Sustainability Challenges in Today’s Changing World

October 28, 2025 A special thanks to the Fletcher alumni Celeste Le Roux, Kelsey Aulakh, Chelsey Evans, Mohit Saini and Warren Sakey along with faculty member Professor Kenneth Pucker for their contributions to our student panel focused on sustainability challenges.

Nearly 100 students, alumni and faculty joined the discussion as we took stock of today’s policy impacts across major sustainability topics such as energy, agriculture, and circularity, and assess how these policies are influencing different sectors in terms of their ability and willingness to advance sustainability priorities. 

The panelists analyzed emerging trends and the key drivers behind them, whether challenges are acting as constraints or if sustainability is increasingly seen as a strategic differentiator. The conversation examined how the financing landscape is evolving in response to these trends and considered whether there is a notable rise in private financing which are focusing on sustainability solutions. Additionally, we evaluated whether donors are shifting toward outcomes-based financing models. Finally, we will identified how artificial intelligence and emerging technologies could be successfully leveraged to accelerate progress on sustainability priorities.