Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business: 2020 - 2021 Annual Report

Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business

ANNUAL REPORT ACADEMIC YEAR 2020-21

Ray C. Anderson Caneter for Sustainable Business

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Letter from Our Leadership The 2020-21 academic year was unlike any other. From the pandemic to heat waves, wildfires, and a national reckoning on racism, we have seen perhaps more clearly than ever how an emphasis on sustainability, in all of its social and environmental dimensions, is critically and urgently needed. We have also learned just how dependent we are on each other whether we are fighting the pandemic, reducing carbon emissions, or rectifying social inequities. For these reasons, we have chosen to highlight how our team, friends, and partners are working together to scale positive outcomes through a range of collective impact initiatives.

First among these initiatives is the work that our students are doing with industry partners. For example, we’re proud to turn the spotlight on those students who volunteered for the Carbon Reduction Challenge, notwithstanding the challenges of doing so in remote working environments. They pitched proposals to their employers regarding sustainable Covid-19 business practices that will continue to be valuable post-pandemic. We are also honored to be developing the Drawdown Georgia Business Compact, which is aimed at supporting statewide achievement of net zero emissions by 2050 through individual and collective action that advances just and sustainable outcomes. We’re delighted that leading Georgia companies from different sectors have already signed on to participate in this Compact.

Other activities in which we have found we are “better together” include implementing sustainability goals in Georgia Tech’s 2020-2030 Strategic Plan, leading an RCE Greater Atlanta project that is focused on equity-related challenges and opportunities of Drawdown Georgia solutions, organizing alumni panels focused on racism and allyship, and more. Thought leadership from our ever-growing cohort of faculty affiliates serves as the foundation for many of our initiatives.

Although we don’t work for the ratings, positive feedback motivates us. We are pleased to report that Scheller College has been a “top five” U.S. business school in the Corporate Knights Better World MBA Ranking every year from 2015 onwards.

We invite you to become our partner on our sustainable business journey.

Michael Oxman

Beril Toktay

Managing Director

Faculty Director

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ABOUT OUR CENTER Mission & Vision Our Center is named in honor of sustainable business visionary and Georgia Tech alumnus Ray C. Anderson. The Center launched at Scheller College in 2013 with support from the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, the Kendeda Fund, and Scheller College leadership. It was founded with the vision to empower the leaders of tomorrow to create sustainable businesses and communities. The Center works towards this vision by drawing upon the diverse strengths of our faculty, staff, students, and partners.

The Center’s mission is to enable sustainability-driven innovation and sustainability integration in business and education. We create and share the knowledge that current and future leaders depend on to integrate sustainability into their organizations and beyond, and to drive innovation in business models, products, technologies, and governance. We lead by example with the educational content and experiences we develop for our students and partners. Finally, we catalyze and participate in multi-stakeholder networks to amplify our regional and national impact.

We advance our mission by working across four core themes: Circular Economy

Sustainability Innovation & ESG Leadership

Carbon-Conscious Business

Social Performance & Human Rights

“Creating a sustainable world for future generations is both necessary and intrinsically valuable. By taking responsibility for the full impact of everything businesses put into and take out of the earth, we will be (as Ray C. Anderson liked to say) ‘doing well by doing good.’”

— Patrick Knight, 2020-21 Graduate Sustainability Fellow

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About Ray C. Anderson (1934-2011) Ray C. Anderson (IE ’56, Honorary Ph.D. ’11), after graduating from Georgia Tech in industrial engineering, started a career in textiles. In 1973, he founded his own company, later called “Interface.” It would eventually become the world’s largest manufacturer of modular floorcovering.

By 1994, Interface was successful by every business metric. However, when asked what Interface was doing for the environment, Ray was unsatisfied with a response limited to regulation and compliance. He sought inspiration and guidance from The Ecology of

Commerce, where he encountered Paul Hawken’s assertion that industry is both the sector responsible for the greatest amount of environmental harm as well as the only sector with the necessary size and capital to turn things around. Hawken’s words led to a “spear in the chest” moment for Ray. From that moment, he committed the rest of his life to making Interface a breakthrough leader in corporate sustainability and to advocating for a paradigm shift in business thinking.

Ray believed fundamentally that when done right, business can be a force for good in the world.

We are honored to continue his legacy by educating “the Ray C. Andersons of tomorrow.”

