Two dozen business leaders joined leaders of the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business (“Center”) at Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business, Center-affiliated faculty, and Scheller College students at the inaugural Center Advisory Board meeting on October 5, 2018.
Saby Mitra, Senior Associate Dean of Programs at Scheller College, described how the business school’s centers build bridges with corporate partners. “For example, the Center works with companies on critical business challenges, and has run some of Scheller’s most successful tracks and practicums,” said Mitra.
Center Faculty Director Beril Toktay and Center Managing Director Michael Oxman highlighted some of the Center’s recent success stories. The Center’s contributions, for instance, led to Scheller College’s rise in the Corporate Knights 2018 Better World MBA Ranking—to #2 in the U.S. and #6 globally. Also, the Center-led Sustainable Business Consulting Practicum gives MBA students real-world experience in helping companies and organizations address sustainability challenges. In an effort to make the Southeast a sustainability hub, the Center joined the Georgia Tech Center for Serve-Learn-Sustain and regional universities to create the Greater Atlanta Regional Centre of Expertise (RCE), a network of multidisciplinary stakeholders committed to implementing the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the local level. The new RCE is one of only six in the U.S. and 166 in the world.
Advisory Board Members will have the opportunity to engage with students and researchers to launch and enhance their respective companies’ sustainable business programs and practices. Oxman remarked, “Relationships with business partners are critical to the Center’s vision of empowering the leaders of tomorrow to create more sustainable businesses and communities.”
Steve Murchison, VP of Finance and Operations for the Net Impact at Scheller College MBA Chapter, spoke about the impact that Scheller College’s partnerships have had on his education. “The lessons I’m learning through consulting projects with Fortune 500 companies will have an application far beyond my coursework,” said Murchison.
The mission and goals of the Advisory Board were discussed as part of collaborative work sessions between Advisory Board Members. Some of the organizations represented include Accenture, Cisco, Cox Automotive, Delta Air Lines, Ford Motor Company, Interface, Georgia World Congress Center, Grubbly Farms, Lifecycle Building Center, MedShare, Metro Atlanta Chamber, Partnership for Southern Equity, Rubicon, Southern Company, Southface, U.S. Green Building Council, and VMware.
For more information about partnering with the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business, please contact Michael.Oxman@scheller.gatech.edu.