Student Consulting Projects
Hands-On Consulting Experience for Students Who Want to Bring Sustainability to Future Jobs
Each semester, the Center for Sustainable Business (CSB) partners with the Office of Student Engagement on Stern Solution Projects (SSPs) to offer opportunities for students to work directly with a client to address some of the most pressing global issues of the 21st century. Structured as semester-long independent studies, these faculty-supported opportunities allow groups of 3-4 students to customize their MBA experience by driving thought leadership across an array of global and interdisciplinary questions, focusing on sustainable business and social impact.
The potential impacts that climate change may have on global corporations like Subway are complex and reach our entire system from across our supply chain to inside our restaurants. Tapping into the minds of some of our brightest future sustainability leaders through NYU’s Stern Center for Sustainable Business not only gave students the opportunity to sharpen their skills with real-world challenges, but provided valuable input into our business and risk management thinking.
Learn more about participating in a project as a student or in partnering on a project at your organization/company by emailing the CSB team at sustainablebusiness@stern.nyu.edu
Past Sustainability-Focused Consulting Projects
AQR Driving Change in Corporate ESG Behaviors
Students embarked on a landscape analysis of asset managers' impact metrics in order to propose an industry-leading investment stewardship program to guide AQR in its engagement with portfolio companies.
BWD Strategic Analysis of Integrated ESG Reporting
Students analyzed the state of integrated ESG reporting in Fortune 50 companies to identify noteworthy trends and make recommendations to accelerate the quality of ESG disclosures.
ClimateWrx Building Decarbonization
As a Stern student, Michael Connors, MBA ‘22, participated in SSPs during his MBA career and cited the program as a pivotal learning experience. As the CEO of ClimateWrx, he wanted to pay it forward and offer a unique, impactful project to current Sternies. Participating students developed a business plan on how capital needs of building decarbonization can be met through private, crowdsourced investments on the ClimateWrx platform.
Planigrupo Oaxaca Mall's Return on Sustainability Investment
Students conducted an analysis of the environmental impact of a major shopping mall in Oaxaca, Mexico to provide recommendations for improved waste, water, and energy management practices as well as opportunities for local community engagement to address social and environmental issues.
Domtar's Focus on Achieving Net Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2050
Students worked with the Domtar team to develop a pathway for net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The students focused on understanding the climate ambitions, goals and plans of customers of pulp, paper, packaging and absorbent material products now in and the future to meet evolving market demands This project was completed in Fall 2021 by Yanjka Regan (MBA '22), Jessica Rossi (MBA '22), Ari Weiss (MBA '22), and Yongping Zha (MBA '22)
National Park Service's Optimization of Public Parks
Students worked with Gateway National Recreation Area to research and analyze how public access to recreation fields can be increased in the most efficient manner possible allowing for the full utilization of parkland at a minimum cost to the taxpayer. Students identified groups and organizations interested in managing & maintaining the available fields. This project was completed in Spring 2021 by David Wilmerding (MBA '21), Justin Nuckles (MBA '21), and Kathleen Dillon (MBA '21).
Bright Power's Energy Efficiency Assessment
Students were tasked with identifying and implementing plans to address thermal comfort and air quality experienced by the Stern community, help NYU meet its 2025 carbon reduction goals, and present the Stern complex of buildings as a showcase for sustainability. This project was completed in Spring 2021 by Sean Mazur (MBA '22), Christine Morris (MBA '22), and Jean-Philippe Panier (MBA '22).
Rich Products Building the Business Case for Sustainability
Student teams worked directly with Rich Product's brands, Greenworks and FarmRich, in order to prioritize and meet increased consumer demand for healthier, nutritious and sustainable options, while driving growth in existing product categories. This project was completed in Spring 2021 by the Sustainability for Competitive Advantage course led by Professor Tensie Whelan.
Con Edison's Sustainability Materiality Assessment
Students worked with Con Edison to update and refresh its sustainability materiality assessment. Students reviewed and assessed industry standards, presented findings to senior leadership, and made recommendations on how to approach sustainability strategy development moving forward. This project was completed in Fall 2019 by Adam Drucker (MBA '20), Mauricio Mitidieri (MBA '20), Selin Sahici (MBA '21), and Nikita Skachkov (MBA '22).
Subway's Evaluation of Climate Risks to Restaurants
Stern MBA students chose priority climate risks impacting Subway’s operational model and business imperatives and conduct an in depth analysis of how these risks pose a threat. Teams proposed recommendations for how the company can address these impact areas while driving positive financial performance. This project was completed in Fall 2019 by the Sustainability for Competitive Advantage course led by Professor Tensie Whelan.
BMW’s Electric Vehicles and the Circular Economy
Working directly with BMW executives, the student team evaluated opportunities in certified pre-owned and mobility programs to enhance current off-lease offerings of BMW’s electric fleet. Their creative recommendations included a leasing business proposal through university partnerships. This project was completed in Spring 2019 by Leslie Chao (MBA '19), Ben Gottesdiener (MBA '20), Phil Schroder (MBA '20), and Jessica Tou (MBA '20).
Cisco's Circular Economy (CE) Solutions Driven By Technology
Students worked with a team from Cisco to complete desk research and conduct interviews with key stakeholders to document the major challenges that companies encounter when implementing CE projects. They then assessed the market opportunity for technology solutions that help to resolve the challenges identified and better enable the implementation of CE initiatives. This project was completed in Fall 2018.