future career opportunities.

CESR: How was it being surrounded by so many students who are all dedicated to working on climate issues in their careers?

Laird Grant: I think it was somebody from Georgetown University, that commented, “It’s fantastic to be around so many people driven by their sustainable values and interests in clean energy.” I found that comment very interesting because going to ��Ƶ Boulder, you self-select into things with a very specific mindset and group of people who are already focused in that direction. However, at some of the other universities, it appears that that's not the case. It feels awesome that everyone in my program is somewhat sustainability-focused, energy-focused, or focused on the environment in some manner. However, it was very interesting to see this type of juxtaposition that exists at other universities. I feel grateful to be in an environment at ��Ƶ where we are surrounded by this mentality all the time. For us, it wasn’t a huge difference, but I think it was for a lot of other students.

"I feel grateful to be in an environment at ��Ƶ where we are surrounded by this mentality all the time. For us, it wasn’t a huge difference, but I think it was for a lot of other students."

-says Laird Grant

CESR: Can you explain why you chose to pursue the Clean Energy MBA Pathway? Why do you find clean energy an interesting career path?

Laird Grant: I have a wild way of coming to ��Ƶ. I have been in the bike industry for the past 15 years, working in bike shops, and racing mountain bikes professionally. My undergraduate degree is in geology and my interests, broadly speaking, lie more around energy technologies. So, learning about geothermal hydropower and things of that nature was very interesting, and why I initially considered a graduate program in the first place. I came back to the U.S. after living in Canada for a while and started a bike shop with a friend of mine – where I obtained a lot of really interesting and tangible business experience. Through that, I also realized that I didn't want to be in the bike industry for the rest of my life. I was looking at where I could go, and what I could do to continue my career path focused on environmental science, with an emphasis on energy. When I was applying for degrees, I quite literally just Google searched “master's degrees in clean energy.” ��Ƶ popped up. I decided to come to ��Ƶ because of the MBA program we have here. It seemed like an excellent opportunity to build upon the skills I learned from operating a small business and solidifying the skills like finance, marketing, and operations that I now want in my career.

CESR: What trends do you see emerging within the sustainable energy field? Where do you see big business focusing their attention moving forward?

Laird Grant: Within the energy field, I see a lot of the transition happening at the utility scale; larger projects focusing on how we maneuver away from reliance on traditional energy sources like oil, gas, and coal, and shifting more towards projects with solar and wind. Of course, battery storage is a key holder in that transition in terms of load in the grid. Right now, I'm doing some work in my internship, focusing on how we get energy from the place where it's generated to where the demand is.

It is an interesting world out there because you could have the backing from one of the biggest companies in the world and create the biggest solar farm in the U.S. However, when you conduct an electrical analysis on the facility, you realize that it only creates one hundred megawatts which is quite small for a utility scale. There are a lot of issues in terms of how everyone wants to make a big difference, but how you get that renewable energy from creation and generation to actual demand is a difficult question – and exactly where I want to spend my time in the future.

In my opinion, the biggest transition that we're seeing is understanding that we have enough generation and capacity, but creating solutions on how to get this energy into high-demand areas is the real question. This is where I see the energy field shifting their attention towards moving forward.

CESR: What advice would you give students looking to enter the clean energy field?

Laird Grant: This stems from advice I received, and it holds two parts. One of them is more general and applies to any field you want. It is a concept called the “do-say" ratio. If you say you're going to do something, then do it. This ratio should be as close to one-to-one as possible. Everyone understands that you are students, and don't have time to do absolutely everything. However, it's more about communication and commitment to your word. You may be in an internship, or a summer job and you want to get something done, but realistically, you simply may not have the time to do a specific task because you are working on something else. In this example, I recommend posing the question, “Would you value me doing what you're asking me to do right now over this? I can only commit to one right now.” In terms of showing a level of maturity to employers, this type of open communication is crucial.

The second thing is very specific to the energy industry. My advice is to completely engross yourself in the industry by reading, researching, going to talks, asking questions, etc. Unfortunately, the energy industry is acronym-heavy, so learning what all these things are, becoming familiar with the energy markets, and being able to talk the talk of the industry is important.

"It is a concept called the 'do-say' ratio. If you say you're going to do something, then do it. This ratio should be as close to one-to-one as possible. Everyone understands that you are students, and don't have time to do absolutely everything. However, it's more about communication and commitment to your word."

-says Laird Grant

CESR: Could you talk about the internship that you are currently a part of?