OUR TEAM

Clockwise from far left: Bob Lax, lecturer; Brandi Thompson, communications officer; David Eady, industry engagement manager; Arianna Robinson, assistant director - business operations; Jennifer Lux, writer/editor; Kjersti Lukens, program support coordinator; Michael Oxman, managing director; and Beril Toktay, faculty director.

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A Year of Innovation & Impact Network Building » The Business, Environment, and Society Speaker Series drew 400 attendees for ten talks featuring Center-affiliated faculty and sustainability leaders from Coca-Cola North America, Cox Enterprises, Siemens, and Southwire Company.

Inclusive Excellence » Our team supported diversity, equity, and inclusion goals by co-chairing Scheller College’s DE&I Council, launching a book discussion group, and hosting a panel discussion on racial equity and social justice.

Local Action for Global Change » Through our involvement with RCE Greater Atlanta, which takes local action on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the Center launched a project on equity implications of Drawdown Georgia solutions and helped expand a student mentorship program.

Curriculum Infusion » Center staff designed and introduced a first-year student experience course focused on sustainable communities and a special topics course on global leadership.

Faculty Achievements » Center-affiliated faculty received grants, awards, and recognition from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences, the Manufacturing and Service Operations Management Society, the National Science Foundation, and the Southeastern Academy of Legal Studies in Business.

#4 IN THE UNITED STATES #15 GLOBALLY

2020 BETTER WORLD MBA RANKING

Center Highlights 408

1,150

Students in Courses

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Attendees in Activities

38

Fellows & Ambassadors

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Events Hosted by the Center

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Inaugural Certificates in Sustainable Business Awarded

Drawdown Georgia:

A Competitive, Just, and Sustainable Transition to Carbon Neutrality What will it take for Georgia to reach carbon neutrality? How can the state work towards this goal in an equitable way? Beginning in 2019, scholars, researchers, and scientists affiliated with the Drawdown Georgia initiative identified climate solutions that have the greatest carbon reduction potential in our state.

They also applied a “beyond carbon” lens to the solutions—that is, they thought through what scaling climate solutions means for communities, equity, inclusive economic development, and public health.

In October 2020, Drawdown Georgia Launch Week introduced the state-specific roadmap for carbon reduction to the public through a virtual celebration, webinars, and Civic Dinners. Since the launch and the initial beyond carbon research, the Center kicked off a project with RCE Greater Atlanta to do a deeper dive into equity implications of selected Drawdown Georgia solutions. As part of the year-long campaign to share solutions widely, Center staff and leadership gave conference presentations, met with practitioner organizations, wrote op-eds, and contributed to an academic article. With the support of our Advisory Board, we began to form the Drawdown Georgia Business Compact, which will drive collective impact through collaboration, peer accountability, and innovation.

“Equity needs to be intentionally put at the center of any large-scale, low-carbon transition. Businesses offering carbon-focused innovations have an opportunity to advance their corporate social performance objectives by ensuring that solutions are accessible and beneficial to traditionally under-resourced communities and individuals.”

— Michael Oxman, Center Managing Director

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Tomorrow’s Change Agents:

Students Develop Recommendations for E-bike Rideshare Program in Clarkston If you’re near campus, you’ll likely see people buzzing around on bikes and scooters rented from a variety of rideshare programs. Just ten miles away, the City of Clarkston has yet to see an influx of “micromobility” options. An infrastructure of individually operated lightweight vehicles has clear benefits, such as getting people to and from stations and stops served by mass transit. A team of two Graduate Sustainability Fellows (Sol Haroon and Victoria Skinner) and an Undergraduate Sustainability Ambassador (Mark Leggiero) partnered with a Georgia Tech Vertically Integrated Project (VIP) to examine the transportation gap.

Clarkston, the most diverse square mile in America, has welcomed thousands of international refugees since the 1980s. “If these individuals can’t reach shops, workplaces, schools, and community services with relative ease, it’s going to be difficult for them to reach their full potential,” said Leggiero. The highdensity community is ideal for micromobility solutions. “It may not seem like a big deal to walk from a bus stop to your home, but try doing that after a trip to the grocery store with a bunch of stuff in your hands,” said Haroon. The project, E.T. H.O.M.E. (Electric Trike/Bike - Human-centered Options in Mobility with Electrification), is funded by a grant from the Strategic Energy Institute and brings together faculty from the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Serve-Learn-Sustain, along with students from the VIP class, Building for Equity and Sustainability. The goal of the project is to break down mobility barriers so individuals and communities can thrive. Skinner said, “It’s an issue of equity.”

