The NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business (CSB) Research Grant program funds academic research related to sustainable business across a variety of functional areas. CSB Research Grants are awarded to Faculty and Ph.D. students in pursuit of research that advances CSB’s mission of ensuring current and future business leaders develop the knowledge and skills to embed sustainability in core business strategy so they can reduce risk; creating competitive advantage; and developing innovative services, products, and processes while building value for society and protecting the planet. This year, CSB grants $49,500 to seven relevant projects taking place across four departments at NYU Stern.

 

We are pleased to announce the 2025 grant awardees:

• Social Risks in International Supply Chains by Gurpal Sran, Assistant Professor of Accounting

• How Insurance Markets Affect Climate Adaption by Shan Ge, Assistant Professor of Finance

• The Hidden Cost of Climate Risk, by Shan Ge, Assistant Professor of Finance

• Firms and Impact of Climate Shocks: A Structural Approach, by Viral Acharya, C.V. Starr Professor of Economics

• Social Perception Gaps in i-Frame and s-Frame Policies, by M. Leonor Neto, Doctoral Student, Marketing Department

• How Sustainable are Sustainability-Linked Loans?, by Wenqiang Xiao, Professor of Technology, Operations & Statistics

• Expiration-aware Revenue Management for Food Retailers, by Omar Mouchtaki and Jackie Baek, Assistant Professors of Technology, Operations & Statistics

 

Please find the project descriptions below:

 

Social Risks in International Supply Chains

by Gurpal Sran

Assistant Professor, Accounting Department

 

This research explores two key areas of corporate supply chain responsibility. First, it finds that firms actively managing supplier workplace safety benefit financially through reduced cost of capital and improved profitability, particularly after major supply chain shocks like the Rana Plaza collapse—though the effects vary by ESG performance and public attention. Second, it reveals that firms may hide supply chain information to avoid scrutiny, especially when importing from regions linked to forced labor, suggesting that public and regulatory pressure can drive strategic redactions to manage reputational risk.
 

The Hidden Cost of Climate Risk: Rising Insurance Premiums and Household Mortgage and Credit Outcomes

by Shan Ge

Assistant Professor, Finance Department

 

This study explores how rising homeowners' insurance premiums—driven by climate-related disasters—affect household financial outcomes. Using data from 6.7 million borrowers, the research finds that higher premiums increase mortgage delinquency and prepayment (often due to relocation), especially among borrowers with high debt-to-income ratios. The study also links rising premiums to greater credit card delinquency and declining credit scores, revealing a key channel through which climate change can strain household finances and broader financial stability.

How Insurance Markets Affect Climate Adaption
by Shan Ge
Assistant Professor, Finance Department

This research examines how changes in insurance market conditions—such as rising costs and reduced availability—affect household decisions to adapt to climate risks, focusing on wildfires in California and hurricanes in Florida. It finds that as insurance becomes less accessible, households are more likely to invest in physical adaptations like vegetation removal or storm-resilient roofing to reduce risk, lower premiums, and substitute for coverage. The study highlights how insurance disruptions drive climate resilience behaviors and influence building patterns, offering valuable insights for policy and risk management.

Firms and Impact of Climate Shocks: A Structural Approach
by Viral Acharya
C.V. Starr Professor of Economics, Finance Department

This project develops a structural model to analyze how firms' adaptation strategies—like labor reallocation, capital substitution, and innovation—shape the broader economic impact of climate shocks such as heat waves, floods, and hurricanes. By incorporating firm networks and geographic dispersion, the model quantifies both partial and general equilibrium effects on employment, productivity, and growth. It also enables policy simulations and investigates how trends like firm concentration influence the economy’s resilience to climate-related disruptions.

Social Perception Gaps in i-Frame and s-Frame Policies
by M. Leonor Neto
Doctoral Student,  Marketing Department

This research explores why systemic sustainability policies, though often more effective than individual-focused interventions, may face limited public support due to misperceptions about others' attitudes. It investigates how individuals evaluate individual-level (i-frame) versus systemic (s-frame) policies and how underestimating public support for s-frame interventions—like plastic bans—can suppress advocacy and policy adoption. Through experiments with voters and policymakers, the study aims to correct these misperceptions and identify factors that influence policy attitudes, ultimately offering strategies to increase support for impactful sustainability measures.

How Sustainable are Sustainability-Linked Loans?
by Wenqiang Xiao
Professor,  Technology, Operations & Statistics (TOPS) Department

This research compares sustainability-linked loans (SLLs) with traditional green loans, focusing on how their differing structures influence borrower incentives to improve ESG performance. The study shows that SLLs, by tying loan terms to actual sustainability outcomes via a margin ratchet, better align borrower and lender interests and encourage optimal ESG investment—even under imperfect measurement and information asymmetry. Using matched data from the sustainability-linked bond and green bond markets, the research will empirically test whether the contractual design of SL debt instruments drives their growing appeal.

Expiration-aware Revenue Management for Food Retailers,

by Omar Mouchtaki and Jackie Baek,

Assistant Professors, Technology, Operations & Statistics (TOPS) Department

 

This research addresses the problem of food waste in the U.S., where retailers often discard unsold perishables due to inefficient pricing strategies. With new technologies like extended barcodes that track expiration at the batch level, the study explores how dynamic pricing—adjusting prices based on shelf life—can help reduce waste while preserving or enhancing profitability. The goal is to identify optimal pricing strategies that align environmental and financial objectives.

 

Additional information about the CSB Research Grant program is available here.