Laird Grant: I am working for Redeux Energy. I am a rotational intern for their team, which means I will be covering all of the aspects of their business. Redeux is an early to mid-stage developer. In other words, we find unique opportunities to build out generation or capacity projects. We source land, file interconnection requests, build out financing, file the necessary permits, and organize the PPA if needed. Once we have all of this wrapped up nicely, we sell the project LLC to a generation or capacity operator. So, we originate and develop projects, and when the "shovel is about to break ground" Redeux Energy sells the LLC to someone like NextEra, Xcel Energy, etc. Right now, I am working on market strategy, and what the company needs to know about different states (Arizona for example), or energy markets for development. I will be working on more development material, project finance, and corporate development in the future. This internship is from January-August and this level of time commitment ensures that I will have time to be a part of each team – learning from the leader and my peers in each sector.

CESR: Is there anything else you would like to share?

Laird Grant: I think CESR does a great job of engaging students in the MBA. Both businesses and business schools alike are going to continue in the direction that CESR is going in terms of sustainability, energy, and social responsibility. CESR makes this program feel very applicable to the real world.

Grant’s switch from bike store owner and professional racer to the clean energy space represents the immense value of having diverse experiences, even if not sustainability-related when entering the sustainability and social responsibility realm. His insights from the ClimateCAP MBA Summit in Michigan emphasize the importance of collaboration and industry immersion in the effort to have more climate-conscience businesses moving forward.

Explore the other MBA Pathways and learn about CESR here.

Laird Grant (MBA’25) reflects on his ClimateCAP Summit experience, his interesting background as both a bike shop owner and a professional bike racer, and the clean energy issues he is currently focusing his attention on.

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Jamie Gardner (Bus ’95): The Value of Diverse Career Experiences

Anonymous — Mon, 19 Feb 2024 20:12:01 +0000

Jamie Gardner (Bus ’95): The Value of Diverse Career Experiences Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 02/19/2024 - 13:12

Jacob Gorovoy

In an insightful discussion with Jamie Gardner (Bus ’95), CESR Advisory Board member and current Head of Strategic Programs with Google, she dives into her elaborate career journey, offers valuable advice for students seeking careers in sustainability, and her desire for more people to share their sustainability stories.

A Collection of Crucial Experiences

Gardner would describe her career path as “very non-linear." After graduating from the Leeds School of Business, she explored a variety of career options including interning for the Rocky Flats with the Economic Development and Community Relations team for the Department of Energy, working at a PR firm in Los Angeles, and returning to Colorado where she found a sweet spot working at JD Edwards, an enterprise software company in Denver in their public sector practice. However, despite enjoying the many perks of working in the business field as a young professional, the opportunity to “travel the world,” “great pay,” and “performance reward trips,” Gardner felt the desire to do more good in the world.

“At the time, they [business and making beneficial societal change] were two very separate things," she states. "You either did business or nonprofit work, but the two did not meet.”

Therefore, to follow her passion for enacting sustainable impact, she attended grad school at Georgetown where she studied public policy. During her time at Georgetown, she worked for the Children’s Defense Fund, and the Senate Subcommittee for Children and Families, among other fascinating aspects of the social impact sector. Ultimately, she was enticed back into the tech industry to build a public sector practice at IBM.

"Businesses exist with the consent of society. Businesses thrive when they are addressing their customers' needs. CESR helps business leaders understand that broader context."

-says Jamie Gardner

Unfortunately, that never happened. Gardner ended up traveling again, servicing Fortune 100 companies all over the world. While she was successful and constantly learning, once again she was challenged to choose if she wanted to be in business or create social change. Her husband encouraged her to “go do the work you love,” prompting her transition over to the nonprofit sector. She found a new calling, bridging the divide between business and nonprofits at the Taproot Foundation, in their California office, and eventually launched her own management consulting business where she advised and facilitated "business, nonprofits, government, academia, philanthropy in addressing social problems together."

During Covid, like so many other families, she and her husband decided to move their children back to Colorado to be close to her family. Instead of scaling her consulting business, Gardner decided the time had come to go back into business now that it was possible to fill her need to also have a positive impact on society. Grateful for the many relationships that made it possible, she accepted a role as Head of Strategic Programs at Google, a company that aligned with her values for giving back, partnering with government and nonprofits, and influencing billions of people around the world.

Creating Sustainability Leaders with CESR

Gardner’s vast experiences throughout her professional life are what motivated her to volunteer for the CESR Advisory Board.

“We need people within business who understand social impact so that we can make better decisions that positively impact our communities,” she explains.

