Kookai Chaimahawong leads the new Centre for Climate and Business Solutions at UBC Sauder

UBC Sauder MBA alum Kookai Chaimahawong has hit many milestones in her career as a champion of sustainability and social impact. She’s been a start-up founder, a venture capitalist, and an ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) strategist. She’s also shared her expertise with the UBC Sauder community as an adjunct professor and member of the school’s Faculty Advisory Board. This fall, she stepped into the role of Executive Director of the newly established Centre for Climate and Business Solutions at UBC Sauder. In this conversation, Kookai shares her ambitious vision for uniting business and academia to develop innovative climate solutions while nurturing the next generation of talent to accelerate our transition toward a climate-positive future.

• What is the mandate of the Centre for Climate and Business Solutions? 

  The mission of the Centre is to create a world where businesses not only mitigate their environmental footprints but also drive net positive impacts for both the planet and society. To achieve this, we focus on three foundational pillars, starting with reduction. While many businesses are increasingly committed to net-zero emission targets, translating these goals into concrete actions can be challenging. This is often due to constraints such as limited resources, gaps in expertise, and ambiguous regulations that make it hard to know what actions to take. We want to help them with that. The Centre plans to launch a series of initiatives, including the Climate Lab, where students are trained to collaborate with businesses in helping them understand their carbon footprint and develop actionable strategies to reduce emissions. This dual mission not only supports companies in fulfilling their environmental commitments but also prepares students to be the leaders of tomorrow. 

  The second pillar is adaptation. Climate change isn’t something we can put off for the future; it’s a pressing and rapidly intensifying challenge that demands our immediate attention. Our goal is to encourage and facilitate cutting-edge research to help businesses identify climate-related risks, proactively implement adaptation strategies, and become more resilient. This is crucial to ensure long-term sustainability not only for our economy’s future but also for preserving nature and ensuring our communities can flourish within it. To achieve this, we aim to incentivize and promote research initiatives on the sectors or regions that are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.  

  The third and final pillar, regeneration, calls for a fundamental shift in how businesses interact with our natural resources and the environment. In the past, we’ve been so focused on extracting resources from the Earth without fully considering the long-term consequences or our interconnected relationship with the environment. The visible damage from climate change highlights the urgent need to depart from this outdated approach. Without addressing the root causes, it’s like putting band-aids on a much larger problem. Our ambition is to lead conversations and actions aimed at constructing a regenerative economy – one that incorporates new principles, incentives, and policies. And within that, we must make room for Indigenous perspectives, values, and approaches to resource management. 
   

• How will your business background serve you in this new job?

  Stepping into this role feels like the culmination of all my past experiences, where I can bring all my expertise into focus. Before pursuing my MBA at UBC Sauder, I had the privilege of working for the UN, where my mission was to contextualize and make the newly established Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) meaningful for the business community. This, combined with my recent experience in impact investing within venture capital and private equity funds in Canada, gives me unique perspectives to drive scalable change, particularly through the lens of technology and ESG principles. Throughout my journey, a consistent theme has been building impactful coalitions. This includes forming SDG partnerships at the UN to various leadership roles within Canada’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. I am eager to continue this mission at the Centre. As an alum, adjunct professor and former member of the Faculty Advisory Board at UBC Sauder, I look forward to forging deeper connections within the academic community, drawing upon their wealth of research and expertise to advance our mission.
   

• What are some of the challenges or obstacles associated with fighting climate change?

  Addressing climate change is a multifaceted challenge due to its wide-ranging consequences touching nearly every aspect of our society and environment. It demands significant, systematic shifts in how our society functions, from energy production and consumption to agriculture and beyond. And we’re short on time and resources to make that happen. 

