HSG students specialise in sustainability consulting

“We want to bring knowledge from the university to the business world – and at the same time gain practical experience,” says Cyril Bhend. He is president of Student Impact. This association of HSG students specialises in sustainability consulting. Since its founding in 2014, Student Impact has worked with 140 companies. “Consulting is only our means to an end. Our real concern is the sustainable transformation of the economy,” says board member Sebastian Rosatzin. “We are living in an ecological and social crisis. We want to contribute to its solution.”

More critical and independent than the big consulting firms

The association's 54 students work on a voluntary basis, with the exception of President Bhend, whose position is structured as a permanent job. Student Impact carries out five consulting projects per semester – usually with two to three start-ups, as well as SMEs and NGOs. Eight students work on each project, including two team leaders who have already held several consulting mandates. Each team member devotes 16 to 20 hours per week to the project.

“Our advantage is that we work more cost-effectively than conventional consulting firms. At the same time, we bring an external, often more critical perspective to the companies,” says Bhend. Unlike established consulting firms, Student Impact doesn't have to sell anything and doesn't have another engagement in mind. “That makes us independent. In addition, we are active in various industries and thus also have an outside perspective.”

So far, consulting projects have been carried out with the HSG spin-off Planted, the tool manufacturer Hilti, Davos Klosters Tourism and Greenpeace, for example. Through its 140 completed consulting projects, Student Impact has now gained a lot of experience. “We receive many orders through word-of-mouth advertising. In addition, we are present at start-up fairs and other events and seek active exchange with SMEs.”

Various Student Impact alumni who are already in the world of work also train current members in an internal mentoring programme. This includes a career roundtable at which alumni report on their experiences in the professional world. “We also repeatedly hear critical views about the consulting industry,” says Rosatzin. 

Cooperation with ETH students provides technological knowledge

In the autumn semester of 2024, Student Impact launched a pilot in which HSG and ETH students jointly advised the start-up Luuup. The start-up develops a process for textile recycling, and HSG members are also part of the founding team. “We bring ETH and HSG students together to combine their fields of knowledge. This is also because we occasionally reached our limits in technical analyses in earlier projects,” says Bhend. Technological aspects are central to many companies in the field of sustainability. “In addition, the setting in which business and technology experts work together in a team of consultants is realistic.” 

Student Impact launches course series at HSG

Student Impact has had points of contact with ETH for quite some time. “We regularly advise ETH graduates who have started their own companies. These companies often have a strong technical focus and need business support.’ With SMEs and established companies, on the other hand, it is often a matter of identifying business areas in which sustainability can be best implemented. “Many SMEs want to become more sustainable, but are overwhelmed by the complexity or do not have the capacity themselves to deal with sustainability issues in the necessary depth,” says Bhend. 

In addition to providing advice, Student Impact also wants to innovate culture and teaching at the HSG: For example, the association launched the “Be The Change” series, in which Student Impact members conduct a Bachelor's course on sustainability and management consulting. What makes this special is that the students become lecturers, coached and supported by HSG faculty. “With this and our work in general, we want to promote critical and independent thinking among HSG students,” say Bhend and Rosatzin.