BU’s New Sustainable Business Club Is Changing How Students Think About Business

When friends Zach Sugerman (Questrom ’27) and Ben Starr (Questrom ’27) took SM131 and learned about Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), their passion for exploring how business can drive positive environmental impact quickly took root. At their first SPLASH—Boston University’s student organization fair during freshman year—they noticed something missing. “We realized there were no clubs that even remotely overlap with business and sustainability on campus,” says Ben.

The two rising sophomores got to work founding what would become Boston University’s Sustainable Business Club. That summer, they got connected with Shelly Shan (Questrom ’26), who had been independently pursuing the same vision. Unsurprisingly, the club attracted more than 120 sign-ups at its first SPLASH this past fall. Since then, the Sustainable Business Club has built strong momentum—hosting field trips, guest speakers, career workshops, and launching its signature initiative: a semester-long Sustainable Business Case Competition.

Zach, from Philadelphia, and Ben, from New York City, were both business majors from the start and shared the belief that business can—and should—be a tool for social good. Both had been inspired by the ESG module in SM131, which helped them see the potential for applying business frameworks to some of the world’s most urgent environmental challenges. “SM131 set the platform,” Zach explains. “It showed how business operates at a broad level, and the ESG portion helped bridge the gap between the purpose of business and its real-world impact.”

“One of the main things we’re trying to teach in the Sustainable Business Club is… a lot of sustainable business ideas today—like energy efficiency or clean energy—are gaining traction not just because they’re good for the environment but because they make financial sense.”

Zach Sugerman (Questrom ’27) Co-founder and Co-President of Sustainable Business Club

“I didn’t want to give up my love for the environment,” she says. “So I looked for ways to combine both.” She later attended an info session with Professor Richard Stuebi, who introduced her to the Sustainable Energy minor at Questrom. “It was exciting to see how I could combine sustainability with business,” she says. She enrolled in Cleantech Venture Consulting (SI430), which marked a turning point: instead of just reading about sustainability or hearing lectures, she got hands-on experience working with real-world clients in clean tech, ESG investing, and battery innovation.

As Vice President and Director of Outreach and Professional Development, Shelly has supported sustainable business career workshops, coordinated field trips to companies like Greentown Labs, and helped build partnerships with industry professionals—always with the goal of making sustainable business knowledge accessible to all students, regardless of major.

Originally from the Yunnan Province of China, Shelly reflects: “I realized I love sharing what I know with people who want to learn. My family and English teacher influenced me. They don’t focus on what’s gained—they really taught me to be someone who helps others.”

That ethos runs deep in the Sustainable Business Club’s mission: to expose students—both inside and outside of Questrom—to the rapidly evolving world of sustainable business. From ethical labor and ESG investing to carbon-neutral supply chains and sustainable startups, the club provides a forum to explore it all. Members gain tangible skills through real-world case work, connect with local business leaders actively shaping the clean tech space, and prepare for careers that demand an understanding of sustainability across disciplines.

 “One of the main things we’re trying to teach in the Sustainable Business Club is that yes, businesses exist to drive profits—but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing,” says Zach. “Profitability doesn’t have to come at the expense of people or the planet. In fact, a lot of sustainable business ideas today—like energy efficiency or clean energy—are gaining traction not just because they’re good for the environment but because they make financial sense. Ten or twenty years ago, these practices were viewed almost as stunts or things done to just make the business look better in the public eye. Now, there’s a solid business case for them. They reduce costs and drive value, all while supporting a more sustainable future.”

What makes the club distinct is its cross-campus appeal. “So many Questrom clubs are focused purely on business,” says Zach. “What makes us unique is that we overlap with a lot of non-Questrom majors like environmental policy. We wanted to create a space where business students work with non-business students and vice versa.” This interdisciplinary approach simulates the environment students will be working in one day, and it has already paid off, with students from across BU joining in.

Early on, the club held bi-weekly meetings—but soon realized the gaps made it harder to maintain momentum. This semester, they shifted to a weekly cadence, organizing meetings around their semester-long case competition. “We realized people are more likely to show up when they’re accountable to a team and working toward a final project,” says Zach. “It also gives them something meaningful to talk about in interviews.”

Each week builds on the last, with members learning a sustainability concept and immediately applying it to the case—led and created by Zach. Last semester, the focus was sustainable aviation, using Delta Airlines as a case study. This semester, members are tackling a hypothetical sustainable mining expansion in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They’re researching community engagement models, studying past successes and failures, and developing proposals that include an executive summary, ESG strategy, risk mitigation plan, and implementation roadmap.

Looking ahead, the club has no intention of slowing down. This semester, the e-board is planning to explore Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant and a local wind farm. Shelly is currently conducting research with Professor Richard Stuebi on energy accessibility. Meanwhile, she and a business student from another school are preparing to represent BU at the EnergyTech University Prize competition this spring, where they’ll pitch a sustainable energy solution to a panel of industry leaders. Shelly credits recent Questrom grad Rachel Koh for her steadfast guidance as the team’s advisor.

Whether you’re a business major, a policy student, an engineer, or just someone curious about the intersection of profit and purpose, the Sustainable Business Club invites you to join the conversation. To get involved, students can reach out to busustainbusiness@gmail.com or follow the club on Instagram @sustainablebusinessbu.

AI was used to optimize this content.

Interview by Katie Gauthier