CESR helps train business leaders to better understand and articulate how their business is impacting the world: its employees, customers, local communities, and globally. Gardner is passionate about CESR’s mission of educating and forming effective and sustainability-minded business leaders.

“CESR is a fantastic mechanism for leaders to learn how to influence social impact without leaving their private sector jobs,” she says.

When asked about the trends emerging in sustainability and social responsibility in a business setting, Gardner explains that “without the proper training like what CESR offers, businesses will continue to cause ‘intended or unintended harm’. We are at a point where businesses cannot simply ignore societal concerns. It’s unrealistic to think that business is just about creating profit. Businesses exist with the consent of society. Businesses thrive when they are addressing their customers' needs. CESR helps business leaders understand that broader context.”

"You do not have to be in a sustainability-specific role to make positive change. In finance, operations, marketing, etc. positions, you have influence and can drive impact by the decisions you make every day."

-says Jamie Gardner

Advice for Prospective Professionals

As for advice for prospective sustainability-minded professionals, Gardner stresses the value of relationships.

“Get out there and talk to people," she says. "That’s critical. You really don’t know what an organization is like until you’re inside of it."

Gardner additionally emphasizes the importance of viewing any business position from a sustainability perspective.

“As we are experiencing right now, sustainability, DEI, CSR roles, can be quick to cut when times are hard," she says. "So it can be hard to get those limited roles and when you do, you are constantly having to prove the ROI of it. You do not have to be in a sustainability-specific role to make positive change. In finance, operations, marketing, etc. positions, you have influence and can drive impact by the decisions you make every day.”

Gardner’s work and involvement with CESR have not only guided her in the realm of sustainability but also have inspired others to approach their careers with a different lens, one that stresses creating a positive impact in whatever position they may hold. Gardner advocates for more people to share their stories and experiences with the sustainability community, such as her own, to better see “what's working and what's not working." While the work of a few individuals may have an immense impact, sharing our stories will further help bring sustainability to the forefront in a business setting.

“No one person can do it alone," she says. "We can go much further together."

To learn more about some of the other CESR Advisory Board Members, visit CESR's previous blog posts about board members Tonie Hansen, Dr. Glyne A. Griffith II, and Diane Solinger.

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Corporate Sustainability Certificate Helps Alum Land an ESG Job

Anonymous — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 17:40:27 +0000

Corporate Sustainability Certificate Helps Alum Land an ESG Job Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 01/26/2024 - 10:40

Jacob Gorovoy

Graduating from The University of Arizona with a pre-med degree, a field she admittedly had no desire to pursue further in her career, Marisa Mendenhall (CESG ’22) has now successfully carved her way into the sustainability space with her work as Manager of Commercial Real Estate ESG Programs and the President of the DEI Committee at Re Tech Advisors, a sustainability consulting firm with the mission of addressing climate change and transitioning to a low carbon economy. Mendenhall attributes much of her smooth transition into the sustainability field to CESR’s Certificate in ESG (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance) Strategy, a 16-week executive program that assists professionals in getting a broad understanding of corporate ESG and sustainability practices.

During an interview with Mendenhall, she provided meaningful insights into how the ESG Certificate has helped her enter the sustainability space, the emerging trends related to sustainability, and tips for establishing a quality network within the field.

CESR: To begin with, could you talk a bit about your experience with the Certificate in ESG Strategy with CESR, and what you took away from it?

Marisa Mendenhall: Overall, it was a super positive experience. Every week we received readings that were applicable to the topic of ESG being discussed that week and then we had a guest speaker came in to elaborate on those readings. Following the guest speaker, we participated in group activities, which allowed us to apply the information we learned from the reading and guest speaker. Everyone in the group came from different backgrounds, so we wear also able to learn from our classmates on what they were doing and how they were relating ESG to their careers. I thought the speakers were all very high-quality and were big names in the sustainability space. Everyone was very helpful and the program certainly had a good culmination of resources.

Could you take me through your career a bit before and after the ESG Program?

Marisa Mendenhall: ESG is the fourth chapter of my career story. Careers are often non-linear and can take you in roundabout ways to get to where you want to be. I left college with a pre-med degree knowing that it wasn’t something I wanted to do going forward. I then joined an IT firm to gain business experience and later transitioned into sustainable building material and technology sales in the commercial real estate industry. After that, I began consulting for startups in the building technologies space. I completed the ESG Program prior to joining Re Tech, which ultimately helped me receive my current position consulting for CRE companies on their ESG strategies with Re Tech Advisors. I can say that I am very passionate about real estate and sustainability.

"In the future, ESG will not be siloed anymore, but rather the way businesses operate moving into the future."

