October 27, 2026

Photo: Yana Zeltser

This month, Columbia Climate School hosted its 11th annual Climate & Sustainability Career Reception at the Penn Club of New York in Midtown, bringing together 134 students pursuing degrees related to climate and sustainability at Columbia and nearly 40 professionals working in climate and sustainability at organizations spanning diverse industries.

Unlike a career fair, the reception centered on small-group roundtable discussions, with students seated alongside two to three practitioners at each table. The intimate setting fostered conversations beyond quick introductions, giving students the opportunity to ask about practitioners’ day-to-day work, career journeys and advice for entering the field. An open networking session afterward allowed students to continue those discussions and connect with professionals from other tables and with fellow students.

The reception brought together professionals working across finance, clean energy, real estate, public policy and communications, demonstrating just how many forms climate and sustainability work can take.

Among them were practitioners from JPMorgan Chase and Schroders in finance, SolHarvest Energy in renewable energy, JLL and WSP in the built environment, and organizations such as WE ACT for Environmental Justice, the United Nations Development Programme and Bloomberg LP. Their work included lowering energy costs, helping organizations meet environmental standards, building public trust, championing climate justice and fostering healthier communities. Together, their perspectives highlighted how addressing climate change requires a collective effort across fields. As the wide range of practitioners in attendance demonstrated, financial analysis, engineering, policy development, community engagement and communication can all have an impact, offering students a broader picture of where their own skills and interests might fit.

Photo: Yana Zeltser

One recurring question from students was how to find their place in the field.

“As cheesy as this sounds, you need to find your flair,” said Neera Ravikumar, energy and sustainability analytics lead at Rowan Digital Infrastructure. 

Ravikumar encouraged students to identify their own professional edge by looking at the intersection of three things: what they’re passionate about, what they’re good at and what employers actually need. Students’ unique backgrounds and experiences, even those outside traditional sustainability disciplines, can become valuable differentiators when connected to a company’s challenges and priorities.

But identifying that value is only half the equation. Ethan Debuque, vice president at JLL, encouraged students to approach their professional development with an entrepreneurial mindset and learn not only how to build skills, but also how to communicate personal strengths, build a professional identity and make meaningful connections through networking at events such as industry conferences and the careers reception.

The need to tackle climate change and develop and integrate sustainability practices and policies is increasingly shaping how organizations operate and the impact they have on our planet. The demand for climate and sustainability practitioners continues to grow across industries with new and evolving opportunities to do work that can make an impact. By connecting students directly with practitioners, the career reception helped make those opportunities more tangible, offering valuable guidance, potential mentors and professional relationships that can extend well beyond the event itself.