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Center for Sustainable Business | 2024 NYU Stern Sustainable Business Pitch Competition

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2024 NYU Stern Sustainable Business Pitch Competition

Sponsored by Eddie Stern and in partnership with Empire State Realty Trust, CSB will host NYU and Stern students for a pitch competition to help real estate leaders track and understand the financial benefits of decarbonization strategies. 

About the 2024 Competition

The annual NYU Stern Sustainable Business Pitch Competition focuses on developing practical business proposals that create positive environmental and social impact in tandem with competitive financial and economic value.

This year's kick off is on February 27th. Team sign-ups are due by Monday, February 26th at 11:59PM ET.  Please sign up here to participate and to stay informed on future communications on the competition.

Worldwide, buildings are responsible for around 40% of energy and process-related CO2 emissions, 50% of all extracted materials, 33% of water consumption and 35% of generated waste. Just 15% of real estate assets worldwide currently align with the Paris Agreement’s goal of net-zero emissions to limit global warming to no more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2050. Transitioning to a lower-carbon built environment is essential to adapt and mitigate the impacts of climate change. In partnership with Empire State Realty Trust, the Spring 2024 Sustainable Business Pitch Competition will task teams with leveraging CSB’s Return on Sustainability Investment (ROSI) methodology to build a model to help real estate leaders track and understand the financial benefits (tangible and intangible) of decarbonization strategies.

Three finalist teams will be awarded a $15,000 total prize purse thanks to generous sponsorship from Eddie Stern.

Teams must consist of between 2 and 4 NYU graduate students. At least 50% of the team must be enrolled in the Stern MBA program. For example, teams of two must consist of at least 1 Stern MBA student, and teams of 3 or 4 must consist of at least 2 Stern MBA students. Teams may include any combination of part-time, full-time, and dual degree graduate-level students. 

Review the information session on this year's competition theme and deliverables here.  Feel free to reach out to sustainablebusiness@stern.nyu.edu with any additional questions! 

 Read about the 2023 challenge here.