Costello Research Sustainable Operations

Companies with a serious commitment to social impact can be designated as such by state governments and/or certified by B-Lab, a global NGO. Those that do both are not just seeking twice the acclaim; their redoubled commitment is measurable using AI-assisted quality frameworks employed by David Lucas, a management professor at George Mason University.

When crowdfunding platform Kickstarter started allowing creators to put environmental pledges front and center, George Mason University accounting professor Yi Cao saw a unique opportunity. His co-authored research shows how “going green” turned out to be an impactful business choice with financial, operational and, yes, environmental implications for entrepreneurs and customers.

The best way to resolve a consumer’s doubts about electric cars is to let them drive one for a day or two. But Ioannis Bellos and Hang Ren, professors in the information systems and operations management area at George Mason University, argue that extended test drives can sometimes do more harm than good, for both profits and the planet.

To please both the planet and shareholders at the same time, firms must travel a triangular path.

Illicit massage businesses (IMBs) run by human trafficking rings are rampant in the United States. A George Mason professor has helped build what may be the best AI-driven tool to root them out.

With the right operational strategy, transitioning from selling products to delivering services can be the right move for profits, people and the planet. Ioannis Bellos, associate professor of information systems and operations management (OM)  and MBA Program Director at the Donald G. Costello College of Business, and Hang Ren, associate professor of OM at Costello, have published research exploring how servicization can live up to its massive potential. 

The economic data on climate and business outcomes paints a picture of profound disruption beneath a placid-seeming surface.

Why are some firms more forthcoming than others about their social and environmental impact? It may have to do with the CEO’s personal incentives.

A Mason professor is the sole academic working with the U.S. government in an unprecedented effort to measure environmental-economic activity.

Ioannis Bellos, associate professor of information systems and operations management, began researching service design as a PhD student at Georgia Tech.