SPM Exclusive Blog - Sustainability Across Borders: Columbia’s Sustainability Management Faculty visit China
Sustainability problems don’t stop at political borders; making tackling them a challenge, especially in politically and economically fraught times. That makes the role that universities play even more important: by providing a forum for the exchange of thoughts, ideas, and collaboration across different fields.
This past summer, Columbia faculty members Dong Guo and Satyajit Bose, who teach courses in the MS in Sustainability Management program and are both researchers at the Research Program on Sustainability Policy and Management, visited several universities and organizations in China to build connections between the work being done in China and the US to tackle issues such as waste management, energy, and climate risks to business.
Waste-to-Energy Discussion in Zhejiang
Two of the most pressing issues in sustainability are how to manage the immense amount of waste produced by modern society, as well as how to produce adequate energy to support our communities and activities. Waste-to-energy, often shortened to WtE, provides a solution to both these issues by utilizing waste as a raw material in energy generation, typically via combustion or other processes. During their trip, Professors Guo and Bose visited Zhejiang University’s College of Energy Engineering for a lecture and exchange session to discuss the potential and complexities of WtE adoption. In their university publication, Zhejiang University describes the event, “Discussions throughout the session emphasized the importance of adapting … financial and policy frameworks to diverse regional contexts, particularly in the Global South, where rapid urbanization and infrastructure constraints require scalable, cost-effective, and policy-driven solutions.” The Columbia delegation also visited the Hangzhou WtE Plant, which accounts for 100% of municipal diversion of waste from the city of Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang Province and a city that consistently ranks among the most sustainable in China
Geo-Climactic Risks to Business Seminar at HKUST Guangzhou
Aligning different sectors with sustainability action, risk mitigation, and best practices is key to building a future of sustainable growth. As part of this strategy, Professors Guo and Bose visited the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Guangzhou campus to deliver a seminar on the Geo-Climactic risks to business.
Due to its role as a major city in a region prone to climate-related disturbances such as Typhoons, Guangzhou is positioned to improve its resilience through a better understanding of climate risk. During the seminar, the Columbia delegation provided an overview of the climate risk modeling and scenario analysis process for corporate issuers, as motivated by actual examples of physical and transition risks and opportunities and the requirements of evolving new regulations and voluntary standards. These ideas can help foster better practices and preparedness for a climate-changed future.
Carbon Management in Electric Vehicle Manufacturing
China’s electric vehicle industry is considered a global leader, in part due to the electric vehicle manufacturer BYD, which last year overtook Tesla as the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles. The Columbia delegation visited BYD's Group ESG and Sustainability Department, including members of the company's Carbon Management Office, for a site visit and working discussion. As part of the visit, BYD presented their carbon management strategies and Professors Guo and Bose provided recommendations based on their expertise.
Future connection: Fall course in China
Separately, Professor Guo also visited CATL, the world’s largest battery maker, as well as Sigenergy, one of the largest providers of residential energy storage systems. Professors Guo and Bose’s trip to China marked the beginning of a continued collaboration between Columbia and partners in China. This fall, a new Sustainability Management field course will be offered by Professors Guo and Bose, entitled ‘Green Industrial Policy in Zhejiang, China’. This course will allow students to visit some of these companies, have in-depth discussions with their management teams, and learn firsthand how China’s industrial policy has influenced the development of various clean tech industries, and the landscape of the international markets especially as they face increasing risks from climate change as well geopolitical uncertainty.