Sustainable Profit
Businesses and consumers are making progress on climate change
By Olivia Tebbetts ‘27
Josh Dorfman, co-founder and host of the climate-focused business podcast and newsletter Supercool, wants his audience to know that cutting carbon emissions can be profitable. “There are over 2,000 climate-technology companies that have raised growth-stage capital in the last dozen years or so,” Dorfman said, and “a lot of them have succeeded.”
In the final panel discussion of the four-part “Climate Is Every Story” series on April 8, The Business Of Climate, media professionals and BC faculty members explored the motivations for businesses to prioritize climate initiatives. The event highlighted how carbon reduction has evolved from a costly moral obligation to a strategic driver of growth. At the same time, companies are navigating political and social shifts. “When it comes to the business of climate, there are lots of different pressures,” said panel moderator Anissa Gardizy, a reporter at The Information. “We've seen major changes in terms of business and regulatory incentives that companies are under to do things that are better for the climate.”
Progress on climate is continuing despite deregulation around corporate climate responsibility. “What [companies] say publicly has gotten quieter,” said Michael Copley, a reporter for National Public Radio's Climate Desk, a phenomenon often called green-hushing. “But the investments are still being made, and the concerns are still there.”
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Photo by John Sexton '26
Market forces are helping to propel this progress. Global clean energy investment has surpassed $2 trillion, exceeding investment in artificial intelligence and doubling that of fossil fuels. According to Dorfman, clean energy is now “the biggest driver of the global economy.” Edson Severnini, associate professor of economics and a core faculty member of the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society, said that renewable energy “is becoming cheaper and cheaper around the world.” As costs fall, he said, clean energy is no longer a sacrifice made on behalf of the planet or to bolster a company’s reputation, but a cost-efficient energy option.
Copley noted that solar power and battery storage are also faster to build than traditional energy sources. “If you want power now, that is your option,” he said. But facing surging power demand from data centers that support artificial intelligence, many utility firms have stepped back from renewables as they scramble to meet immediate demand. “It is easier to pursue climate targets and invest in renewables when power demand isn't skyrocketing,” Copley said. “It's just a different world than it was four or five years ago.”
Consumers also have an important role in driving demand for sustainability. According to Severnini’s research on the Brazilian meat market, consumers are willing to pay 5% to 15% more when a slaughterhouse can prove that its cattle are not sourced from protected land.
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Photo by John Sexton '26
Gargana Nenkov, a professor of marketing at the Carroll School of Management, said that even though many consumers care about the environment and are willing to pay a price premium for an environmentally friendly product, businesses cannot rely on those values alone to drive sales. Instead, she said, these solutions succeed when they offer a tangible benefit to the customer beyond sustainability. “Don’t lead with green,” Nenkov said. “You have to provide some other value first, and sustainability will be the bonus.”
That value often goes far beyond profit margins. As Dorfman pointed out, research has linked sustainability efforts to seemingly disconnected benefits such as lower detention rates in net-zero energy schools or lower leukemia rates in areas with higher tree density. “Climate solutions do more than just solve climate,” he said. “They enhance our quality of life and our standard of living.” As companies continue to recognize the broader benefits of climate investments, it becomes easier to build successful business models on a sustainable foundation.