Tamer Institute

“We want the drivers in the industry to have the best equipment and technology because oftentimes our communities don’t get what is the best,” says Su Sanni, co-founder of Dollaride, a Tamer fund for Social Ventures rideshare tech startup. Dollaride is spearheading the Clean Transit Access Program with a $10M grant from NYSERDA to electrify at least 100 dollar vans across NYC neighborhoods neglected by mass transit. Climate tech company BlocPower, founded by Donnel Baird '13, will finance the program.

"The broader concern with the world is well integrated into core courses, and we have six electives on climate change alone... students are more desirable hires with this background.” Professor Bruce Usher weighs in on how the architecture of our new Manhattanville campus reflects the School's integration of social concerns like climate change, the role of business in society, and its community commitments.

Professor Vanessa Burbano's paper — on the effect an employer's stance about a social/political issue has on employee motivation — was included in the highly commended section of the Responsible Business Education Awards.

Instead of wood, the sustainable furniture company Plantd (a Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member) uses fibers from fast-growing grasses that absorb as much as 30 tons of carbon. Their vision is to take carbon out of the atmosphere as fast as possible.

In a unique partnership between Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, MacArthur Foundation-affiliate Lever for Change, and the center, MBA students will apply classroom learning to award over $100,000 to a nonprofit. The Global Philanthropy course — taught by adjunct professor Melissa Berman, advisory board member of the center and CEO of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors — teaches students how to assess contenders from top proposals submitted for 100&Change and other global competition prizes.

New York City’s buildings are responsible for over 70 percent of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions, most generated on site. Gernot Wagner, senior lecturer and climate economist, writes in this guest essay about how other cities will be closely watching the city's aggressive transition to cut emissions and achieve net-zero by 2050.

Nathaniel Keohane, president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), visited Columbia Business School for a discussion on climate change policy and action as part of the first installment of “A Climate of Change: Stories from Climate Leaders on the Front Lines” series. While on campus, Keohane discussed with Danny Wagemans '23 the technicalities behind how the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law in 2022, the future of nuclear power, and what is ahead for young people entering the climate and sustainability field.

"The returns on renewable energy projects [such as wind and solar] are pretty low these days, partly because they are very low risk [...] Some of these sectors, like renewable energy, have become so successful that it becomes challenging to get those returns," says Professor Bruce Usher, as he weighs in on how interest in impact investing has increased, posing a challenge for private equity firms seeking to deliver outsized returns.

Laidlaw Scholars Ventures invested $650K in Guava, a digital banking and networking platform founded by Kelly Ifill '17. The digital bank, created by and for Black entrepreneurs, helps narrow the racial wealth gap in the United States.

Professor Dan Wang told Business Insider that he believes that "a familiarity with AI will be an essential skill in the future." He encourages his students to "use ChatGPT to do their homework. I have one requirement: they just tell me that they use it, and specifically how they use it."