Enticing business leaders to go green—especially when they fear it’ll drive their bottom line into the red—is no easy feat. But a group of GW students has done just that with an award-winning proposal for the Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Case Competition.
The competition challenged select college students across the country to analyze the real-world issues that officials face when trying to boost their buildings’ energy efficiency. Through the GW Energy Club, nine GW School of Business students focused on cases centered in Houston and Manhattan. Their Houston case took “Best Proposal” after the team submitted a report and made a 10-minute presentation to a panel of commercial real estate and energy experts detailing realistic ways business leaders could be persuaded to invest in energy efficiency. Participants included Sidhartha Nilakanta, Steve Kinard, Scott Weiss, John Lee, Nate Facteau, Greg Butler, Rachael Sherman, Matt DeBold and Steve Majich.
A major component of their Houston proposal, group members said, was driving home the message that energy efficiency is a good business investment.
“This is something that makes business sense today, and that’s all the incentive you should need to make this change,” said Mr. Kinard.
But there’s still the worry of major upfront costs businesses must foot to, say, install a more efficient air-conditioning system to combat the hot Houston weather. To assuage those concerns, the team proposed a “green bond.” A pool of money from an investment bank backed by the city would funnel funds to the businesses for energy-efficient projects. Businesses would pay off the loan and, in combination with a lowered utility bill, would wind up paying less than they currently do each month, said Mr. Weiss, vice president of external affairs for the GW Energy Club.
An exclusive deal with certain air conditioning or window vendors would also bring deep discounts for materials and installation, another incentive for business leader to make the investment.
Still, group members knew they needed something more. They decided to capitalize on business leaders’ competitive spirit—something they knew would appeal handsomely in Texas. “Texas, like most of America, has people who are very competitive,” Mr. Weiss said. (Mr. Kinard, a Dallas native, was able to attest to that.)
So the group proposed issuing energy reports so businesses could compete and see who could become most green and therefore run a leaner, more profitable business.
“That would really bring to the forefront that competitive spirit when that guy across the street is achieving a competitive advantage and is beating you,” Mr. Kinard said.
The presentation clearly impressed the panel. Not only did it win “Best Proposal,” but a representative from the mayor’s office in Houston—who was serving as a judge—said she’d pass their ideas on to the right people and follow up with the team members.
“That’s the most exciting part,” said Mr. Weiss. “In the end, it wasn’t just an academic exercise. Now we’re going to have the chance to talk directly to the people of Houston and actually try to make these policies work.”
For Mr. Weiss, the competition exemplifies why he came to GW—it puts him, he said, “at the intersection of business and society.”
“It’s about how to use business skills to drive positive change in the world,” he said. “One of the key elements is environmental sustainability.”
Mr. Kinard is equally passionate about energy issues as they relate to business.
“The No. 1 thing that attracts me to energy efficiency is that it delivers value to businesses today,” he said. “This is something that affects every business in America and is something that can make an enormous contribution to their profitability and their success.”