2019 Flourish Prizes

All 809 student-written stories published in 2018 were eligible for the 2019 Flourish Prizes. These stories showcase positive business innovations that span the globe and demonstrate how business can help achieve the 17 UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development.

In February 2019, we announced the Finalists for the 2019 Flourish Prizes. We had 76 finalist stories from 30 universities in 16 countries written under the guidance of 35 professors. The businesses profiled came from 27 countries and more than 19 industries. Please feel free to use this Sample Press Release for Flourish Prizes Finalists to help celebrate this announcement.

2019 Flourish Prizes Virtual Celebration

From May 6th-10th, the Fowler Center and AIM2Flourish team hosted a global, multi-day, virtual celebration via social media to celebrate the 2019 Flourish Prizes.

Each day we announced several Flourish Prize Honorees via our Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit Facebook and Twitter pages using the hashtag #FlourishPrizes2019.

Our 2019 Flourish Prizes were announced with student-created announcement videos. Watch all of the announcement videos on our 2019 Flourish Prizes YouTube playlist.

2019 Flourish Prize Honorees

Global Goal #1 - No Poverty: Dean’s Beans
"Beyond the Bean," written by Jeremy Lile from Case Western Reserve University - Weatherhead School of Management in the United States under the direction of Professor David Cooperrider.

Global Goal #2 - Zero Hunger: Alcagüete
"The Gain of Sharing," written by Anggy Marcela Girón Peñuela, Constanza Choconta, and Natalya Mendez Virguez from Universidad Externado de Colombia under the direction of Professor Gustavo A Yepes López.

Global Goal #3 - Good Health and Well-being: CareNx
"To the Start of a Healthy Life," written by Pooja Pendharkar, Janakiram M, and Sumit Dhiman from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay - Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management under the direction of Professor Ashish Pandey.

Global Goal #4 - Quality Education: Directv Peru S.R.L.
"Improving the Education in Peru," written by Eduardo Galdo, Diego Pizarro Aquino, and Luzamerica Calderon from EGADE Business School Tecnologico de Monterrey under the direction of Consuelo Garcia-de-la-torre.

Global Goal #5 - Gender Equality: Jayaashree Industries
"Good Health and Employment Opportunities for Women," written by Ashutosh Bhattarai from S. S. Dempo, College of Commerce and Economics, Goa in India, supported by the AIM2Flourish team.

Global Goal #6 - Clean Water and Sanitation: JanaJal
"Bringing Affordable Drinking Water to Underserved and Rural Communities of India," written by Venkata Hareesh Kodi, Ranjana K, and Swetha Thomson A from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay - Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management under the direction of Professor Ashish Pandey.

Global Goal #7 - Affordable and Clean Energy: Rural Spark
"Sparking Entrepreneurship Through Clean and Affordable Energy," written by Dibyendu Adhikari from TIAS School for Business and Society in the Netherlands under the direction of Professor Mirjam Minderman.

Global Goal #8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth: Common Interests
"Investing for a Reason Beyond Money," written by Matthew Hennessey, Swetcha Ananthu, Silas Okoth, Jeffery Shen, and Paul No from Rutgers Business School in the United States under the direction of Professor Joseph Markert.

Global Goal #9 - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure: Green Afro-Palms
"Holding the Future in Our Palms" written by Bright Simons and Kofi Yeboah from TIAS School for Business and Society in the Netherlands under the direction of Professor Mirjam Minderman.

Global Goal #10 - Reduced Inequalities: Enable
"Empowering People of Determination," written by Latifa Mohammed, Amal Jaroor, Alia Almatrooshi, Balqees Alhammadi, and Hessa AlShamsi at Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates under the direction of Wasseem Abaza.

Global Goal #11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities: Fred’s Tiny Houses
"Tiny Ideas, Massive Impact," written by Vladimir Slaviero from Monash University in Australia under the direction of Professor Gitanjali Bedi.

Global Goal #12 - Responsible Consumption and Production: TerraCycle
Because three excellent stories were written about TerraCycle in 2018, the AIM2Flourish selection jury and management decided to award all three teams with the 2019 Flourish Prize:

"Thinking Differently about Waste," written by Courtney McLeary, Mark Gencer, Varinder Singh, Pedro Rolim, and Will Ujueta from Rutgers Business School in the United States under the direction of Carmen L. Bonilla.

