History

Since 2013, the Business Sustainability Collaborative has served as an academic initiative in the Poole College of Management at NC State University that brings together students, leading faculty and the business community to redefine how business success is measured.

Sustainability today is an intrinsic part of doing business. It is imperative that as a business school, we enable our students to learn through instruction and real-world experiences how sustainability principles and practices contribute to a company’s value, to integrate this into our research activities, and to extend this knowledge into the business community.
Ira R. Weiss, Professor, Department of Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Poole College of Management

Poole College of Management at NC State University

2010

Lonnie C. Poole Jr., founder of Waste Industries makes a $37.5 million endowed gift, naming the Poole College of Management. A portion of the gift was committed to establishing a center of excellence in sustainability in the college.

Scott Showalter, Professor of Practice, Department of Accounting

2011

Scott Showalter, professor in Poole College’s Department of Accounting, led an assessment of sustainability research among NC State faculty and a Poole College task force producing the “Opportunities for Thought Leadership in Sustainability” report.

2013

Jessica Thomas is named the inaugural director of Poole College’s Sustainability Initiative and officially launches the initiative to integrate sustainability across Poole College courses, research, career development, and operations.

2015

The Sustainability Initiative becomes the Business Sustainability Collaborative with the mission of preparing the next generation of leaders by engaging students, faculty, and the business community to drive positive business results.

Jessica Thomas Director of the Business Sustainability Collaborative

2016

BSC Director, Jessica Thomas, receives the Global B Corporation community with the Bill Clark Award, recognizing the individual outside of a certified B Corp who has done the most to support the B Corp community.

2017

BSC hosts the 3rd year of the internationally recognized B Corp Clinic which connects students to aspiring B Corporations to help them improve their environmental and social impact.

2018

BSC hosts B the Change, networking events, and the B Corp Clinic, connecting 30 students from NC State, Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, and NC Central with 7 B Corp Clinic companies from across the country.

2019

The 4th Annual Lulu eGames Social and Environmental Impact (SEI) Category was managed by the BSC in collaboration with the NC State Entrepreneurship Initiative and local businesses, providing mentorship and sponsorship totaling $10K.

2020

In the midst of a global pandemic, the BSC and the B Corp Clinic celebrate years. All events go entirely virtual. Sustainable businesses show us how to take care of their employees during a crisis.

2021

We’ve Just celebrated over 5 years of the B Corp Clinic!

Watch the Video

2022

Moving forward, together. This year, we’ve worked with our students, faculty, and partners to provide online programs and to safely get back together in person for social impact speed networking events and much more!

2023

As we continue to advance the BSC we hired our very first program manager, Rachel Haynes. . The 9th annual FoodCon was also hosted back in person at NC State led by our BSC Associates.