-says Marisa Mendenhall

What advice can you give anyone wanting to enter into the sustainability space?

Marisa Mendenhall: I would say just reach out and talk to as many people as you can. People in the sustainability space are generally really nice and are typically open to informational interviews. Also, build your network and build your credibility, with opportunities like the Certificate in ESG Strategy with CESR. Also, see if there are any projects you could do in your current role to gain experience with sustainability. This could help build your resume and begin the transition with what you are currently doing.

Do you see any prominent trends forming in the sustainability space?

Marisa Mendenhall: I think that simply being a responsible business and managing energy responsibly will become normal. In the future, ESG will not be siloed anymore, but rather the way businesses operate moving into the future.

"I think the way the world is going and what people care about demonstrates that people want to invest in businesses that are acting responsibly both for the environment and people."

-says Marisa Mendenhall

ESG has recently been receiving quite a bit of backlash from some politicians and media outlets. What are your thoughts on this controversy?

Marisa Mendenhall: I think it's silly that ESG has become politicized. Initially, ESG was really meant as a way to measure financial performance, but later the term took off more towards the sustainability and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) field. I think the way the world is going and what people care about demonstrates that people want to invest in businesses that are acting responsibly both for the environment and people. I do not see ESG work going away, we will just change the words we use.

For the many individuals who would like to pivot into sustainability roles, such as Mendenhall, CESR’s Certificate in ESG Strategy provides a broad overview of corporate sustainability and social responsibility, as well as, connections to an active alumni network in the field. Her work with Re Tech Advisors demonstrates that professionals from diverse backgrounds can find sustainability roles where they can make an impact.

Explore the Certificate in ESG Strategy and other CESR Business Resources here.

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A Long-Term Approach to Sustainable Business: Lauren Kotze

Anonymous — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 16:15:16 +0000

A Long-Term Approach to Sustainable Business: Lauren Kotze Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 01/19/2024 - 09:15

Jacob Gorovoy

Featured on the 2023 edition of GreenBiz’s 30 under 30 list is Leeds School of Business alum and Sustainability Manager for The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated, Lauren Morrell Kotze. GreenBiz, a prominent media and events platform that emphasizes the intersection between sustainability and business, generates this yearly list to recognize the world’s brightest sustainability leaders and business minds. Kotze, co-founder of the CESR’s Fellows Program and recipient of the SRE (Social Responsibility and Ethics) Certificate during her time at Leeds, has been recognized for her social and environmental impact as part of the sustainability team at The Cheesecake Factory.

We recently had the opportunity to chat with Kotze following her GreenBiz honoree achievement, where she shared what this award means to her, how her time at Leeds helped her in securing a career, and her thoughts on sustainable operation in a modern business environment.

CESR: Could you speak a bit more about the 2023 GreenBiz 30 under 30 honor that you recently received? What does it mean for you and your career?

Lauren Kotze: GreenBiz is an important organization in the corporate sustainability community in terms of its role as a convener for this community, and they have issued the 30 under 30 award for the last eight years. I was inspired to apply when I saw a colleague recognized on the 30 under 30 list the previous year. It suddenly felt more achievable. When you can see a friend represented on this sort of list rather than just a random face, big things suddenly feel more achievable.

As for what it means to me, it is definitely something I am honored to receive. It is especially fulfilling that my childhood passion has not only become a career but that my achievements in this field are seen as significant and worthy of recognition.

"I always reminded myself not to settle - you have to believe that out there, there’s an internship or opportunity that will excite you and challenge you."

-says Lauren Kotze

CESR: As a Leeds School of Business alum, how did your time at the business school help in establishing foundations for your career? What effect did receiving the SRE (Social Responsibility Enterprise) Certificate have on your career as well?

Lauren Kotze: I came to Leeds already passionate about finding a career in the intersection of business and the environment, though I wasn’t sure exactly what that would mean. At that time, outside of the SRE program, my Leeds peers were understandably not focused on this niche nexus. Honestly, it made things a bit lonely, but at the same time, being in a rigorous academic environment focused on business allowed me to learn the language and rhetoric of business and start to understand what might motivate a corporation to take various actions. I have since been able to leverage this business acumen to create cases that justified why environmental systems needed to be protected as a part of basic business operations.

When I was a student, the SRE certificate program was an intellectual oasis. I’ll never forget the bookshelf in the back of the CESR office… I asked if I could borrow a few books, and I ended up taking an entire shelf back to my apartment! CESR classes and extracurricular opportunities gave me the confidence that I was combining sustainability and business thinking in a way that made sense, that others agreed with, and that had real traction; as well as a community of people who were thinking the same way and were exploring similar things; with whom I could learn and grow.

