Innovative Sustainable Investment Portfolio Selected by Panel of Investors

San Francisco, CA (April 21, 2009) -- A team of MBA students from Presidio School of Management won the second annual SustaInvest investment portfolio competition at Cornell University on Friday, April 17. The portfolio was selected over 50 other competitors representing business schools around the country.

Brian Bishop, Natasha Tuck, Jen Cohn, and Oliver Dameron, or team BANJO, were the Presidio students that beat semi-finalist teams from University of Virginia, Cornell University and Dickinson College.

“The judges rigorously questioned the logic we used and were impressed that through reversing usual investment logic, our portfolio was able to financially outperform standard benchmarks including the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average,” said Bishop. “We felt well prepared for the competition through our coursework, and were thrilled to have the chance to prove the financial viability of our portfolio to the panel of judges.”

The Presidio team developed an investment portfolio of publicly traded companies that utilized a counter intuitive approach to standard investment practice. Employing this paradigm shift, they assembled the strongest portfolio from both a financial and sustainability perspective.

SustaInvest is a portfolio pitch competition focused on maximizing profitability and sustainability in investment decisions. Portfolios are judged for an understanding of the interdependence among business, society and the environment, by the SustaInvest Advisory Council. Judges included: Dr. Mark Milstein, director of the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise at the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University; Mr. Peter S. Knight, Esq, president, Generation Investment Management; and Cody Dankes Burk, principal analyst for the Cornell University Endowment Office.

“It is an honor to have our students’ work recognized by the SustaInvest competition at Cornell,” said Jay Ogilvy, Dean, Presidio School of Management. “It validates our mission to develop leaders who have the skills, attributes and courage to implement sustainable ideas in the business world. We applaud the innovative approach the students applied to this winning portfolio.”

Presidio School of Management was one of the first and remains one of the only schools in the country offering an MBA in Sustainable Management. It teaches integrated bottom-line sustainability principles that serve as the foundation for a strategic commitment to sustainability, which has been proven to increase every aspect of shareholder value. More than a dozen studies completed over the last two years have found that companies that behave in more sustainable ways have benefited through increased profits and market share and been able to drive innovation, attract the best talent and reduce costs and risks.

The students are scheduled to complete their MBA degrees at Presidio School of Management this May.

About Presidio School of Management
Presidio School of Management in San Francisco, California offers innovative graduate education in sustainable management including an MBA, MPA and Executive Program. Started in 2003, Presidio features faculty members who are noted scholars and practitioners in sustainable business. Students and graduates of the programs use proven sustainable management theory with practical experience to enable organizations to implement systemic changes for improving the way they do business and interact with their stakeholders. Presidio School of Management is an affiliate of Alliant International University, accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). For more information, please visit http://www.presidiomba.org

Business Plan for Smart Energy Product Incorporates Sustainability Principles Using Integrated Bottom-Line Approach

San Francisco (February 25, 2009)—A team of MBA students from Presidio School of Management beat out teams from Stanford University and U.C. Berkeley’s Haas School of Business to win the Western Regional competition of Wal-Mart’s second annual Better Living Business Plan Challenge, started last year to give business students from around the world the opportunity to invent sustainable products and business solutions.

Sandra Kwak, Kendall Laine and Elizabeth Stuart from Presidio will be competing along with seven other teams in the semi-finals in Bentonville, Arkansas, in April. Three finalists will present to an executive panel, including former Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott and executives from leading companies and non-governmental organizations.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to compete and incorporate everything we are learning in our Sustainable Management MBA program into our business plan,” said Stuart. “The judges were impressed with the innovative Presidio approach to making a strong business case for sustainability.”

The Presidio team wrote its plan for an easy-to-use smart-energy product called the Powerzoa, a technology product that meters and controls energy use and connects to a website that displays energy use information. The business plan incorporates sustainability principles throughout in a compelling integrated bottom-line approach. The students, along with three other classmates, developed the product idea last semester in a class on Sustainable Products and Services.

“Having three of our students win the Western Regional’s of a global sustainability competition sponsored by Wal-Mart is an honor,” said Nicola Acutt, associate dean, Presidio School of Management. “It is a testament to our innovative curriculum and validates our mission to develop leaders that have the competencies and courage to implement sustainable ideas in the business world. We applaud the students behind this business plan that so powerfully integrates bottom-line sustainability.”

Presidio School of Management was one of the first schools in the country offering an MBA in Sustainable Management. With an emphasis on whole systems, the School’s curriculum teaches integrated bottom-line sustainability principles that serve as the foundation of a strategic commitment to sustainability, which has been proven to increase every aspect of shareholder value. More than a dozen studies done over the last two years have found that companies that behave in more sustainable ways have benefited through increased profits and market share and been able to drive innovation, attract the best talent and reduce costs and risks.

The students are scheduled to complete their MBA degrees at the School this May. They plan to develop a product prototype and further research product viability as they explore starting a company to develop and market the product.

Wal-Mart will present the winning team with $20,000 in prize money that can be used as seed money to fund their venture.

San Francisco, CA (January 7, 2009)—More than 30 professionals from the United States and Europe working at companies from Alcatel-Lucent to Shaklee Corporation just graduated from the inaugural Executive Program at Presidio School of Management with knowledge that will be used to help their businesses address sustainability issues and gain economic advantages from doing so.

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SAN FRANCISCO (May 14, 2008) – Presidio School of Management, which offers MBA and executive programs in sustainable management, has appointed some of the most experienced and inspiring thought leaders in sustainable business as core faculty for its Executive Program in Sustainable Management starting this July.

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SAN FRANCISCO - April 1, 2008 - In recognizing the importance of educational institutions in advancing sustainability and increasing the network of experts on climate change, ClimateCHECK, a firm that provides greenhouse gas (GHG) management services and solutions, announces its strategic alliance with the pioneering MBA school in sustainable management, Presidio School of Management (Presidio) and LiveNeutral, one of the first non-profits to offer carbon dioxide (CO2) offsets.

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