Inaugural Yale Business and the Environment Conference Explores How Business Can Balance Profit and Planet

A few years into her role as chief sustainability officer at Johnson & Johnson, Paulette Frank discovered a secret to motivating people to become more environmentally conscious. The key, she told a Yale SOM audience, is demonstrating how human health is integrally tied to the planet’s health.

“The more I talked to people around the world, I came to see that everybody cares about their own health and the health of the people they love,” said Frank, a 1996 graduate of the Yale School of the Environment. “I got excited about the potential of health as this universal motivator for sustainability.”

Frank drew on this observation to develop a sustainability strategy focused on the relationship between environmental and human health. This step was a natural one for Johnson & Johnson, the world’s largest, most diversified healthcare products company.

“Every chance we have to make this connection, we do,” Frank said.

Frank was the keynote speaker at the inaugural Yale Business and the Environment Conference, held at Yale SOM on February 8. Under the theme “Growth and Stewardship,” more than 100 attendees—including students from Yale and other schools, as well as industry experts—gathered to network and learn how businesses can balance operational growth with the urgent task of lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

“The theme fit within our broader goal of highlighting the diversity of interests involved, since every sector will face challenges around growth and stewardship,” said Derek Nong ’25, a member of the conference’s student-led executive committee.

SOM’s Business and the Environment Club collaborated with the Business and the Environment Learning Community at the Yale School of the Environment (YSE) to plan the event.

“The business and environment communities at both schools worked closely together,” Nong said. “The organizing team was nearly 50-50 across SOM and YSE, and we drew upon the networks of both schools to invite speakers.”

The conference featured three speaker panels on topics such as “Decarbonizing Today’s Operations,” “Beyond Carbon: Planetary Stewardship,” and “Growing in a Net-Zero Future.” Speakers came from a variety of organizations, including Nestlé, PwC, nonprofit Topo Finance, plant-based food company Renewal Mill, and the investment manager Nuveen. Networking sessions, including 16 small-group coffee chats, gave students time to connect with each other and with the speakers.

“It was important to get a good spread of folks from diverse backgrounds, so there would be something for everyone,” said Olivia Johnson ’26, a student at YSE, who worked on the conference’s Logistics, Finance and Sustainability Committee.

The seeds for the new conference were planted last year when Nong, a member of SOM’s Business and Environment Club, saw an opportunity for students to launch a flagship event.

“Within the Yale ecosystem, there’s a strong community around renewable energy, but the climate challenge is so much broader,” Nong explained. “We wanted to create a space where students of all interests—from circularity sustainability practices to waste disposal to water management—could connect.”

A team of 13 students from worked for more than six months planning the conference. The Yale Center for Business and the Environment and SOM’s Program on Social Enterprise, Innovation, and Impact co-sponsored the event with help from the Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale.

Nico Valette ’26, a YSE student who led the Speaker and Sponsor Committee, said the conference’s rich mix of perspectives offered a unique opportunity to foster candid, impactful discussions.

“During my four years in corporate sustainability, I often wished for a forum where thought leaders could freely explore opportunities to accelerate corporate sustainability efforts while also openly addressing the inherent limitations,” Valette said.

Organizers hope that the conference will ultimately serve to accelerate corporate sustainability efforts, said Jennifer Gao ’26, a YSE student who worked on the Logistics, Finance, and Sustainability Committee.

“We wanted to create an open dialogue between business leaders and sustainability experts to drive real action in corporate sustainability,” Gao said. “As someone passionate about bridging environmental solutions with business practices, I’m excited to create a space where we can have honest conversations about both the opportunities and challenges in this transformation.”