Sustainability Q&A: Celebrating Earth Month and Climate Week at Michigan Ross

For this Earth Month, six Erb Institute MBA/MS dual-degree students answered questions related to their experience in the program, planning Climate week, and why Earth Day is important to them. They also share advice for prospective students interested in becoming business sustainability professionals.

Supreya Kesavan, MBA/MS ‘24 

What inspired you to plan the inaugural Climate Week at Michigan Ross?

Planning the inaugural Climate Week was truly a labor of love. We’ve long heard from students that they are interested in sustainability, but perhaps do not have the ability to do the dual degree for a multitude of reasons. Sustainability is a key part, and only growing, of the future of business. After attending a panel, we heard about how other students (shoutout George Okpamen!) launched similar initiatives for other topic areas, such as Entrepreneurship or Fin Tech. Celia Bravard approached me and said we should do this for Climate! The purpose of Climate Week was to empower future business leaders with tangible ways of understanding and engaging with climate from a business perspective.

Celia Bravard, MBA/MS ‘23

What advice do you have for aspiring business sustainability professionals? 

In our Careers in Corporate Sustainability panel, we heard from our industry experts that regardless of if your title says “sustainability” in it or not, you can create change within your organization!  If you are in marketing or finance or legal, you can be a strong ally of the sustainability team and operationalizing the sustainability goals at your organization.  

Why is Earth Day important to recognize and are you doing anything to mark the day?

Earth Day is a great opportunity to introduce folks to sustainability and climate related topics.  One activity we have done in class before is to look at the Earth’s Overshoot Day by country and discuss the environmental and social equity impacts of the activities our society engages in. 

How does planning Ross Climate Week align with your passions and future career goals?

At its core, we are all passionate about sustainability and see the powerful potential for business and the market to accelerate development of solutions to the current climate crisis. Through Ross Climate Week, we sought to share the knowledge we have gained in our dual degree program with our peers in Ross and other schools.  Compiling materials from many of our courses was an incredible exercise for us to identify what the key messages were and how best to communicate them with our audience. The world of sustainability information is vast and we had many conversations about what material to include and how to incorporate calculations (like greenhouse gas accounting or the social cost of carbon in financial models) along with justice and equity concepts. 

Sarah Cole, MBA/MS ‘23

What have you enjoyed most about being a part of the Erb Institute?

A huge reason I chose Michigan Ross over other business schools with sustainability and climate related offerings was Erb. I was excited to get more subject matter expertise through the curriculum at our other school, the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), and to be surrounded by dozens of other Erbers who had similar interests. I learn an immeasurable amount from my peers; while we have diverse backgrounds and career goals, we are united by a motivation to use business for good. 

The Erb Institute also provides encouragement and financial support so we can supplement our experience by conducting research, attending conferences, working on client projects, and more. The culture of going beyond the status quo is, I think, part of what made planning Ross Climate Week seem feasible. 

Rena Lahn, MBA/MS ‘25

What inspired you to plan the inaugural Climate Week at Michigan Ross?

As a first year, I came into Ross and the Erb Community looking to broaden my understanding of how business skills can contribute to battling climate change. There is so much experience, knowledge, and wisdom on campus - truly evident in all the conversations I’ve had and all the questions I have asked. Ross Climate Week is an initiative to pool all of these incredible resources and exhibit them to parts of our community that might not otherwise be aware or have the time to run around and do the research on their own. This is just a stepping stone to get the conversation started and get folks to think about this immense problem we face. We are all really passionate about making sure our communities are making informed decisions here and in the real world. As Ross students graduate and re-enter the workforce, we hope our sessions help guide them in asking questions about sustainability at their prospective companies, think more holistically about downstream effects, and engage in conversations about the environment.  

Why is Earth Day important to recognize and are you doing anything to mark the day?

Earth Day is a vital reminder to us all to re-examine and re-evaluate our impact on our planet. By remembering what our planet provides us and all other creatures on this earth, it's a strong nudge to work harder on saving it. I personally like to spend earth day in nature, either hiking a mountain, camping with friends, or simply walking through wooded areas. I take away with me my need and motivation to work hard to mitigate climate change reaffirmed. Another fun activity to do is to calculate your own carbon footprint to identify different ways you can make a difference in your everyday life! 

Olivia Rath, MBA/MS ‘23

What have you enjoyed most about being a part of the Erb Institute?

Being a part of the Erb Institute has truly enabled some of the most transformative aspects of my graduate school experience. From funding the launch of Michigan Climate Venture, a student-run climate venture fund, to supporting the creation of Ross Climate Week, to facilitating a robust academic and social community every day, the Erb Institute has demonstrated incredible support for students. I’m inspired everyday by my peers in Erb, and am honored to learn and work to architect change alongside them.

Why is Earth Day important to recognize and are you doing anything to mark the day?

Being a part of the Erb Institute has truly enabled some of the most transformative aspects of my graduate school experience. From funding the launch of Michigan Climate Venture, a student-run climate venture fund, to supporting the creation of Ross Climate Week, to facilitating a robust academic and social community every day, the Erb Institute has demonstrated incredible support for students. I’m inspired everyday by my peers in Erb, and am honored to learn and work to architect change alongside them.

Jillian Brown, MBA/MS ‘24

What have you enjoyed most about being a part of the Erb Institute?

There are many reasons why I love the Erb community, but one aspect in particular is being a part of a group of like-valued individuals. We are a diverse community, with varied interests, but all of us are working toward a similar north star: changing the world positively by uniting business and sustainability. This by virtue creates an interesting point of view to approach challenges and opportunities. I appreciate how ready Erbers are ready to roll up their sleeves and create something new, or tackle an issue that is complex. A lot of this wouldn’t be possible without the immense support we get from the Erb Institute and helping materialize our ideas. I am constantly inspired by this powerhouse of a community. 

Why is Earth Day important to recognize and are you doing anything to mark the day?

Earth Day serves as a wonderful reminder of why sustainability is so important and how we all belong into a larger ecosystem. My hope is in the coming decades we no longer need “Earth Day” as it is conceived of now, because thinking more broadly about the environment is cemented in our daily lives. Be it the way we work, travel, consume, produce, waste, etc. we approach these daily decisions with more mindfulness of our impact on the planet.