Creating a More Prosperous Future for All: Schwarzman Scholars and Sustainability

Whether collaborating on business ventures or leading exciting initiatives on their own, Schwarzman Scholars are already making tackling today’s pressing issues and making an impressive impact. At this year’s COP-26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, the Schwarzman Scholars alumni community was well-represented. Read on to see what Scholars have been doing to build a more sustainable future.

Counting Carbon – Elliot David ‘20 and Max Song ‘17

Schwarzman Scholars aims to convene future leaders and build a robust community. Elliot and Max, in their collaboration, embody this mission. The two are working together at Carbonbase, a company which develops technologies to help enterprises and communities measure, reduce, and offset their carbon emissions. Recently, they partnered with COY16 (the UN Climate Change Conference of Youth). In their partnership, they calculated the carbon footprint of all youth delegates traveling from 140+ countries and neutralized those emissions to make COY16 the most sustainable international climate conference on record. The pair are also working to issue first-of-their-kind Impact NFTs for all the delegates as a proof of participation.

The pair’s work is also being featured in the COP26 Arts and Culture section.

Representing the Next Generation – Ameer Ibrahim ‘21

Schwarzman Scholars are already taking on leadership roles in their communities. Because of his prior work in ESG and his financial literacy, Ameer was selected to serve as a UK Youth Delegate attending the COP26 conference this year. Ameer spoke at a panel which covered youth representation in climate and sustainability, and was able to connect with other leaders and gain exposure to activists, politicians, and former presidents.

Collaborating on Clean Energy – Tyler Rudolph ’17 and Lakshmi Prakash ‘21

Tyler and Lakshmi recently joined Modern Energy Group – a clean energy company that invests in, builds and operates energy transition businesses to help the world reach a net-zero carbon economy. Both Tyler and Lakshmi are early hires on a team focused on scaling emerging renewable energy technologies across the globe. They are both excited about the opportunity to work with another Schwarzman Scholar at the intersection of clean energy, finance, and entrepreneurship.

Keeping an Eye on CRMs: Ross Jaggers ‘19

Ross, in his work at the Royal Society of Chemistry, worked with colleagues and stakeholders to determine how best to recycle and use the critical materials found in technologies such as batteries, electric vehicles, and wind power in a more circular fashion. His work, which seeks to influence the industry and research landscape around sustainability, culminated in a roundtable discussion that convened industry leaders, policymakers, and academics in a number of fields. Ross credits Schwarzman Scholars for equipping him with the necessary lens to approach these issues, and for highlighting sustainability as a career path. At Schwarzman Scholars, Ross studied the introductory economics, entrepreneurial innovation, and science policy necessary to make his project a reality. He thinks the Schwarzman Scholars network could be a huge resource in efforts to create a more sustainable future. In his next step, Ross is continuing his work in sustainability at Xynteo in London.

Sustainability and Health Care – Jordan Abdi ’20

Last week, Jordan spoke alongside senior leaders in the healthcare industry on a panel at the COP26 conference. Together, they discussed the impact climate change has on our health, and how we can build ‘resilient and sustainable health systems for the sake of our health and planet.’

Assessing Energy Performance – Toshin Sequeira ‘20

Toshin has been working with his team at Marsh McLennan to develop the World Energy Trilemma Index. This index assesses a country’s ability to balance its energy systems across three core dimensions: security, equity, and sustainability. In doing so, it provides a comparative evaluation of 127 countries’ energy performance since the year 2000.