"Eliminating the Idea of Waste," written by Cameron Kenworthy, Brittney Welde, Zach Saionz, Kristin Thompson, John Degnan, and Michelle Hernandez from Saint Joseph’s University in the United States under the direction of David Steingard.

"The Global Leader in Unrecyclable Goods," written by Mirecia Blackwood, Marlene Arias, Deena Aglio, and Dina Bruno from St. John’s University in the United States under the direction of Professor Charles Wankel.

Global Goal #13 - Climate Action: Architerra
"Championing Sustainable Design," written by Grace Keating, Andrew Quill, Madeline George, and Caroline Allieri from Boston College in the United States under the direction of Professor Sandra Waddock.

Global Goal #14 - Life Under Water: PT Aruna Jaya Nusantara
"Jalas Veva Jaya Mahe," written by Corry Sagala from IPMI International Business School in Indonesia under the direction of Professor Amelia Naim Indrajaya.

Global Goal #15 - Life on Land: EcoDom
"Hogares Responsables - Responsible Homes," written by Sandra Vázquez from Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla in Mexico under the direction of Professor Crishelen Kurezyn Díaz.

Global Goal #16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: Coffee for Peace
Because two excellent stories were written about Coffee for Peace in 2018, the AIM2Flourish selection jury and management decided to award both teams with the 2019 Flourish Prize. Both teams were directed by Professor Charles Wankel at St. John’s University in the United States:

"Creating Peace Through Coffee" written by Salmaan Kapdi, Samiha Huque, and Joslyn Mejicano.

"Brewery Harmony" written by Wilson Lee, Salmaan Kapdi, and Christina Melendez.

Global Goal #17 - Partnerships for the Goals: Asia P3 Hub
"Global Partnerships for Social Impact," written by Khoo Shu Wen, Felix Lim, and Rosseana Wong from Case Western Reserve University - Weatherhead School of Management in the United States under the direction of Professor Ron Fry.

2019 Distinguished Jury

Selecting the 17 Flourish Prizes Honorees is a huge job, since we have over 800 eligible student-written stories about positive and profitable business innovations that were published on AIM2Flourish.com in 2018. To meet this challenge, we expanded the number of distinguished people who will help us select the final 17 winners this year.

The 2019 Flourish Prizes Jury includes business leaders who were honored with 2017 and 2018 Flourish Prizes, as well as Fowler Center Advisory Board members, and esteemed colleagues from academia and the Cleveland business community.

Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit Advisory Board Members

Roberta Baskin
Jacqueline Cambata
Tony Carr
Lyell Clarke
Michele Hunt

Fowler Center Friends and Colleagues

Adam Dunn / Cleveland Co-Labs
John R. Ehrenfeld / Former Fowler Center Distinguished Fellow
Mary Finney / Former Fowler Center Distinguished Fellow
José Hidalgo / Former Global Head of Supplier Relationship Management, Nestle
Lori Kendall / Former Fowler Center Distinguished Fellow
Jing Lauengco / Flourish Agency

2019 Flourish Prizes Jury Members from the 2017 and 2018 Flourish Prizes Honorees Community, representing businesses in Canada, Australia, Argentina, India, Indonesia, Mozambique, Mexico, Scotland, and the United States.

Raymond Branton / Simple Play
Luke Barbagallo / Pollinate Energy
Jamie Bechtel & Karl Morrison / A New Course
Fernando Diez Torres / CINIA
Juan Ignacio Gerardi / Bioconexion
Seungah Jeong / MPOWERD
Jeetu Lalwani / DIAL4242
Don Larson / The Sunshine Nut Company
Anne Pringle / Lucky Iron Fish
John Salzinger / MPOWERD
Jim Schaefer / Soil Technologies Corporation
Javier Solana Rivero / Estructuras Metálicas Solana
Sugianto Tandio & Tommy Tjiptadjaja / Greenhope
Daniel Valles / AMOR a MAR