Advancing Sustainability Through the Berkeley Haas Sustainable Business Research Prize
The Center for Responsible Business (CRB) is thrilled to announce the 2024-2025 Berkeley Haas Sustainable Research Prize. This prestigious $20,000 prize celebrates innovative academic research that has the potential to address urgent global sustainability challenges and accelerate the green transition.
WHY THIS PRIZE MATTERS
The prize bridges the gap between cutting-edge academic research and real-world application, promoting actionable insights that drive sustainability in business and society. As a public research institution in a state that is a world-renowned leader in climate mitigation, UC Berkeley has a charge to produce, elevate, and disseminate pragmatic yet innovative sustainable business research that can positively impact people and the planet. Last year, with the generous support of Allan Spivack (Berkeley Haas MBA, 1979), the CRB launched this initiative and received 63 competitive submissions from leading researchers worldwide.
The inaugural prize was awarded to the paper, “Biodiversity Risk” by Stefano Giglio at Yale School of Management and Therea Kuchler, Johannes Stroebel, and Xuran Zeng at NYU Stern. Their research highlights the economic risks of biodiversity loss and offers practical recommendations and resources for businesses and policy makers, such as innovative monitoring methods and reporting biodiversity impacts. This work exemplifies how research can inform stakeholder decision-making and advance sustainability goals. Reflecting on the prize and their groundbreaking work on assessing biodiversity risk in business, Giglio shared “it’s wonderful to receive this recognition for our work on biodiversity finance… just like in the case of climate change, businesses and markets play an important role both in affecting biodiversity, but also in contributing to a solution to its rapid deterioration.”
What made this paper stand out for the inaugural prize was Giglio et al.’s efforts to connect business finance with biodiversity impact, their creative methodology, and their encouragement to the research community to deepen the understanding of “the interactions between nature and the economy, both from a theoretical standpoint and empirically.” Sustainable Business Research deserves to live beyond the journals they are published in and make it into the hands of everyday practitioners through easily accessible formats. This is why Berkeley Haas and the CRB are committed to recognizing and elevating innovative sustainability solutions and the researchers who co-create them.
ENGAGE AS A STUDENT REVIEWER
A unique aspect of the Sustainable Research Prize is its integration of graduate student reviewers into the selection process. The inaugural review panel consisted of Haas faculty, CRB Student Advisory Board members, and Berkeley Haas’s former Dean, Ann Harrison, as the chair. Same as last year, graduate students are invited to join the Review Committee to work alongside faculty and other sustainable business practitioners to evaluate submissions, learn academic scoring methodologies, and interpret findings in the California Management Review Insights. We reached out to student reviewers, such as former CRB Student Advisory Board Member and now Director of Carbon Markets at Oath, Hillary Hoffstein, to learn more about their experiences. Hoffstein reflected:
“I had the opportunity to review submissions for the Sustainable Research Prize during my final year of the MBA program, and I only wish I had the chance to participate earlier! The review process gave me a unique glimpse behind the scenes of academia. I was so inspired by the breadth of interdisciplinary climate solutions being developed all across the world and gained so much respect for the rigorous methodologies that go into this work.”
Hoffstein’s experience captures exactly why we are both excited about this incredible opportunity — to be inspired by and learn from innovative research that transforms knowledge into meaningful climate solutions. It is an extraordinary chance to work more closely with the CRB’s brilliant faculty while also developing our skills in research evaluation and communications. As aspiring business leaders, we look forward to being part of a dynamic community that equips us with the insights and tools to create real-world business impact and drive lasting change.
If you are a student interested in joining us on the Review Committee, please contact [email protected]. Additionally, The CRB team will hold a select number of slots for student reviewers to write research briefs and earn a stipend. These competitive positions provide a unique chance to gain professional experience while contributing to impactful research.
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: SHAPE THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABILITY
If you are an academic researcher, graduate student, or know someone conducting impactful sustainability research, we encourage submitting a nomination by January 15, 2025. You can submit more than one nomination as well. This opportunity is your chance to contribute to and incentivize actionable solutions that shape the future of business. We welcome nominations of papers from any academic discipline that connect with the following priority themes:
- Structuring Companies for Sustainability
- Cross-Industry Collaborations and Frameworks for Sustainability
- Rethinking the Role of Business in Society
Join us in advancing innovative research and sustainability leadership! Nominations can be submitted here.
About the Blog Authors: Missy Martin is a Haas Full Time MBA student (26’) and current CRB Fellow and Francesca Bitton is a Goldman School of Public Policy Master’s in Public Policy student (25’). Both are active members of the CRB Student Advisory Board.
