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Affinity Groups

The Business of Water

The Business of Water affinity group is a knowledge-building group that attempts to drive awareness of the challenges facing our global water supplies. The global water supply is under increasing pressure, and we need to learn how to better utilize the resources of private enterprise to solve this challenge. Water is integral to our lives and to that end, The Business of Water fosters education through informative newsletters and career opportunities. With a future goal of expanding our efforts to include guest speakers and facility tours, we hope to instill a sense of responsibility in tomorrow's business leaders.

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Creative Design for Affordability (CDfA)

Can we guarantee clean drinking water for everyone? Or shine light in parts of the world without a single power line? Can we redesign products to encourage reuse and recycling? Designers, social venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, multinational corporations, and many more are part of a revolutionary movement to tackle some of the toughest problems facing the world. Are these radical endeavors feasible, profitable, or sustainable?

Creative Design for Affordability (CDfA) helps students understand the creative process for designing affordable products and using innovation as key drivers for business. CDfA activities include a course based on IDEO?s creative design process using a multidisciplinary approach for problem solving, and seminars/webinars with organizations and entrepreneurs who create, fund, and launch innovative products.

For more information, contact the Creative Design for Affordability leadership:

The Marketing Affinity Group

As an integral part of the SGE Club, the Marketing Affinity Group helps students explore the dynamic process of creating, communicating, and delivering environmental and societal value via consumer products and services. Planned events range from presentations by industry experts versed in green product segmentation, to conference calls with alumni who have started their own sustainable businesses and can offer strategic perspectives on sustainability marketing at the entrepreneur level. Other activities include "Lunch & Learn" sessions, designed to facilitate interaction with current students and faculty interested in issues specific to marketing sustainable companies in emerging and developed markets.

For more information, contact the Marketing Affinity Group leadership:

The Renewable Energy Affinity Group (REAG)

The Renewable Energy Affinity Group (REAG) strives to help Johnson School students develop an understanding of the role of renewable energy in the 21st century, and prepares students for a career in the renewable energy industry. REAG organizes programs directed at:

For more information, contact the Renewable Energy Affinity Group leadership:

Social Enterprise and Microfinance Affinity Group (SEAM)

The Social Enterprise and Microfinance Affinity Group (SEAM) envisions a world where every individual has the power to improve his or her economic and social situation through entrepreneurial initiatives. SEAM aims to raise awareness of Base of the Pyramid initiatives in microfinance, social entrepreneurship, and inclusive business models within the Johnson School and the greater Cornell community, through discussions, speakers, events, and special projects. We will explore the many ways in which the world's four billion poor take part in the global marketplace and how high-income and low-income communities can forge partnerships to their mutual benefit.

For more information, contact the SEAM leadership:

Sustainable Investing Affinity Group (SIG)

The Sustainable Investing Affinity Group supports interest in the many forms of sustainable investing and promotes the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues with investment management practices. Our goal is to build knowledge around the core disciplines of sustainable investing, and to prepare MBAs for successful careers with a long-term positive impact. Our areas of interest currently include:

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Sustainability in Operations

How do companies minimize negative social and environmental consequences of their business operations? Will incremental improvement be sufficient? And how do we complement operational changes with other business solutions to sustainability issues? We investigate lean operations, closed-loop supply chains, sustainability in product design, and other approaches for rethinking business operations.

The Sustainability in Operations Affinity Group works to help Johnson School students further their understanding of sustainable operations in business and to promote critical thinking around such opportunities. Accordingly, this affinity group strives to:

For more information, contact the Sustainability in Operations leadership:

Hospitality Sustainability (HAG)

Hospitality frequently refers to hotels, restaurants, casinos, catering operations, resorts, clubs and any other service companies that interact with customers and guests. The HAG is a forum to explore all facets of hospitality through a sustainability lens. The group looks at operations, development, and financing in the hospitality industry that can be impacted by social, economic, and environmental sustainability practices. Overall, the goal is to build awareness of the hospitality and service industries and how they can be interconnected with other sustainable businesses and practices.

For more information, contact the HAG leadership