University at Buffalo School of Management

Spring 2025 Buffalo Business 13 "We need to balance the bene- fits of AI with protecting people's privacy and conserving energy," she says. "What's the energy foot- print of AI, and how can we offset the energy it consumes? Similar to carbon emissions, we need to ask: Who bears the cost and who pays for it?" Through his work leading Marsh McLennan, John Doyle has seen that the risk and insurance industry has the right talent for this moment. "When you look at the history of this industry, we have been able to bend the curve on a multitude of risks, from fires to the automobile, and support investment in a range of innovative technologies," he says. Now, Marsh McLennan is working to help address the challenge of supply chain disruptions caused by extreme weather, including hurricanes, low rainfall, droughts and water scarcity. Two of Marsh McLennan's businesses, Oliver Wyman and Marsh, have responded by creating a new AI-powered platform called Sentrisk. "This solution integrates our data capabilities with more than 150 years of risk expertise," Doyle says. "Sentrisk uses advanced technologies, such as supply- chain-mapping AI and geospatial satellite imaging, to enable organizations to map their supply chains more comprehensively and develop risk mitigation, transfer and management strategies that more closely align to their business needs." Servbank's Arrington agrees that finding creative solutions will be crucial for future leaders in risk management. "I think whoever is going to lead us into the future and solve these problems needs to have the same mindset I see in my own children — no limits, no filter, no blinders — anything is possible," she says. "We need to ask: How do we creatively solve it?" Spring 2025 Buffalo Business 13 Mullens and Tingiecieh give their Carbon Reduction Challenge presentation in UB's GroW Clean Energy Center. Photo: Douglas Levere Arrington They saw that open refrigeration displays led to excessive energy consumption due to cold air spilling into the store and the consequent need for additional heating. They also analyzed the carbon impact of two purchased goods: a locally grown flagship item, apples, and the product that travels to the store from the furthest location: bananas from South America. The team recommended promoting local produce like apples and optimizing the inventory of imported goods like bananas to reduce waste and emissions. "We provided the Lexington Co-op with a climate action plan and a simple carbon emissions calculator to estimate the footprint of products sold to help the organization understand and track future impact," says Mullens. Mullens, who is also a graduate student assistant for UB Sustainability, intends to take what he learned in the course to his own company, Empasta, which took first place in UB's Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship Competition in 2024. Mullens and teammate Neharika Korati received $25,000 in startup capital and in-kind services valued at $40,000 for their company, which produces a healthier cheese alternative that has a low impact on the planet. "Empasta was founded on food as a sustainable solution," says Mullens. "By using potatoes and carrots as a base to produce our product, we reduce carbon emissions associ- ated with traditional cheese production. As we scale up the company and take what we've learned beyond the class- room, the sky is the limit on where we can go from here."

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