Circularity

Leaders from Georgia Tech and across the sustainability ecosystem came together at the Super South Conference to explore bold, collaborative solutions to climate challenges. Faculty from the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business and Drawdown Georgia Business Compact members joined industry experts to share insights on clean energy, carbon markets, and the role of business in driving a more sustainable future.

Graduate Sustainability Fellows at the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business partnered with the Georgia Forestry Foundation to publish new research on mass timber construction in Georgia. Using Jamestown’s 619 Ponce as a case study, the report highlights how locally sourced, low-carbon materials can drive sustainable urban development, support economic growth, and position Georgia as a leader in mass timber innovation.

Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business, joins The Intersection Podcast for a conversation with past and present faculty directors of the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business. Beril Toktay and Andre Calmon talk to Dean Mehrotra about the Center’s impact and explore the future for sustainable business education at Georgia Tech. The podcast highlights the Drawdown Georgia Business Compact. The consortium develops new business models to help companies be more profitable and sustainable – in ways that they couldn’t do alone.

The Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI) at Georgia Tech has appointed Titiksha Fernandes as a Strategic Initiative Leader to advance interdisciplinary collaboration and accelerate innovation in the bioeconomy. This initiative will strengthen connections between RBI and the Scheller College of Business, creating new opportunities in circular economy research, sustainable materials, and entrepreneurship. By bridging science, business strategy, and industry engagement, the effort aims to translate cutting-edge sustainability research into real-world impact across Georgia and beyond.

A field tour in Southeast Georgia brought together forestry experts, researchers, landowners, and businesses to examine the challenges facing Georgia’s forests, including hurricane damage and declining timber markets. Led by partners including the Georgia Forestry Foundation, the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business at Georgia Tech, Clemson University, and the University of Georgia, the tour highlighted the potential of a proposed Georgia Carbon Exchange to create a voluntary marketplace for high-quality carbon credits. The initiative aims to provide new economic incentives for private landowners to keep and manage forests, supporting carbon sequestration, rural economies, and long-term forest conservation across Georgia.

The Drawdown Georgia Business Compact is accelerating climate solutions at scale by mobilizing Georgia’s business community to reduce emissions while creating economic value. Launched in 2021 as an initiative of the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business at the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business, the Compact now includes 80 member organizations committed to integrating sustainability into core business strategy.

Through a growing community of practice, innovative initiatives like the Georgia Carbon Exchange, energy management and emissions reporting support for small and mid-sized suppliers, and student-driven consulting and research, the Compact is turning collaboration into action. These efforts help businesses stay competitive, support landowners and local economies, and advance Georgia’s path toward net-zero emissions. By aggregating demand, aligning industry leaders, and investing in practical climate solutions, the Compact demonstrates how collective action can drive measurable environmental and economic impact across the state.

In October, scholars and practitioners gathered in Atlanta for the fourth annual Symposium on Environmental and Social Sustainability in Supply Chains, co-hosted by Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business and Indiana University Kelley School of Business.

Georgia Tech’s Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business, in partnership with the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA), developed a new Energy Management & Reporting Executive Education Course. This custom course is a practical, four-month program designed for small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs).

 If you missed the live info session, you can now watch the full webinar recording

The Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business and the Drawdown Georgia Business Compact are launching a free Energy Management and Reporting course to help Georgia SMEs stay competitive through improved efficiency, cost savings, and readiness for emerging emissions reporting requirements.