As the team set out to explore potential solutions, they focused on people, planet, and profit. The proposed rideshare system, which may consist predominantly of cargo bikes, is now being considered as the research team moves forward planning a pilot. Initial conversations with the City and County have been warmly received, leading to preliminary letters of intent for engagement.

Victoria Skinner, Mark Leggiero, and Sol Haroon.

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Faculty Spotlight:

Facilitating Student Growth through Community Impact Ravi Subramanian, professor of Operations Management, understands that students enjoy and benefit from hands-on learning. If that education can also make a positive impact on communities, that’s a clear “win-win.” In 2018, when Ravi met Garry Harris, president of the Center for Sustainable Communities (CSC), at a Serve-Learn-Sustain event, the two had a feeling that they could join forces to do something special. Ravi had recently developed an undergraduate course, Business Decisions for

Sustainability and Shared Value, in which students learn how

companies address fundamental human needs while at the

same time finding business value in doing so. Ravi thought, What

better way for students to learn than by applying their newfound

knowledge (and Georgia Tech-ingrained passion for problem solving)

to real challenges being addressed by CSC?

The nonprofit had been charged with providing recommendations for

ECO District Hampton Roads—a revitalization project that aims to

foster community, increase prosperity, and promote health and

well-being in a Virginia community. Ravi and Garry proceeded

with developing class projects that would give students access to

real-world learning while helping CSC tap Georgia Tech talent to

address these important objectives. First in Spring 2019, and then once again in Spring 2021, teams of students in Ravi’s class researched and pitched revitalization projects, which have been enthusiastically received by ECO District stakeholders. In the 2021 class, students presented plans for energy-efficiency education, career opportunities in offshore wind, a food cooperative, a resilience hub, and more, which could help the district reach its goal of making prosperity for all a reality.

Sustainable Business Insights: Research Briefs for Practitioners

When Do Public Supplier Lists Improve Profits and Sustainability Goals?

Başak Kalkancı Associate Professor of Operations Management

How Do Local Resources Drive Innovation in Emerging Technologies?

Eunhee Sohn Assistant Professor of Strategy & Innovation

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Industry Impact:

Student Projects Unlock Sustainability Value

The Sustainable Business Consulting Practicum affords students the opportunity to help organizations tackle real sustainability, environmental, and social challenges for business. Project sponsors, in turn, can tap into the energy, creativity, and expertise of a team of Scheller College students. In 2020-21, the course hosted projects for Allegheny Healthcare Network, Chick-fil-A, Delta Air Lines, the Georgia Tech Office of Campus Sustainability, the Historic District Development Corporation (HDDC), Sustainable Newton, The Coca-Cola Company, and weRice. Michael Oxman, who co-teaches the course with Bob Lax, said, “Our students can benefit from experiential education only with the direct involvement of engaged organizations.

We’re so grateful for all the host organizations who help us create tomorrow’s responsible business leaders.”

HDDC, an organization dedicated to developing, renovating, and restoring affordable residential and commercial property within Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward, was so impressed with recommendations from the undergraduate team in the fall that it signed on for an MBA project in the spring as well. In both projects, students focused on the Center’s social performance & human rights core theme to help support equitable economic development in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood, which is historically significant for its role in the civil rights movement. The undergraduate team recommended social performance strategies and metrics that would help HDDC expand on existing environmentally focused building standards. The project liaison said the students’ work was “thorough, immensely helpful, and (to be quite honest) more than we were hoping for!”

The MBA team took the next step in the spring by developing targeted recommendations for the Sweet Auburn Green and Equitable (SAGE) District across four priority areas: community wealth building, energy efficiency, urban agriculture, and affordable housing. HDDC Executive Director Cheneé Joseph said, “The practicum was one of the best student-led projects I’ve had the privilege of participating in. The work was professional and thoughtful, and the group members remained engaged in our work, which showed in their deliverable. Their solutions and recommendations are the basis of our SAGE program goals moving forward—and will be one of the reasons why the initiative is successful.”

