The Resilient Waters Fund team from the University of Utah's David Eccles School of Business emerged as the winners of the 14th annual Kellogg-Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investing Challenge. Their proposal to save Utah's Great Salt Lake earned them the top prize of $10,000. The fund aims to protect the Great Salt Lake by catalyzing funds through a creative land trust mechanism, promoting irrigation efficiency, responsible cropping, and water savings.

Jessica Alsford, Morgan Stanley’s Chief Sustainability Officer and CEO of the Institute for Sustainable Investing, highlighted the importance of the competition in providing students with practical experience in sustainable finance. She stated, "Through the Sustainable Investing Challenge, students develop financial solutions to real-world issues, providing them with invaluable experience and insights into sustainable finance."

Dave Chen, Professor of Finance at Kellogg Management School, CEO of Equilibrium Capital, and the founder of the Sustainable Investing Challenge, praised the creativity and dedication of the graduate student teams. He remarked, "Every year, these teams of graduate students demonstrate incredible creativity and drive with their solutions to global problems."

The second-place prize of $5,000 was awarded to the Caatinga Bank team from the University of Navarra’s IESE Business School, while the third-place prize of $2,500 went to the Renewable Back Security team from Columbia Business School. The winning proposals addressed various critical issues, from providing working capital loans to farmers in Brazil to reducing the cost of capital for renewable energy adoption in Africa and the US.

The Sustainable Investing Challenge serves as a platform for future leaders to tackle pressing sustainability challenges through innovative financial solutions. The competition saw participation from 84 teams comprising 290 students from 44 countries, showcasing a diverse range of ideas to address social and environmental issues.

The Resilient Waters Fund's victory underscores the commitment of emerging leaders to driving the transition towards a more sustainable future, as recognized by the prestigious Kellogg-Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investing Challenge.