New School of Business Award Will Honor Local Businesses for Sustainable Practices

A sculpture of 5 polishd metal cubes on the lawn in front of the glass-faced Massry Center for Business building

ALBANY, N.Y. (Aug. 19, 2021) — The School of Business has created a new award to honor businesses in the greater Capital Region that demonstrate and promote sustainable practices in within their operations.

The High Peaks Impact Awards (HPIA) is designed to promote environment, social and governance (ESG) efforts taking place locally and to recognize companies that exhibit business models that benefit and provide value to stakeholders and the community.

The inaugural HPIA will be awarded Oct. 15 during a symposium at the Massry Center for Business, co-sponsored by the School of Business and the New York State Writers Institute. The symposium, A Community Celebration of ESG, will include speakers, panel discussions and networking opportunities with information on ESG, including socially and environmentally responsible investing, regulatory actions and guidelines, and reporting metrics.

The keynote speaker is Daniel Esty, the Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy at Yale University.

“UAlbany School of Business is honored to host the ESG symposium and launch the High Peaks Impact Awards, designed to recognize a commitment to socially responsible business practices,” said Nilanjan Sen, dean of the School of Business. “The event will provide a platform for our faculty, students, alumni and business leaders to share best practices and promote ESG initiatives in our local businesses. The LEED Gold certified Massry Center for Business will be indeed a perfect location for this inaugural event.”

Seeking nominations

HPIA nominees from businesses in the greater Capital Region should demonstrate examples of internal or external environmental sustainability, social responsibility and governance initiatives. The nominees should be actively involved in many of the following ESG criteria:

  • Environment: Efficient or renewable energy use; resource sourcing, use, waste and disposal; hazardous materials management; or other methods of reducing carbon footprint.
  • Social: Employee, consumer and community engagement that engenders loyal workers and customers; personnel policies that offer meaningful work and demonstrate a commitment to racial justice, human rights and economic disparities; concern for health, safety and wellbeing; customer privacy and welfare; fair advertising, disclosure, labeling; and product/service lifecycle impacts including quality and safety.
  • Governance: A recognized commitment to transparency, such as oversight and compliance to ethical decisions and competitive behavior; accounting audits and complete disclosure; composition of the Board of Directors, committee structure and executive pay; and community commitment to the arts and humanities, culture, civil rights, education, health and poverty, and volunteerism.

To nominate a business, or for more information on the High Peaks Impact Awards, contact Jennifer North in the dean’s office of the School of Business, 518-956-8370. The deadline for nominations is Sept. 14.