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2020-21 ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS Judy Adler

Ira Pearl (BChE ’85)

Naveed Ahmad (MBA ’19)

Tom Pennella

Jack Allen

Andrea Pinabell

Stephanie Armistead

Denise Quarles

Shelby Buso

Bo Quick (BS IE ’93)

John Byrne

David Rachelson

Mark Callaway

Josh Raglin

Anthony Coker (BChE ’84)

Charles Redding (B of ChE ’85)

Amelia DeLuca

Elizabeth Schultz (BS ID ’12, MBA ’17)

Bruce Edelston

Paul Sims

Energy Policy Group, LLC

Southwire Company

Casey Erb (BS EnvE ’20)

Nathaniel Smith

John Federovitch (BS CS ’99)

Jacquie Smyth (MBA ’18)

Chris Hagler (MSM ’93)

Akissi Stokes

David Hogan (BSM ’10)

Tim Trefzer

Amy Hook

Stephanie Valdez Streaty

Ben Jordan (PhD in Public Policy ’12)

John Wells (BS IM ’84)

Tori Kaplan

Dave Williams (BS MGT ’89)

Cheryl Kortemeier

Jennifer Winn

Gap Inc.

Southern California Edison Cisco Systems Chick-fil-A

City of Atlanta

Scheller College Morgan Stanley

M&I Materials Limited Delta Air Lines

Mortenson VMware EY

America’s Remanufacturing Company Novogradac & Company LLP The Coca-Cola Company Truist

Corporate Volunteer Council of Atlanta

Cox Enterprises

Penhalt Advisory Group, LLC Southface Institute Siemens

Southwire Company Rubicon

Norfolk Southern Corporation MedShare

ScottMadden, Inc.

Partnership for Southern Equity UPS

WUNDERgrubs

Cox Enterprises Cox Automotive Inc. The Goodwin Group

Metro Atlanta Chamber Georgia Power

Bob Lax

Accenture

Liz Minné (BS MSE ’10, MS EnvE ’13, PhD in EnvE ’15) Interface

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Alumni in Action

Naveed Ahmad (MBA ’19) As an MBA student, Naveed took advantage of many Center offerings, such as serving as co-president of the Net Impact MBA chapter and working on an energy equity research project.

While participating in the latter, he came to see utility companies as ground zero for making all companies more sustainable. He said, “Utilities provide the energy companies are using. At the end of the day, a company can strive to be the most sustainable in the world, but if the energy they’re getting is powered by coal and natural gas, that’s a problem.”

Naveed is now advisor of Operational Planning and Customer Service at the “forward-thinking,” electric-only utility, Southern California Edison, and president of the company’s sustainability business resource group, EcoIQ. He credits Tech with “evolving [his] idea of what sustainability encompasses both in and outside of the business world.”

John Wells (IM ’84) John Wells joined Interface in 1994—the same year Founder and Chairman Ray C. Anderson had his famous epiphany about “sustainability.” John said, “I began to see a real transformation at Interface—and this was way before this idea of a purpose-driven culture was in vogue. It really

touched me that people began to see their jobs as more than ‘making a

great product’ or ‘taking care of the customer. [Sustainability]

gave a higher level of meaning to their work.”

Interface, which historically used 100% petrochemically intensive materials and nonrenewable energy to drive its operations, transformed its materials and supply chain. Products now come from completely recycled and bio-based materials. As longtime president and CEO of Interface Americas, John came to share Ray’s belief that “business is the institution that has the best chance to create a better world.”

John currently leads the CEO and Leadership Practice as a Partner at The Goodwin Group.

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IN THE NEWS Sustainability Fellows and Ambassadors We proudly acknowledge our 25 Scheller College Graduate Sustainability Fellows and 14 Undergraduate Sustainability Ambassadors who spent a year deepening their knowledge of sustainability by working on special projects.

The 2020-21 cohort was our largest and most diverse to date!

Carbon Reduction Challenge Challenge participants researched sustainable workplace practices sparked by Covid-19 (e.g., remote working) that are worth continuing post-pandemic. Microsoft intern Elina Ebby received first prize for addressing work-athome policies and the utilization of carbon reduction software.

Vivian Nora Lukens Memorial Scholarship Brigit Joyce was the 2021 recipient of the scholarship that is awarded to a student pursuing our Certificate in Sustainable Business. Brigit, a business administration major, said, “From a marketing perspective, I hope I can help to spread the message that sustainability is worthwhile.”

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The Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business Contact Information (404) 385-5221 acsb@scheller.gatech.edu http://www.acsb.scheller.gatech.edu/ Social Media Instagram | @GT_ACSB LinkedIn | The Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business

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Annual Report

Address Georgia Institute of Technology Scheller College of Business 800 West Peachtree St. NW, Suite 4426 Atlanta, GA 30308