Cascale recently engaged the next generation of sustainability leaders through a guest lecture at Columbia University in New York City.
The session was delivered as part of the university’s “Consumerism and Sustainability” course and brought together 37 graduate students from across Columbia’s sustainability management, international relations, human rights, and business programs.
Invited by lecturer Michelle Gabriel, Cascale’s editorial director Kaley Roshitsh explored how effective communication plays a critical role in advancing systems change across the sustainability landscape. The lecture highlighted how clear, credible messaging supports collaboration and progress not only within Cascale but across the broader industry ecosystem.
During the presentation, students received an introduction to the Higg Index, exclusively available on Worldly, which is the leading framework for measuring environmental and social performance across the consumer goods value chain. The interactive presentation covered the breadth of Cascale’s work, including decarbonization efforts, public affairs engagement, stakeholder collaboration, and initiatives such as Better Buying that support responsible purchasing practices.
The lecture also connected these industry topics with practical career insights. Drawing on experience in sustainable fashion journalism and communications, Roshitsh addressed how emerging professionals can pursue purpose-driven careers while avoiding common challenges in sustainability storytelling and reporting. Using her past experiences covering sustainability at WWD, she highlighted common greenwashing risks including a lack of public-facing commitments, fleeting supplier relations, and flagrant claims on materials and performance, among others.
Students showed strong interest in accessing Cascale resources and learning how the Higg Index tools can support academic work, particularly in lifecycle assessment (LCA) coursework. Several questions focused on industry challenges such as overproduction, the role of artificial intelligence, and how students and early-career professionals can engage more directly with sustainability tools and data.
Following the lecture, Cascale representatives also discussed opportunities for deeper collaboration with academic institutions. Conversations included the potential for integrating the Higg Index and related sustainability frameworks into university curricula, as well as helping equip students with practical knowledge and tools relevant to industry needs.
As with recent Cascale speaking engagements at Parsons (part of the New School), the University of Oregon, Berkeley College, ASU FIDM, and Ohio State University, this latest engagement reflects a growing demand from universities and young professionals for standardized tools, data, and collaboration. By connecting academia with practical industry frameworks, Cascale continues to support the development of future leaders.