  In response to these complexities, the Centre strategically leverages UBC Sauder’s unique strengths in business education and research to address the talent and expertise gaps. We begin by ‘acclimatizing’ our curriculum, integrating climate-related topics and considerations into the academic fabric. Our goal is to weave environmental awareness and responsibility into the DNA of our education model. Our course offerings, both credit and non-credit, not only focus on theoretical knowledge but also have a strong emphasis on real-world industry collaboration. This integrated, hands-on approach not only ensures our students acquire the necessary skills, knowledge, and mindset to become climate leaders but also enables them to engage directly with industries. In doing so, they can co-develop and implement actionable strategies for innovative climate solutions.  

  In academic research, we want to transform academic insights into practical, business-oriented strategies that can be readily adopted by companies and policymakers alike. I am convinced that the world possesses the necessary knowledge to bring about change, yet the research findings and innovations have yet to find their way into industry applications. Through the Centre, we will support research focusing on the intersection of climate and business. We aim to become a central hub for all climate researchers within UBC, fostering a collaborative environment that synergizes efforts across disciplines. We aspire to play a pivotal role in crafting compelling business cases for scientific endeavours, bridging the crucial link between science and practical application in the business world. 
   

• The UBC Academic Excellence Fund is providing $1.09 million per year for five years. What will this funding allow the Centre to accomplish?

  This funding is generous and transformational. We see it as an investment that significantly empowers us to amplify our impact and achieve our objectives. It helps lay the groundwork for our long-term growth, enabling us to initiate programs that are not only scalable but also built on a repeatable business model. This approach ensures that we can rapidly expand our reach and make a significant impact time and time again. We are laser-focused on what we are trying to achieve, leveraging the strength of the business school and our community to do so.
   

• You are teaching a new ESG course through UBC Sauder’s Continuing Business Studies. Who should take this course?

  The course "ESG Strategies for Sustainable Business" is designed to be inclusive and beneficial for professionals across all backgrounds. Unlike many ESG courses focused solely on the C-suite, we recognize that achieving ambitious sustainability targets, such as net-zero emissions by 2050, requires collective action across an organization. Just as digital literacy became a fundamental skill in the modern workplace, ESG literacy will soon be a non-negotiable competence for all professionals.

  Participants will learn how to identify ESG factors, navigate stakeholder engagement while staying ahead of emerging trends and translate ESG theory into actionable steps. To enhance the learning experience, we are excited to host speakers from more than 10 prominent companies within B.C., including Vancity, Save-On-Foods, Aritzia, MEC, Methanex, Translink, and InBC Investments. These industry experts will share valuable lessons and learnings from their on-the-ground efforts, enriching the educational experience while forming a community of practitioners committed to advancing sustainability.
   

• How will you bring UBC Sauder’s sustainability and climate vision to life?

  My experiences in running impact start-ups, investment funds and education have taught me that achieving real progress in sustainability requires a multifaceted approach. The vision for the Centre extends beyond the conventional think tank model; it aspires to be an action-oriented hub where diverse stakeholders come together, debate, and turn ideas into tangible outcomes. We’re invested in delivering measurable and impactful results. Success for us is quantified through various tangible outcomes, such as increasing the number of graduates taking on roles focused on sustainability and climate, working with businesses to curb their carbon footprints, accurately pricing climate-related risks, driving policy changes, or solidifying partnerships between academic institutions and industry. 

  As someone who thrives on connecting people and ideas, I see my role as a bridge builder. Fortunately, in climate, everyone shares the same overarching goal of avoiding climate catastrophe and preserving our planet for future generations. Especially in today’s world, there’s not a single individual or entity that remains untouched by the repercussions of climate change. However, achieving this goal often involves navigating a complex maze of policies, technologies and interests. The intention is there, but the gap lies in how we get there. My mission is to help align these various stakeholders involved in climate efforts, closing the gap and paving the way forward. I think of it as creating a symphony where everyone’s efforts complement each other. 

  But this isn't a solo effort – I'm part of a robust ecosystem at UBC Sauder that brings its wealth of intellectual resources and academic rigour to the table. I am fortunate to work with Dr. Justin Bull and Dr. Kate White, who have spearheaded UBC Sauder’s focus on climate action and sustainability. Together, we're committed to not just talking about a sustainable future but actually building one.