With record-breaking gas prices, rising COVID cases and political divisions dominating the headlines, many may be left wondering if there’s anything good going on in the world. Fortunately, there are programs like AIM2Flourish, which bring attention to untold stories about business innovations that are changing the world for the better.
LMU is one of over 100 schools across the globe affiliated with AIM2Flourish, a United Nations-supported global learning initiative started by the Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. Using the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as their lens, students research and identify a positive business innovation and interview a business leader about it.
“AIM2Flourish helps our students see ‘business as a force for good’ in action,” said Jeff Thies, professor and director of LMU’s Institute for Business Ethics and Sustainability (IBES). “Having our students engage in conversations with ethical and sustainable business leaders not only creates a deeper understanding of economics but a real-world connection to critical business concepts of positive social and environmental impact.”
Out of the 685 stories published on the AIM2Flourish platform in 2021, LMU was selected as two of the 17 best stories exemplifying how business is a force for good and demonstrating progress toward the 17 SDGs (one for each goal). The 2022 Flourish Prize Honorees recognize the accomplishments of the student author(s), the professor who oversaw the story’s publication, and the business profiled in the story.
Congratulations to the following LMU teams on receiving Flourish Prizes:
- Sustainable Innovation in the Construction Industry featuring FactoryOS (Global Goal #9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), written by Jeannie Schryer, Daniella Vincent and Christopher Dorsy, under the direction of Ingrid Greene
- Food is Power: Eradicating Food Insecurity One Yard at a Time featuring Crop Swap LA (Global Goal #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities), written by Faith Nishimura, Ryan Walker, Tyler Walker and Steve Howell, under the direction of Jeff Thies
LMU students participate in AIM2Flourish through the undergraduate course “Business Ethics and Sustainability” – where Ingrid Greene’s team came from – and MBA course “Ethical Issues in Business.” Additionally, the AIM2Flourish story process served as the preliminary round of IBES’ Promotion of Justice Challenge – where the CropSwap LA team won first place.
Professor Greene says participating in AIM2Flourish not only allows her students to implement their new understanding of sustainable and ethical business practices, it gives them hope that organizations are being proactive about integrating the SDGs.
“I often hear students say they have a hard time believing the UN global goals are making a difference,” said Greene. “After this project, their perspectives shift because they see so many organizations ‘walking the walk.'”
Jeannie Schryer, a 2022 finance alumna with a passion for sustainable housing, came up with the idea to spotlight FactoryOS alongside financial partner/strategic advisor Peter Palmisano. Her biggest takeaway from the project was having FactoryOS’s work validated by an external source.
“From a student perspective, I can look at this company and think that what they’re doing is great, that they are contributing to the solution, but having an external group of professionals validate it means that they’re on the right track,” said Schryer, who’s set to begin a new position as an investment analyst with Forum Real Estate in Denver.
In a fortuitous twist, Schryer received the job offer and found out her team won the Flourish Prize on the same day – a positive sign that a career in affordable and sustainable housing is where she’s meant to be.
