State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

student news17

  • MS Alum Banks on Sustainability Management Skills

    MS Alum Banks on Sustainability Management Skills

    While a part-time student in the program, M.S. in Sustainability Management alum Lizzette Butkiewicz (’12), was working full-time at a boutique trade finance firm with the hope of merging her interest in sustainability with her background in finance. Now, as the Manager of Community Investments in the Corporate Sustainability team at HSBC, Lizzette is doing…

  • Students Explore Sustainable Agriculture at McEnroe Farm

    The McEnroe Farm opened in the late 1980s, with the help of the McEnroe and Durst families of Duchess County, who had a shared vision for the future of sustainable agriculture. Over time, their endeavor has grown from a small farm with a roadside stand to one of the largest organic farms in the Northeast,…

  • MS Students Implement Energy Management Initiatives as EDF Climate Corps Fellows

    MS Students Implement Energy Management Initiatives as EDF Climate Corps Fellows

    14 M.S. in Sustainability Management (MSSM) students were selected to be a part of the Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) Climate Corps Fellowship program this summer. Through this 10-week fellowship, over 100 graduate students from around the country are placed within leading organizations including companies, cities, and universities to serve as organizational change agents for energy…

  • Fall Semester Kicks-off with a Welcome Mixer

    By: Deborah Sachare Returning students in the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development joined new students and faculty for hors d’oeuvres at a Welcome Mixer this past September. The annual mixer, held each fall, “is always a great chance for our faculty and students to connect at the beginning of another exciting and busy academic year,”…

  • Columbia Aquanauts Hope Passion for Water Issues Has Ripple Effect

    Columbia Aquanauts Hope Passion for Water Issues Has Ripple Effect

    Last spring, the pressing issue of water prompted a passionate group of Columbia graduate students across a variety of disciplines to band together and form the Columbia Aquanauts. As the only club on campus focusing on water management, the Aquanauts aim to build a space where students can not only discuss their views and knowledge…

  • M.S. Students Develop Communication Platform for Sustainability and Life Cycle Assessment

    M.S. Students Develop Communication Platform for Sustainability and Life Cycle Assessment

    Prior to completing the M.S. in Sustainability Management program in spring 2013, MSSM alum Nick Turchak and current MSSM student Sally Paridis developed a corporate communication platform for sustainability and life cycle assessment (LCA) data as part of their independent project. Both students drew on skills learned from the Industrial Ecology course, taught by adjunct…

  • ESP Alum Brings Policymaking Skills to Consulting Firm

    ESP Alum Brings Policymaking Skills to Consulting Firm

    As an associate in the environmental and green technology sector of California Strategies, recent MPA in Environmental Science and Policy alum Claire van Zuiden (’13) develops strategies to grow and finance green companies and to help clients commercialize technologies to improve air quality, reduce waste and reduce California’s greenhouse gas emissions. Claire applies the system-based…

  • ESP Students Present Research Results at Final Presentations

    ESP Students Present Research Results at Final Presentations

    On Wednesday, August 14, students in the Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy program presented their final workshop briefings for their class: Workshop in Applied Earth Systems Policy Analysis. The summer workshop projects allowed ESP students to gain experience tackling tough environmental problems by working with real-world clients while creating the collaborative…

  • MPA Students Present Mid-Semester Briefings

    MPA Students Present Mid-Semester Briefings

    On Wednesday, June 26, the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy students presented their Midterm Briefings for their class: Workshop in Applied Earth Systems Policy Analysis. A continental breakfast was provided before the presentations began and the students and faculty had a chance to mingle and discuss informally what they had been working on for…

  • MS Alum Banks on Sustainability Management Skills

    MS Alum Banks on Sustainability Management Skills

    While a part-time student in the program, M.S. in Sustainability Management alum Lizzette Butkiewicz (’12), was working full-time at a boutique trade finance firm with the hope of merging her interest in sustainability with her background in finance. Now, as the Manager of Community Investments in the Corporate Sustainability team at HSBC, Lizzette is doing…

  • Students Explore Sustainable Agriculture at McEnroe Farm

    The McEnroe Farm opened in the late 1980s, with the help of the McEnroe and Durst families of Duchess County, who had a shared vision for the future of sustainable agriculture. Over time, their endeavor has grown from a small farm with a roadside stand to one of the largest organic farms in the Northeast,…

  • MS Students Implement Energy Management Initiatives as EDF Climate Corps Fellows

    MS Students Implement Energy Management Initiatives as EDF Climate Corps Fellows

    14 M.S. in Sustainability Management (MSSM) students were selected to be a part of the Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) Climate Corps Fellowship program this summer. Through this 10-week fellowship, over 100 graduate students from around the country are placed within leading organizations including companies, cities, and universities to serve as organizational change agents for energy…

  • Fall Semester Kicks-off with a Welcome Mixer

    By: Deborah Sachare Returning students in the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development joined new students and faculty for hors d’oeuvres at a Welcome Mixer this past September. The annual mixer, held each fall, “is always a great chance for our faculty and students to connect at the beginning of another exciting and busy academic year,”…

  • Columbia Aquanauts Hope Passion for Water Issues Has Ripple Effect

    Columbia Aquanauts Hope Passion for Water Issues Has Ripple Effect

    Last spring, the pressing issue of water prompted a passionate group of Columbia graduate students across a variety of disciplines to band together and form the Columbia Aquanauts. As the only club on campus focusing on water management, the Aquanauts aim to build a space where students can not only discuss their views and knowledge…

  • M.S. Students Develop Communication Platform for Sustainability and Life Cycle Assessment

    M.S. Students Develop Communication Platform for Sustainability and Life Cycle Assessment

    Prior to completing the M.S. in Sustainability Management program in spring 2013, MSSM alum Nick Turchak and current MSSM student Sally Paridis developed a corporate communication platform for sustainability and life cycle assessment (LCA) data as part of their independent project. Both students drew on skills learned from the Industrial Ecology course, taught by adjunct…

  • ESP Alum Brings Policymaking Skills to Consulting Firm

    ESP Alum Brings Policymaking Skills to Consulting Firm

    As an associate in the environmental and green technology sector of California Strategies, recent MPA in Environmental Science and Policy alum Claire van Zuiden (’13) develops strategies to grow and finance green companies and to help clients commercialize technologies to improve air quality, reduce waste and reduce California’s greenhouse gas emissions. Claire applies the system-based…

  • ESP Students Present Research Results at Final Presentations

    ESP Students Present Research Results at Final Presentations

    On Wednesday, August 14, students in the Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy program presented their final workshop briefings for their class: Workshop in Applied Earth Systems Policy Analysis. The summer workshop projects allowed ESP students to gain experience tackling tough environmental problems by working with real-world clients while creating the collaborative…

  • MPA Students Present Mid-Semester Briefings

    MPA Students Present Mid-Semester Briefings

    On Wednesday, June 26, the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy students presented their Midterm Briefings for their class: Workshop in Applied Earth Systems Policy Analysis. A continental breakfast was provided before the presentations began and the students and faculty had a chance to mingle and discuss informally what they had been working on for…