04.01.08
Thunderbird School of Management has just awarded its annual sustainable innovation prize...
Ten entries from graduate business schools around the world made the final round, yet the eventual winner, a team from John Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), was the only one of the final group not to come from an MBA school.
The challenge involved creating the best sustainable solutions to real-world issues posed by the event’s sponsors: Arizona Public Service (APS), which is Thunderbird’s home state’s largest energy provider, and Johnson & Johnson
APS wanted to know how it could make sustainability a core business value and Johnson & Johnson wanted to know how it could cater to the medical needs of diabetic patients in China.
The winning team
The SAIS team created a matrix that allowed APS to score projects on their environmental, economic and community impact, while Johnson & Johnson were impressed by the way the team spotted a way to gain access to China’s elderly retirees during their communal morning-exercise routine.