Thoreau Planetary Solutions Initiative

The worlds of finance, management, and economics may seem unlikely partners in the solutions to climate change, when in fact their connection is key to building global resiliency. As the range of careers in sustainable business continues to expand, the Thoreau Planetary Solutions Initiative at Cornell University aims to support undergraduates who are driving change at the intersection of business and the environment.

“Climate change is now central to almost every economic challenge that we face, and lasting solutions must be rooted in business,” says Dr. Trent Preszler, Professor of Practice in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics at Management at Cornell. 

The Thoreau Planetary Solutions Initiative seeks to identify environmental changemakers in the undergraduate business major and introduce them to professionals working on planetary solutions across industries. By doing so, the program creates collaborative networks for students’ professional growth and empowers them to pursue business careers that positively impact communities, ecosystems, and the planet.

“This approach may seem unorthodox, but environmental issues exist at a magnitude that requires creative approaches to business education,” says Preszler.

The initiative raises the professional capacity of the next generation of leaders in the green workforce. Students have opportunities for summer internships, scholarships, and one-on-one interactions with the inaugural cohort of Thoreau Planetary Solutions Fellows, mid-career professionals who visit campus to share insights about their own career paths. Thoreau Fellows hail from a wide range of professional contexts including environmental non-profits, community advocacy organizations, Fortune 100 corporations, small businesses, think tanks, tech start-ups, investment banks, hedge funds, and UN agencies. These professionals are doing the work of the future and mentoring Dyson students as part of their own sustainable business journey. Thoreau Fellows invited to spend time with students at Cornell during the fall semester 2024 include: 

         - Kate Hackett, Managing Director of Lands, Ducks Unlimited
         - Kiersten Combs, SVP for Sustainability, AstraZeneca
         - Gretchen McCarthy, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Target Corp.
         - Michael Wolcott, Chief Financial Officer, Seneca Foods
         - Daniel Mulé, Policy and Program Manager, Just Energy Transition and Extractives, 
                                   Oxfam America
         - Joseph Yoon, Founder/CEO of Brooklyn Bugs and UN Food Ambassador
         - Seth Inman, Director of Nature-Based Solutions, Climate Investment Partners
         - David Poritz, Founder/CEO, Equitable Origin and Covalto Bank
         - James Clement III, Heir to the King Ranch and GM of EarthOptics

One of the Thoreau Fellows who spent time engaged in conversation with students in October 2024, David Poritz, was himself a Thoreau Scholar (Brown 2012) and went on to become a Rhodes Scholar before founding Covalto Bank in Mexico City. 

Students play an active role in hosting Thoreau Fellows on campus by attending lunches, dinners, and speaking events, as part of the student host committee. Those interactions provide informal, candid settings for students to gain individual mentorship and career advice, and to engage in substantive dialogue with practitioner role models. Throughout the process, students gain a deeper understanding of sustainable management systems and the drivers of change through innovation in the environmental sector. Those selected for Thoreau Scholarships will also form a cohort to share ideas and inspirations among like-minded peers. 

The initiative is already receiving positive responses from students. “I think it’s super helpful to have speakers from every industry in business, not just the traditional investing, banking, and finance, but also from agribusiness. If you don’t, people aren’t likely to know how to break into it,” says Kristen O’Shea ’28, a Dyson School student. She attended a talk by James Clement III, MBA ’21, the third speaker to visit the Dyson School as part of the Thoreau Planetary Solutions Initiative. Clement, a senior vice president and general manager at EarthOptics, discussed how the science of measuring carbon in soil is not only mitigating climate change, but also creating an opportunity for farmers to monetize it on the carbon credit market.

“Dyson students might think Big Tech starts and ends with Microsoft and Google,” Preszler says. “But now they have exposure to companies creating innovative tech solutions for agriculture, all with an eye toward climate resiliency. James Clement imparted to students the breadth of possibility in this field.”

Preszler expects the initiative to leave an enduring legacy at the Dyson School as the college leadership and alumni affairs office summon institutional resources to carry out the program for the long haul. By engaging Cornell alumni as guest speakers, the program is building a network of Thoreau Fellows who have an elevated interest in seeing students succeed in the green workforce. Over time, they can set up think tanks or professional gatherings, even recruiting events for future students. 

“My greatest hope is that we place dozens of leaders in sustainable business who shape global environmental progress during the crucial decades ahead,” Preszler said. “And as we tackle climate resiliency in the private sector, the Dyson School at Cornell will be seen as the global leader.”

In December 2024, Preszler received the Dean's Distinguished Award for Societal Impact in Teaching at the SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell.