Cornell Sustainability Consultants

What Cornell Sustainability Consultants does

Cornell Sustainability Consultants (CSC) is a student-led pro bono sustainability consulting organization founded in 2017 by Julien Morgan at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. It operates as a registered student organization with a small undergraduate membership drawn from Environment & Sustainability, Environmental Engineering, Operations Research, Applied Economics and Management, Computer Science, and other majors, led by an executive board and a roster of project managers. CSC delivers consulting services at no cost to local organizations, small businesses, and nonprofits in the Ithaca/Tompkins County region and, in at least one engagement, to a startup in Southeast Asia.

The service portfolio is organized into eight project teams: Sustainability Assessments, Net-Zero Roadmap Development, Sustainability Reporting, Data Management & Analysis, Stakeholder Engagement, Waste Reduction, Circular Business Models, Life Cycle Analysis, Growth & Competitive Strategy, Market Analysis, Organizational Restructuring, Carbon Footprint Analysis, and Benchmarking, supplemented by applied project services including Can Carrier Reuse, Carbon Calculators (Excel-based), Sustainable Tourism (STAMP) with Visitor Carbon Footprint modeling, Sustainable Beverage, Sustainable Branding, Sustainable Commerce, the Solid Waste Environmental Excellence Performance (SWEEP) standard developed with LEED founder Rob Watson, and Renewable Energy support for Community Choice Aggregation. The organization uses standard consulting tools and methodologies; it has no proprietary technology platform, API, mobile application, or AI/ML capabilities.

CSC's revenue model is exclusively pro bono: all consulting services are provided free of charge, with no pricing tiers, paid offerings, or disclosed revenue. The organization is privately held with no parent company, no subsidiaries, no external investors, and no funding rounds beyond a single Sustainable Finger Lakes mini-grant supporting the Can Carrier Reuse project. Go-to-market is community-led, relying on campus recruitment (information sessions, coffee chats, Google Forms applications), Instagram (@cornellsc), LinkTree, and the annual Cornell Business Impact Symposium for both talent and partner pipeline development.

Name

Cornell Sustainability Consultants

Legal name

Cornell Sustainability Consultants

Website

https://cornellsustainability.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cornell Sustainability Consultants is a student-led pro bono sustainability consulting organization at Cornell University that delivers carbon footprint, life cycle analysis, waste reduction, and circular economy advisory services to local SMBs, nonprofits, and community organizations in Ithaca and beyond.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental & Sustainability Consulting

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (541620)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAHACAK

Sustainability & ESG Consulting

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Management Consulting

SECONDARYEUABAKAC

Decarbonization Strategy & Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) Advisory

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Carbon & Climate Solutions (Carbon Markets, Offsets, CCS/CCUS)/Corporate Net-Zero & Climate Strategy Services (Targets, Transition Plans, SBTi Support)

SECONDARYEUABAKAH

Regulatory & Disclosure Strategy (CSRD/ESRS, ISSB/IFRS S2, SEC, TCFD)

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Carbon & Climate Solutions (Carbon Markets, Offsets, CCS/CCUS)/Corporate Net-Zero & Climate Strategy Services (Targets, Transition Plans, SBTi Support)

SECONDARYTHACAMAJ

Sustainability & Carbon Management for Business Travel

Travel & Hospitality/Business Travel & Corporate Travel Management/Corporate Travel Strategy & Consulting

Keywords

• Sustainability consulting
• Carbon footprint analysis
• Life cycle analysis
• Circular economy advisory
• Waste reduction consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Ithaca

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Pro Bono Consulting Services: CSC offers all consulting services free of charge to local organizations, small businesses, and industry experts. No revenue is generated as all services are provided at no cost to clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cornell Sustainability Consultants (CSC) is a student-led organization at Cornell University that provides pro bono sustainability consulting services to local organizations, small businesses, breweries, wineries, nonprofits, and community stakeholders. Service offerings include sustainability assessments, net-zero roadmap development, carbon footprint analysis, life cycle analysis (LCA), waste reduction solutions, circular business model design, sustainability reporting, and stakeholder engagement, delivered through project-based teams such as Can Carrier Reuse, Carbon Calculators, Sustainable Tourism, Sustainable Beverage, and SWEEP.

