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Climate Corps Fellowship Awards

Each year Climate Corps recognizes the outstanding achievements of our alumni and fellows. The annual Climate Corps Fellowship Awards recognize fellows who complete outstanding work in these areas: 

  • The Business Case Award for the fellow who presents the strongest case for a project recommendation, backed by sound quantitative analysis and with a high likelihood of implementation. 
  • The Innovation Award for the fellow who recommends the most creative approach to reducing a host organization’s emissions or an innovative solution for overcoming barriers. 
  • The Collaboration Award for the fellow who most effectively facilitates work across or within organizations or the Climate Corps network to collectively bolster climate and energy initiatives. 
  • The Low Carbon Award for the China Program fellow who develops the most compelling case for achieving significant carbon emissions reductions. 
  • The Adam Rozenberg Community Builder Award recognizes the fellow who demonstrates outstanding leadership in their cohort’s connectivity and sense of community. This award honors the memory of 2023 fellow, Adam Rozenberg. 

See below for current and past fellowship award winners.

Alumni Awards
Learn about our distinguished alumni award winners.

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2024 Business Case Award Winner

Gabriel Ingman

US Program
American Seafoods

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Gabriel Ingman, a Master in Corporate Environmental Management and Renewable Energy at University of California, Santa Barbara, won the Business Case Award for his work with American Seafoods.

Gabriel created a comprehensive guide for American Seafoods to meet a major sustainability commitment to a key customer by modeling emissions reduction pathways and exploring concrete steps for the company to reduce its carbon footprint.

Gabriel’s work this summer ensures that American Seafoods is well prepared to meet this sustainability request and others like it in the future, while leading its industry in decarbonization efforts.

Gabriel researched and compiled communications to leadership, detailing how to meet the commitment with a specific focus on the technical and logistical considerations of sourcing renewable diesel.

Shankar N

India Program
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.

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Shankar N, an MBA candidate in Sustainability Management from IIM Lucknow, received the 2024 Business Case Award for his impactful work with Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. on developing a practical emissions reduction strategy for the Automotive & Farm sectors. He created a comprehensive decarbonization plan focused on Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, delivering financially and operationally viable solutions that go beyond conventional approaches.

Shankar’s recommendations included converting fossil fuel-powered paint shop ovens to electric ones, supported by in-depth technical and financial assessments. He collaborated with suppliers and engaged the plant team to validate the technical feasibility, calculating a breakeven electricity price that aligns with future renewable energy trends. His approach combined rigorous financial analysis with actionable insights, providing Mahindra & Mahindra a clear, realistic path toward significant emissions reductions by FY30.

2024 Innovation Award Winner

Rachel Pike

US Program
Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) Corporation

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Rachel Pike, a duel Master in Environmental Management from Duke University, and City and Regional Planning from UNC Chapel Hill, won the Innovation Award for her work with Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) Corporation.

Rachel designed an engagement strategy for PG&E to communicate the results of their Climate Adaptation and Vulnerability Assessment that will strengthen existing relationships and create new partnerships that move California towards a more resilient future.

When implemented, this open and consistent dialogue with community members and local governments will help PG&E stay ahead of changing regulatory requirements, make progress in their climate commitments and efforts, and establish long lasting partnerships that will work towards creating a more resilient and equitable California.

These projects provide the Climate Resilience Team with a strong framework upon which they can share the findings of their detailed assessment, begin working on implementing resilience projects, and strengthen existing and forge new relationships with key stakeholders.

Amruth Chinnappa CT

India Program
Larsen & Toubro Limited

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Amruth Chinnappa CT, an MBA candidate in Sustainability Management from IIM Lucknow, received the 2024 Innovation Award for his work with Larsen & Toubro Limited, where he developed a custom Climate Risk and Impact Assessment Tool. This Excel-based tool calculates hazard likelihood and impact across L&T’s project sites, allowing the company to efficiently assess site-specific climate risks. Amruth also conducted a Climate Scenario Analysis to further inform L&T’s resilience planning.

Recognizing the limitations of existing online tools, which often lack relevance and practicality for specific company needs, Amruth linked multiple data sources and built analytic frameworks to provide actionable insights. While climate risk assessments by external firms can cost millions and take significant time, Amruth’s solution offers a practical, cost-effective alternative. His tool significantly reduces the time and expense associated with evaluating over 600 project sites, offering L&T a nimble, scalable approach aligned with the limited liability period for each project.

2024 Collaboration Award Winner

Yaqub Adediji

US Program
PepsiCo

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Yaqub Adediji, Doctor of Philosophy, Materials Engineering, from Auburn University, won the Collaboration Award for his work with PepsiCo.

Yaqub Adediji joined PepsiCo to help advance its ambitious climate goals as part of PepsiCo Positive (pep+), the company’s strategic end-to-end business transformation. Yaqub evaluated existing and potentially new tactics aimed at motivating suppliers in developing decarbonization action plans as well as models and tools that can effectively build strategic partnerships, incentivize or disincentivize suppliers, and assess the costs of carbon reduction.

Yaqub’s contributions have provided PepsiCo with key data points and a deeper knowledge on how to better support and engage suppliers on their decarbonization journey, aligning with the company’s ambitious climate goals. By addressing key challenges and implementing tailored motivational tactics, PepsiCo can better guide and support suppliers toward creating more effective decarbonization action plans.

The Performance System will assist procurement and sustainability teams at PepsiCo to tailor motivational tactics that strengthen supplier sustainability efforts, in effect fostering greater accountability and driving impact.

Sanjena N.D.

India Program
Tamil Nadu Green Climate Company (TNGCC)

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Sanjena N.D., a Ph.D. graduate from Tsinghua University, received the 2024 Collaboration Award for her exemplary work with the Tamil Nadu Green Climate Company (TNGCC). During her fellowship, she collaborated with various government bodies, including the Tamil Nadu Wetlands Mission on mangrove afforestation and the Tamil Nadu Coastal Mission on seagrass restoration, to advance critical carbon credit initiatives. She consulted with the carbon team at EDF to assess TNGCC’s potential engagement in compliance versus voluntary carbon markets and worked with Fair Climate Fund India to navigate international registries like Verra and Gold Standard, enhancing TNGCC’s strategic approach to carbon credit generation. Beyond these partnerships, Sanjena explored future alliances for TNGCC with Climate Corps, the Global Governance Initiative, CEEW, Fair Climate Fund India, and Wetlands International India. Engaging alumni, experts, and industry leaders, her contributions fostered new opportunities for collaboration to strengthen the organization’s green mission.

2024 Adam Rozenberg Community Builder Award Winner

Riya Malhotra

Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL)

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Riya Malhotra, a Master of Science, with a concentration in Building Performance and Diagnostics, from Carnegie Mellon, won the Adam Rozenberg Community Builder Award. Riya was placed at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) and developed a wireframe of a centralized JLL Building Performance Standards (BPS) dashboard and calculator that serves as a ‘One Stop Shop’ for existing and prospective clients to advance their regulatory compliance efforts.

Riya was selected as a Class Delegate, a leadership role within the cohort dedicated to fostering peer-to-peer support among the 2024 fellows. Riya helped facilitate meetups between alumni and fellows in Pittsburgh and New York and has started mentoring applicants for the 2025 fellowship season. These initiatives highlight Riya’s dedication to community building, knowledge sharing, and actively contributing to the sustainability community’s growth.

Past Award Winners

The Business Case Award
The Innovation Award
The Collaboration Award
The Low Carbon Award