CESR: From your undergraduate experiences dealing with sustainability, you were able to land a position with The Cheesecake Factory. What recommendations do you have for students looking for internships that are the right fit and will help them in the long term?

Lauren Kotze: My advice is do not settle. Even back when I was scrambling to find even one or two opportunities that were loosely related to what I wanted to do, I always reminded myself not to settle - you have to believe that out there, there’s an internship or opportunity that will excite you and challenge you. That compass of not settling will push you to find an opportunity that is aligned with your passions. In a world where there are so many opportunities, you must have high standards for yourself in terms of what you are willing to spend your time on. Make the most of your experiences and do not waste your time. Of course, do not leave yourself without any internship at all. Aim to find something that you truly love, and if you stumble along the way, hopefully, it was a learning experience and maybe an opportunity to identify a skill set or job responsibility that you would rather never have to do again – that’s important insight too!

"The word “balance” assumes that sustainability programs are a net cost. Some may be, but if you’re creative, many can and should be profitable."

-says Lauren Kotze

CESR: What has been your favorite aspect of working with a corporation like The Cheesecake Factory?

Lauren Kotze: My favorite aspect of working at The Cheesecake Factory is the variety of my job. This is a space that is constantly evolving, and working with a company that has such a mature and comprehensive approach to sustainability, I have the opportunity to learn something new every day. Within the same day, it’s not uncommon that I will spend time exploring new procurement opportunities for clean energy, working with our supply partners to implement integrated pest management, creating a new staff training program for our restaurants, or working with our facilities teams to collect and analyze data to ensure we are making progress towards our climate goals.

For each project, there is a whole new lexicon to learn, group of stakeholders to understand, and business objectives to balance. I enjoy the challenge of going from knowing very little about a particular topic to becoming as much of a subject matter expert as I can be in a short amount of time. Sometimes that short learning curve is stressful, but it also allows us to build business solutions in real time. Some companies have team members focus on a singular area - climate, sustainable sourcing, reporting, energy management, and so on. I enjoy that as part of the larger sustainability team at The Cheesecake Factory, I get to do a little bit of everything.

CESR: How do you find the balance between sustainability and profitability in your work?

Lauren Kotze: The word “balance” assumes that sustainability programs are a net cost. Some may be, but if you’re creative, many can and should be profitable. Try to balance having financially profitable projects that build up budget (or a case for a budget) to fund projects that are high value in other ways. Look for projects that bring significant value to the company. It’s not a new concept for a department to create value that isn’t directly tied to revenue; whether that’s brand value, new market access, operational insights, risk mitigation, stakeholder engagement, the opportunities within the overlapping Venn diagram of “good for the world” and “good for the company” are endless.

"If you get a 'no' in any scenario, it just means you need to get more creative. Sustainability is changing every day and with that, so are the qualifications for a viable program."

-says Lauren Kotze

CESR: What have been some of the coolest projects you have worked on as a sustainability consultant?

Lauren Kotze: I enjoyed working on Petcurean’s (premium pet food brand) sustainability governance model. I assisted with the design and implementation of a framework for integrating sustainability into their day-to-day operations. (Fun fact: several of the ideas I offered throughout that engagement, I learned through CESR curriculum). I enjoy finding ways we can structure a sustainability program to make it seamlessly integrated into the company's daily operations, rather than being something you have to opt into and climb uphill for. These projects are incredibly fulfilling – and even fun - because the impact carries on forever simply as the baseline model for that business.

CESR: What is some advice that you would give students who hope to be sustainable business leaders such as yourself?

Lauren Kotze: If you get a “no” in any scenario, it just means you need to get more creative. Sustainability is changing every day and with that, so are the qualifications for a viable program. Continue to explore the changing factors while also learning more about the metrics on which your program is judged. Continue to evolve your ask until it is the ideal solution for the business. Any “no” you get is just an invitation to get a little more creative to eventually get to a “yes”.

As Kotze touches on, achieving sustainable business practices is a complex, ever-changing process that does not occur overnight or in a vacuum. The projects that Kotze has had the opportunity to work on as a part of the larger sustainability team at The Cheesecake Factory continue to advance the organization’s efforts to create a more sustainable operation that gives equal merit to business outcomes and environmental sustainability.

Learn more about the SRE Program here, and read other sustainability stories on the CESR Blog.

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A Long-Term Approach to Sustainable Business: Lauren Kotze