Product overview

Cornell Sustainability Consultants is a student-led pro bono sustainability consulting organization that offers a portfolio of consulting services rather than a unified software product. The core service offering includes Sustainability Assessments, Net-Zero Roadmap Development, Sustainability Reporting, Data Management & Analysis, Stakeholder Engagement, Waste Reduction Solutions, Circular Business Models, Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), Growth & Competitive Strategy, Market Analysis, Organizational Restructuring, Carbon Footprint Analysis, and Benchmarking. These services are delivered through project-based teams including Can Carrier Reuse, Carbon Calculators, Sustainable Tourism, Sustainable Beverage, Sustainable Branding, Sustainable Commerce, Solid Waste Environmental Excellence Performance (SWEEP), and Renewable Energy. The organization focuses on providing practical and impactful sustainability solutions to local organizations, small businesses, and industry experts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pro Bono Sustainability Consulting Services
• Can Carrier Reuse Project
• Carbon Calculators Project
• Sustainable Tourism (STAMP) Project
• Sustainable Beverage Project
• Sustainable Branding Project
• Sustainable Commerce Project (Ithaca Farmers Market Zero Waste Project)
• Solid Waste Environmental Excellence Performance (SWEEP) Project
• Renewable Energy Project

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced plastic waste through can carrier reuse programs in Ithaca area
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Personal Best BrewingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Can Carrier Reuse project to reduce plastic waste by promoting recycling and reuse of can carriers in Ithaca area. CSC received Sustainable Finger Lakes mini-grant for this initiative.
• GreenstarcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Can Carrier Reuse project to implement functional can carrier reuse program in Ithaca area.
• Tompkins Green Energy Network (TGEN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTGEN consists of representatives from Town of Ithaca, City of Ithaca, and Local Power LLC. CSC's Renewable Energy team is partnering with TGEN for Community Choice Aggregation energy system introduction, creating public-facing materials, designing website, engaging stakeholders, and conducting data analysis.
• Local Power LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of TGEN coalition working on Community Choice Aggregation energy system in Ithaca.
• Rob Watson (LEED Standard Founder)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSC's SWEEP team works with Rob Watson on developing the Solid Waste Environmental Excellence Performance (SWEEP) standard for sustainable materials management.
• Various Campus OrganizationsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSC cosponsors events with other student organizations dedicated to sustainability; past collaborations include Sustainable Case Collaborative with multiple campus partners.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Coho: Global climate advising group focused on climate strategy and implementation of renewable energy. CSC members have interned at Coho, and the firm operates in adjacent climate advisory territory to CSC's carbon and net-zero services.
• Sightline Climate: Climate tech advisory and market intelligence firm where CSC founder Julien Morgan now works. Directly comparable climate advisory focus and serves as the primary alumni placement destination, making it the most relevant post-CSC career peer.

Direct peers

• Taproot Foundation: Pro bono consulting organization that connects skilled professionals with nonprofits. Same pro bono service model serving similar nonprofit/community clients, though Taproot uses experienced professionals rather than students.
• 180 Degrees Consulting: Global student-led pro bono consulting organization operating at top universities. Same operating model (student teams delivering pro bono consulting to nonprofits/SMBs), same recruitment flywheel, and same community-led GTM motion as CSC.

Broad incumbents

• Environmental Resources Management (ERM): Largest pure-play global sustainability consultancy. Covers the full breadth of CSC's service portfolio (carbon, LCA, ESG reporting, circular economy) but at enterprise scale with thousands of credentialed consultants.
• South Pole: Major climate consulting and carbon solutions provider delivering emissions quantification, net-zero strategy, and sustainability advisory. Direct overlap with CSC's Carbon Calculators and net-zero roadmap offerings at enterprise scale.
• EcoAct: International sustainability consultancy specializing in carbon footprinting, climate strategy, and net-zero advisory. Comparable service mix to CSC with credentialed practitioners serving enterprise clients.
• Net Impact: Established professional and student network for sustainability and social impact careers. Comparable in mobilizing student talent into sustainability consulting pipelines, though operating at much broader scale across many universities.
• Anthesis Group: Large global sustainability consultancy offering carbon footprinting, LCA, circular economy, and net-zero services — the same capabilities CSC delivers, but with credentialed senior staff and enterprise clients.

Others

• Scope 5 (Workiva): Sustainability data management and carbon accounting platform. Complementary rather than competitive to CSC — CSC uses standard consulting tools while Scope 5 provides the underlying emissions quantification software many sustainability consultancies leverage.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/cornellsc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cornell Sustainability Consultants