Three Weatherhead School of Management students were given the opportunity of a lifetime when BP reached out to hear their ideas on sustainability. In addition to pursuing their MBAs, the students are Business as an Agent of World Benefit Fellows at Weatherhead鈥檚 Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit.
BP has set aggressive goals to reduce methane flaring emissions and, after hearing about a presentation these fellows gave during the 2024 International Business Ethics and Sustainability Case Competition, invited the students to share their recommendations.
The company heard about a presentation that MBA students Kendyl Biondich, Brooke Kahl and Richard Manigault gave during Loyola Marymount University鈥檚 2024 International Business Ethics and Sustainability Case Competition in April and invited the students to share their findings and recommendations on July 18.
The team, who won first place in the 10-minute competition, gave a refined presentation to BP executives through Microsoft Teams and under the guidance and coaching of Megan Buchter, Director of the Fowler Center.
鈥淚t was really something special to have these executives from BP reach out and ask the consulting students to present their ideas,鈥 said Buchter. 鈥淭hey were a little nervous, but mostly they were just excited. It鈥檚 not very often that students get this level of exposure to companies or get this close to real-world experiences in business.鈥
The LMU competition is a hybrid event held online and in-person and consists of teams of three to five graduate or undergraduate students who compete in three competitions over the course of five days and aims to help students explore the moral imperatives of sustainable development. Presentation topics must be business-related and have an ethical component that鈥檚 tied to at least one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The students presented their solutions centered, in part, on internal turbines, to BP鈥檚 Andy Best, VP of Carbon, Genea Taft, BP鈥檚 OBO Finance Lead, and Sonna Sathiamoorthy, the company鈥檚 Group Carbon Manager. The group works on carbon emissions and the effects of gas flaring.
Biondich said the experience speaking to individuals who work directly on the issues addressed in their presentation, gave her exposure to mass scale problem solving and advanced leadership.
鈥淚t was really interesting getting to know BP鈥檚 process in researching new technologies to help mitigate their carbon emissions,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e got to learn from such knowledgeable professionals who are leaders in their fields and we had fun preparing the meeting.鈥
The BP team was grateful for and encouraged by the students鈥 presentation and are considering ways to incorporate their insights and ideas into ethical and sustainable solutions in the future.