The Research Triangle is growing rapidly, with over 90 people moving to the region each day. Alongside this population growth comes an increase in environmental impact and rising demands on systems such as roads, schools, and natural resources. 

The Business Sustainability Roundtable (BSR) was formed to address these challenges by bringing together key regional entities to collaborate on sustainability and economic development solutions. The BSR is a council of regional governments, businesses and stakeholders working to advance resilient infrastructure, reliable access to resources, and systems to support community wellbeing. Facilitated by Wake County Economic Development and the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, the BSR includes leading local organizations such as founders FUJIFILM Biotechnologies, NC State University, SAS, Novo Nordisk, and more. 

Most recently, the BSR launched the Regional Sustainability Dashboard — an interactive, public-facing hub for data and resource trends. The dashboard offers residents an opportunity to explore national and regional energy demand, waste management capacity across the state, and learn more about proactive work underway to strengthen the region’s long-term resilience and competitiveness.

Building Connections

NC State is a proud founding member of the BSR — a partnership stewarded by Dr. Mark Schmidt, NC State’s Interim Vice Chancellor for External Affairs, Partnerships and Economic Development, to contribute to the vitality of the region. Schmidt leaned into his unique blend of expertise to support the development of the dashboard. With 23 years of corporate experience at John Deere, followed by his leadership role at NC State, Schmidt serves as a bridge between academia and industry. Supporting the launch of the BSR, he focused on cultivating strategic relationships and helping transform the group’s shared knowledge into a powerful resource for the entire Triangle community.

Celebrating Collaboration

Changes to the Triangle impact everyone, from the classroom to the boardroom. That means that tangible impact results from partnering together to encourage sustainable growth and economic development. 

The BSR combines the reach of international corporations such as SAS, Novo Nordisk, FUJIFILM Biotechnologies, Lenovo, and Biogen with the regional expertise of entities such as NC State, Duke Energy, Wake County Government, and the Raleigh Chamber. 

“The BSR was created to bring together business, government, and academic leaders to address corporate sustainability goals collaboratively. The dashboard is a direct extension of that mission,” said Michael Haley, Executive Director of Wake County Economic Development and Senior Vice President of Economic Development for the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.

Through these connections, the BSR fosters peer-to-peer networks to encourage leadership and continued education. 

The Regional Sustainability Dashboard places these outcomes in the hands of the public and signals  that Wake County embeds sustainability in its economic development strategy. 

Inside the Dashboard

The Regional Sustainability Dashboard tracks essential metrics across three core areas: waste economy, energy, and wastewater management. By pulling data from federal, state, and local sources, the hub provides a transparent look at the region’s greenhouse gas emissions and energy generation.

Unlike most sustainability dashboards, which are company-specific, the BSR sustainability dashboard combines sustainability and economic development into the same narrative. “It’s intended to increase public awareness about both challenges and opportunities, and be used as a tool to help decision makers account for sustainability through more of a resiliency lens,” Jerry Williams, the Chief Environmental Sustainability Officer at SAS, said.

This tool was a true collective effort. Lenovo contributed to the energy section, while the NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) provided the data necessary to detail landfill capacity. To help the public visualize regional growth, Wake County Economic Development (WCED) led the integration of demographic and industry metrics. These complex data sets were brought to life by SAS, which provided the technical and creative leadership to power the dashboard’s analytics. 

“Sustainability challenges don’t stop at organizational boundaries. By bringing trusted data into a shared, public platform, it helps communities, businesses, and policymakers align around smarter, faster decisions that support long-term resilience and growth.”

“Sustainability challenges don’t stop at organizational boundaries. By bringing trusted data into a shared, public platform, it helps communities, businesses, and policymakers align around smarter, faster decisions that support long-term resilience and growth,” Williams said. 

While the current release is a first-generation version, a second edition is already in the works. Later this year, the BSR will launch a dedicated water page detailing the region’s supply. This upcoming expansion is being developed in partnership with Wake County One Water and the Triangle Water Supply Partnership.

By allowing users to toggle between counties and focus on specific interests, the dashboard finally realizes the BSR’s goal: providing a high-value, shared resource for the entire Triangle community.

Empowering the Pack

The Regional Sustainability Dashboard acts as a “living lab,” opening new avenues for NC State students, researchers, and the regional business community. While the tool was built to provide businesses with the data needed for informed sustainability decisions, it also creates a unique window for the university to engage with industry in real-time.

For students, using the dashboard means accessing the same metrics and trends that the region’s top employers currently monitor. This direct access to real-world data prepares them for sustainability-centered careers by closing the gap between theory and practice. Similarly, faculty and researchers can utilize these regional metrics to identify trends and gaps, ensuring their scholarly work has a tangible, data-backed impact on the local community.

Above all, the dashboard serves as a bridge between the classroom and the boardroom. By connecting students and researchers with a network of like-minded professionals, the platform proves that extra-academic collaboration is the most effective way to manage the Triangle’s growth and environmental impact.

What’s Next for the Dashboard

The current dashboard might look different in the near future. 

You can help shape the next iteration by interacting with the pages and spending time digging into the data. As the dashboard is a work-in-progress, the BSR is soliciting feedback from users who explore the platform. You can share your feedback with bsr@raleighchamber.org.

This dashboard brings essential information to our fingertips. As a co-founding member of the BSR, NC State is ensuring that the Triangle remains a global innovator in sustainable economic development as we become a hub for technology and community.