Sustainability Meets the Bottom-Line: Bloomberg LP

The Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development was pleased to host Lee Ballin, Sustainability Manager at Bloomberg LP on Friday, March 2^nd at the third of its five spring brownbag events for undergraduates. As a premier financial information provider for banks, corporations, governments and others, Bloomberg is leveragesing their distribution platform to provide environmental, social and governance data in an effort to improve transparency, liquidity and asset evaluations. BloombergBloombergThe company aims to connect influential decision makers to a dynamic network of people, information and ideas. Lee is responsible for managing sustainability efforts within Bloomberg’s supply chain and oversees its internal and external sustainability communications. The topic of sustainability in the private sector attracted both undergraduate and graduate students from various programs.On Friday, March 2nd, current Undergraduate and Graduate students in the Columbia community interested in Sustainable Development attended a “Brown Bag” luncheon presented by Columbia’s Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development. Featured at this event was Bloomberg, LP. As a premier financial information provider for banks, corporations, governments and others, Bloomberg is leveraging their distribution platform to provide environmental, social and governance data to improve transparency, liquidity and asset evaluations. Bloomberg aims to connect influential decision makers to a dynamic network of people, information and ideas.

After its founding in 1982, Bloomberg quickly grew, driven by innovation and a passion for getting things right. Within 10 years the company had 10,000 customers and offices all around the world. Now, the Bloomberg Professional service provides data, analytics and other financial information to more than 310,000 customers.

Students in attendance at the “Brown Bag event” were interested in learning about the path to a company such as Bloomberg and the way in which sustainability is approached and managed. Bloomberg’s approach? Business. Bloomberg puts a focus on the environment because it is simply economical. Since the beginning of their sustainability initiatives in September 2006, Bloomberg has saved tens of millions of dollars in their overall costs.

Handling these sustainability initiatives isGuest speaker, Lee, who works on Bloomberg’s global sustainability team, Ballin, Sustainability Manager at Bloomberg, and Bloomberg’s global Sustainability teamsharedtalked to students about the organization’s several of the internal environmental initiatives and the economic benefits of the green choices they have made by Bloomberg’s global Sustainability team. The sSustainability team is a Chairman’s Office effort that aggressively integrates sustainability considerations into all of Bloomberg’s operations. The team evaluates sustainability market risks and opportunities with regards to new technologies and products. Bloomberg takes being green seriously: a great internally there is an initiative underway to in going green within their offices, making an effort to useprocure Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper and to have LEED certification ed office buildingsfor its office buildings worldwideall over the world. Lee, specifically, is responsible for coordinating sustainability efforts within Bloomberg’s Supply Chain as well as in all of Bloomberg’s internal and external Sustainability communications.

While Lee’s job is rooted in Ssustainability, his studies were business-oriented. Lee earned a BA in Business Logistics from Pennsylvania State University and completed his MBA at NYU with a specialization in Finance and Sustainability in the Spring of 2009. Lee believes that having a strong business background is necessary for work in a company like Bloomberg. How did Lee end up where he is today? “I was in the right place at the right time,” he said, “I am really lucky. I love my job.”

“Brown Bag” These brownbag events take place on select Fridays throughout the 2012 spring semester from 12:00PM-1:00PM in the Alumni Center located on 113^th Street between Broadway and Riverside. These programs are targeted for undergraduate students interested in Sustainable Development and are hosted by the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development. All undergraduate and graduate students in the Columbia and Barnard communities are encouraged to attend.

This “Brown Bag” eventbrownbag was third in a series of five scheduled luncheons to be hosted by Columbia’s Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development which is an interdisciplinary program that addresses sustainable development through an understanding in the interaction between natural sciences and social systems, offered through the Earth Institute in partnership with Columbia College and the School of General Studies. Participating departments and schools of the Sustainable Development Major and Concentration include the Department of Earth and Environmental Biology; the Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering; the School of International and Public Affairs and the Mailman School of Public Health.

The Program in Sustainable Development allows students to gain the necessary skills they need to address the fundamental issues of sustainability. Whether it be navigating through complex public health situations or using analytical skills to develop solutions to water management problems, the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development enables students to look at progress in human well-being without causing harm to our environmental and the planet. The program benefits from the groundbreaking work of the faculty and researchers at the Earth Institute who collaborate with students in addressing fundamental sustainable development issues.

To learn more about the Undergraduate Major and Special Concentration in Sustainable Development, or for more information about and to register for our upcoming “Brown Bag” events hosted by the Undergraduate Program, please visit our website or contact Program Coordinator, Jessica Crespo, at jcrespo@ei.columbia.edu.