ClimateCAP

ClimateCAP is a learning initiative that prepares MBA students to understand and respond to the business risks and opportunities of climate change. It runs out of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, through the Center for Energy, Development and Global Environment (EDGE). Daniel Vermeer and Katie Kross founded ClimateCAP in 2018 after noticing that most MBA programmes did not cover climate as a business issue, leaving companies to train new graduates on the subject themselves. ClimateCAP treats climate as a factor that affects business performance across every industry, not only energy and utilities, and works with a growing network of business schools to build this understanding into MBA education.

Major Areas of Work

• MBA Climate Education: builds climate literacy into business school curricula through events, resources and shared programming across schools.
• Climate Leadership Development: trains MBA students to assess and respond to climate related business risks and opportunities.
• Business and Academic Partnerships: connects business schools, companies and climate leaders through a shared network and recruiting channel.

Major Initiatives and Programmes

• ClimateCAP Summit: an annual, weekend-long gathering connecting MBA students with business leaders to discuss climate’s impact on business and society. The host school rotates each year, including Duke (2018), University of Virginia Darden (2020), Northwestern Kellogg (2022) and UT Austin McCombs (2023).
• ClimateCAP Fellowship: a 12-month, cohort-based programme for MBA students that includes mentoring, a stipend and a self-directed climate action project. It launched in 2023 with 12 Fellows from eight universities.
• ClimateCAP Academy: ongoing conversations with business leaders, academics, innovators and entrepreneurs on climate-conscious leadership.
• Partner School Network: a consortium of more than 50 business schools that share curricula, host joint events and collaborate on climate education.

Impact

Since its founding in 2018, ClimateCAP has brought together more than 2,300 Summit attendees, trained 55 Fellows through its fellowship programme and built a network of 54 Partner Schools worldwide.

Leadership

• Daniel Vermeer, Co-founder and Executive Director, EDGE Center, Duke Fuqua
• Katie Kross, Co-founder and Managing Director, EDGE Center, Duke Fuqua
• Jessica Wingert, Programme Leader, ClimateCAP

Partners

Harvard Business School, Duke University Fuqua School of Business, University of Michigan Ross School of Business (Erb Institute), Colorado State University, Fordham University Gabelli School of Business, Yale School of Management (CBEY), MIT Sloan School of Management, Emory University Goizueta Business School, and over 50 other partner business schools worldwide.

ClimateCAP suits people who want to work at the intersection of climate and global business education. The team works directly with top business schools, companies and climate leaders, and shapes how the next generation of MBA graduates understands climate risk. It offers exposure to an established, growing network rather than a single institution, with direct contact with students, faculty and industry leaders across the Partner School Network.