Businesses have a vital role to play in solving social and environmental issues through innovation, market development, and entrepreneurship.

With more than 20 years’ experience, the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise works with faculty associated with the Business of Sustainability Theme who are at the forefront of research, teaching, and engagement related to helping businesses address these problems. We provide students distinctive experiential learning opportunities and collaborate with organizations to help to tackle the grand challenges of our time, such as climate change, ecosystem degradation, and poverty.


Cornell Business Impact Symposium Registration is now open!

Cornell Business Impact Symposium 2026

From Promise to Performance: Sustainability under Pressure

Join us on April 9th to 11th in-person in the Statler Hotel for the 2026 Cornell Business Impact Symposium

Panel discussions and speaker topics will cover aspects of how the private sector creates positive impact on social and environmental challenges.  Join us for networking with students, alumni, faculty, staff, and professionals within this industry.

More information about the event.

News and Stories About the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise

Zymtronix. conference slide
February 10, 2026

Scaling green: Opening new markets for sustainable biotechnology

Three Cornell MBA students assess new markets and pursue partnerships for Zymtronix’s sustainable biotech solutions

Two MBA students standing in front of their project poster with the founder of Via’s Cookies
January 20, 2026

Cookies that do more than satisfy a sweet tooth

Big Red Microenterprise students reflect on helping strengthen Via’s Cookies’ local market presence

Jason Woolf standing in the Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA) office in front of banner walls
November 11, 2025

Driving impact through data at Special Olympics Pennsylvania

Jason Woolf MBA ’26 used business analytics to attract more athletes, promote good health, and make a greater difference.


Research With Impact

Megan Epler Wood

Megan Epler Wood

Cornell SC Johnson College of Business

Ante Mandić Professional Headshot

Ante Mandić

Cornell SC Johnson College of Business

Strengthening Sustainable Tourism’s Role in Biodiversity Conservation and Community Resilience

International Union for Conservation of Nature, 2025

Summary 

In this publication, the authors develop a framework with three strategic goals for visitation to Protected and Conserved Areas (PCAs). These goals focus on tourism revenue, resilience and livelihoods, and collaborative governance systems, which aim to expand sustainable tourism’s role in strengthening biodiversity and incentivize equitable economic development. The research examines multiple case studies to demonstrate how tourism can drive biodiversity conservation and outline a framework for how stakeholders can position tourism to be environmentally responsible and foster long-term sustainability.


The Center hosts annual conferences surrounding the energy transition and business impact, hosts roundtables and networking events during NYC Climate week, and more!

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Events

April 10 - April 11, 2026
Join Entrepreneurship at Cornell and the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise for a joint event, bringing together Celebration Ezra and...
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Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Environmental Finance and Impact Investing Fellows will be doing a poster session on their Capstone projects. All are welcome! —...
6:00pm - 7:30pm EDT -04:00
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Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Join us for a poster session to learn about and celebrate MBA students’ work with community organizations and businesses. All...
5:00pm - 6:30pm EDT -04:00
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Stay in Touch with the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise

Check out our recent newsletters below. Please email CSGE@cornell.edu to be added to our distribution list.


Center Projects Spanning the Globe

The Center provides hands-on learning opportunities for graduate students interested in learning how businesses address environmental and social problems through innovation and enterprise. Click on the map to learn more about the diversity of companies and types of challenges we work on.


Michael Arsnow (MBA '19)

My best decision at Johnson was joining SGE. Hands down!

Mikey Arsnow, MBA '19
Mercedes Moran

The SGE program is more than a class, it is a community building exercise. We worked hard but also played hard while learning about win-win solutions for business and the world.

Mercedes Moran Enriquez, MBA ‘20

Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ’ Land Acknowledgment for the Ithaca Campus

Cornell University is located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ’ (the Cayuga Nation). The Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ’ are members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, an alliance of six sovereign Nations with a historic and contemporary presence on this land. The Confederacy precedes the establishment of Cornell University, New York state, and the United States of America. We acknowledge the painful history of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ’ dispossession, and honor the ongoing connection of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ’ people, past and present, to these lands and waters.