On Wednesday, August 8, students in the Master of Science in Sustainability Management program presented their final Capstone Workshop presentations for fellow students, program faculty, and colleagues at Columbia University’s Faculty House. The project, entitled “Environmental Performance Reporting,” required the team to work closely with data provided by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to conduct a thorough comparison of reporting standards, like the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Facility Reporting Project. The students had to analyze the pros and cons of the most viable reporting systems in order to recommend the standard that would be the best match for the NRDC’s operational and disclosure goals.
“The diverse professional backgrounds encompassed by the MSSM student population were a huge strength when it came to our Capstone project,” stated Michael Cook, the presenter for the workshop group. “Our team was comprised of a Vice President of Sustainability, an environmental consultant, an equity trader, an operations manager, and a non-profit professional. This breadth and depth of the students’ experiences allowed us to deliver an incredibly dynamic product to NRDC.”
SUMASA 