From Berkeley to Austin to Impact: McCombs MBA Student Shreya Patel Brings ClimateCAP Lessons Home

By Aliya Carr, GSLI Communications Associate

The ClimateCAP summit is an annual summit that focuses on bringing MBA students together from across the country to hear from business leaders and experts on the changing landscape of sustainability. Students learn about the economic and financial implications that climate change may have on various markets. The GSLI chose Shreya Patel, a second-year MBA candidate at Mccombs and Graduate Business Council (GSB) Sustainability Representative, to attend the summit on behalf of UT Austin.

“ClimateCAP is a conference for people who are really interested in sustainability and want to learn about the future of sustainability, where it is now, and how we can continue growing into a sustainable future in business,” Patel said. “As an MBA student, we’re all moving into middle management careers where we can make more of an impact within sustainability, make more of these decisions that can impact the entire organization. It’s critical to continue learning about these topics.”

Shreya Patel arrived at the ClimateCAP summit with a deep appreciation for the environment and an interest in sustainability. She left inspired — armed with new knowledge, renewed hope, and a reinvigorated drive to make a meaningful impact.

“This year, when (the GSLI) asked me to go to ClimateCAP, I (thought) this is really exciting,” Patel said. “This is going to be a great opportunity for me to not only learn more about sustainability, but also meet people who are also like minded, who want to be able to move into roles where they can make an impact.”

The Berkeley Haas School of Business hosted this year’s ClimateCAP summit. Patel said the learning began well before the first panel. It started the moment she stepped off the plane and onto a campus where sustainability was woven into every detail.

“(Berkeley) has composting bins, which is something that (UT Austin) doesn’t have. When we had lunch, it was all vegan food, which is a nice touch” Patel said. “I never thought about how little actions like these make a big difference.”

Patel said the two-day conference was a mixture of learning from panelists, meeting other peers, and choosing to attend different sessions varying in topics related to sustainability. Patel learned about issues like sustainable fashion, the language around sustainability, the ways in which large-scale companies can successfully implement sustainability concerns into their function. Patel said what stuck with her most, though, was a session on how to be a successful leader in sustainability.

“You can have all the knowledge in the world, but if you don’t know how to advocate, then it’s never going to work. If you don’t know how to reach people, you’re never going to make an impact,” Patel said. “I think that session was probably the highlight of all the sessions that I went to.”

As Patel reflects on her time at McCombs, she said the GSLI was instrumental in helping her push forward her sustainability initiatives and goals. Aside from receiving the support needed to attend the ClimateCAP, she said the GSLI assisted her in her role as Graduate Business Council Sustainability Representative.

“I think them being able to support me to run these events was huge. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to successfully run these events,” Patel said. “I learned so much about sustainability at the ClimateCAP, and they helped a lot with being able to sponsor me.”

Patel said there are major takeaways from ClimateCAP that everyone can implement in their everyday lives to make a larger impact. She said she hopes to see a more collective effort in creating lasting change through small, but deliberate, decisions we can all make.

“Continue trying to learn every day about sustainability, and make one conscious effort every day to do something that’s sustainable,” Patel said. “Understand how you can advocate for sustainability in your day to day life. Teach others about what the importance of sustainability is, and continue to grow your knowledge.”