Smeal MBA Sustainability Case Competition

The Fall 2022 MBA Case Comp Finalist and Winners

Smeal MBA Sustainability Case Competition

The Smeal College of Business integrates sustainability into its teaching, research, and outreach missions. The MBA sustainability case competition is one of its teaching initiatives aimed at providing hands-on learning opportunities for graduate students across the United States and Canada.

The following teams were invited to Penn State for the MBA Sustainability Case Competition to compete for first ($10,000), second ($5,000), and third place ($2,500) prizes.

  • Michigan State University - Broad College of Business
  • Penn State University - Smeal College of Business
  • University of Chicago - Booth School of Business
  • The University of North Carolina - Kenan-Flager Business School

This year’s case competition was sponsored by IBM and focused on the business response to climate change. Global carbon dioxide concentrations stand at 416 parts per million (ppm) and evidence of a changing climate is all around us with devastating human consequences. On one hand, companies are taking action—or at least making commitments—in a wide variety of areas. Many companies are investing in—or planning to—carbon offsets to meet climate targets, a market the consultancy McKinsey estimates will grow by a factor of 15 by 2030 to become a $30 – 50 billion industry. At the same time, there has been increasing scrutiny of carbon offsets, pointing to data that such offsets don’t actually reduce emissions—and may in fact be making things worse.

Results Announcement of the 2022 MBA Sustainability Case Competition

The Pennsylvania State University won the $10,000 prize for first place. The University of North Caroline walked away with $5,000 for finishing second. The University of Chicago was awarded $2,500 for third place. Two teams from Michigan State University were among the finalists.

Penn State University student team at the 2022 MBA Case Competition. L to R: Daniel Keim, Sasha Escue, Matthew Dinacci, Dorothy Copland, and James McGivern.

First Place Team

A student team from The Pennsylvania State University Smeal College of Business earns first place at the 2022 Smeal College of Business MBA Sustainability Case Competition held on Nov. 18, 2022. Team contributors include Sasha Escue, Dorothy Coplan, Daniel Clark, James McGivern, and Matthew Dinacci.

University of North Carolina student team at the 2022 MBA Case Competition. L to R: Jessica Citrola, Cheney Holbrook, Alejandra del Campo Farro, Grace Reynolds, and Saili Raje

Second Place Team

A student team from The University of North Caroline Kenan-Flagler Business School, earns second place at the 2022 Smeal College of Business MBA Sustainability Case Competition. Over 20 universities competed for a chance to present their cases at the final competition. Team contributors include Grace Reynolds, Cheney Holbrook, Saili Raje, Alejandra Del Campo Farro, and Jessica Citrola.

University of Chicago student team at the 2022 MBA Case Competition. L to R: Anna Jacobs, Bryan Richman, and Maxwell McDonnell. Not pictured Thao Le, and Arjun Bharadwaj

Third Place Team

A student team from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business earns third place at the 2022 Smeal College of Business MBA Sustainability Case Competition. The event was held in person for the first time since 2019. Team contributors include Max McDonnell, Anna Jacobs, Arjun Bharadwaj, Thao Lee, and Bryan Richman.

 

For Further Information

Please email all questions to: smealsustainability@psu.edu