In 2019, Francisco Loyola had just graduated with a law degree from Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (UC Chile) in his hometown of Santiago. At the time, he envisioned a career in administrative or migration law, and he had even interned at a legal migration clinic at the University of California, Davis.
Then an unexpected opportunity changed his career direction.
UC Chile was preparing a bid for a government contract to evaluate Chile’s National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, and Loyola was asked to oversee the university’s proposal. UC Chile won the contract, and Loyola found himself helping execute an evaluation involving more than 40 government departments.
The eight-month experience became an intensive introduction to the intersection of business, government, human rights, and corporate responsibility, and ultimately reshaped his professional trajectory.
Loyola went on to become deputy director of UC Chile’s corporate sustainability program within the university’s law school. In that role, he taught and oversaw a course focused on corporate sustainability, participated in government task forces and working groups, and contributed to an annual diagnostic report examining responsible business conduct among companies in Chile.
As his responsibilities grew, Loyola also began thinking about the areas of sustainability in which he wanted to develop deeper expertise.
“I did not have an opportunity to do a master’s degree, or any other kind of continuing graduate education, so I started looking at programs,” Loyola said. “I didn’t want a general master’s degree. I wanted something specific about sustainability.”
Expanding His Expertise at Columbia
Loyola later learned about the Luksic Scholarship for Sustainability at Columbia University, which supports students from Chile pursuing the M.S. in Sustainability Management.
The scholarship provides full tuition and support for living expenses for individuals with strong connections to Chile and a commitment to advancing sustainability in the region. Loyola applied and was selected as one of two recipients of the 2026–2027 scholarship, alongside Gustavo Hunter.
For Loyola, the opportunity to study at Columbia fills an important gap between the expertise he has already developed in law and social sciences and the interdisciplinary knowledge he believes is essential to advancing sustainability.
“I have a strong background in law and social sciences, which has made it very easy and natural for me to work on the social pillar of sustainability,” Loyola said. “But sustainability requires interdisciplinary collaboration and integration of different areas. Columbia’s Sustainability Management program is very strong in the financial and scientific aspects of sustainability, and my main focus will be to reinforce those two areas of my education.”
The Sustainability Management program brings together coursework across sustainability science, economics and quantitative analysis, policy, finance, and management. For Loyola, that interdisciplinary approach is especially valuable because it will allow him to connect his existing work in corporate responsibility with a stronger understanding of the financial and scientific dimensions of sustainability.
He is particularly interested in exploring the relationship between sustainability and financial performance — an area he believes is increasingly important for companies in Chile.
“It is still not clear to corporations how sustainability impacts the financial aspect, if it helps or if it is just a cost,” Loyola said of the conversations taking place in Chile. “Corporations and the academic community are having that discussion right now, but with no clear conclusions so far. And if you have a strong business case, the stronger the leverage.”
Corporate Sustainability and Responsible Business in Chile
Loyola’s interest in corporate sustainability is also rooted in his belief that responsible business practices can help strengthen public trust in Chile.
Over the past two decades, several high-profile corporate collusion cases have intensified public scrutiny of corporate conduct and accountability in the country. For Loyola, those cases underscore the importance of strengthening responsible business practices and demonstrating that companies can contribute positively to society.
His work focuses on what can come next: how to strengthen corporate responsibility, improve sustainability practices, and build a clearer understanding of how responsible business can create both social and economic value.
That mission is one reason Loyola is particularly interested in deepening his knowledge of sustainable finance while at Columbia. He believes a stronger understanding of the economic implications of sustainability can help him make a more compelling case for responsible practices when working with companies, policymakers, and students in Chile.
Learning in New York — and Bringing It Back to Chile
Beyond the classroom, Loyola sees Columbia’s location in New York City as an important part of his education.
Chile’s geographic distance from many global centers of business and finance can make it more difficult to regularly engage with international leaders working at the forefront of corporate sustainability. While at Columbia, Loyola hopes to take advantage of opportunities to learn directly from practitioners, researchers, investors, and fellow students representing different sectors and perspectives.
“Chile is very far from the United States, so we do not usually receive many visits from people who are leaders in corporate sustainability, many of whom are here in New York City,” Loyola said. “So I want to make good use of my time while I am here and get to know them.”
Loyola also sees studying sustainability in the United States as an opportunity to explore how businesses, investors, and academics are examining its economic value. In his view, ongoing debate around sustainability has encouraged researchers and practitioners to more rigorously assess its financial implications—knowledge he hopes to bring back to Chile.
“[The debate about sustainability] has forced academia and investors in the United States to try a bit harder to understand the economic impacts of sustainability, which has helped to refine the analysis,” he said. “That is happening right now in the U.S., and the Sustainability Management program is very strong in that aspect of sustainability.”
For Loyola, however, Columbia is not the final destination. After completing the Sustainability Management program, he plans to return to Chile and continue his work at UC Chile, where he hopes to bring what he learns in New York back into the classroom and into his work with government and corporations.
The potential reach of that knowledge is significant. Through his roles as an educator, researcher, and participant in government and industry initiatives, Loyola has opportunities to translate what he learns at Columbia into conversations about responsible business practices across multiple sectors in Chile.
That connection between education and impact is also what makes the Luksic Scholarship particularly meaningful to him.
“I am very grateful to the Luksic Foundation and Columbia University for this opportunity,” Loyola said. “These kinds of programs would not be accessible if there were no scholarships like this one.”
For Loyola, the scholarship is an opportunity not only to expand his own expertise, but also to bring new knowledge, relationships, and perspectives back to the institutions and communities he serves in Chile.
About the Program
The Columbia University M.S. in Sustainability Management program, offered by the School of Professional Studies in partnership with the Climate School, prepares students to address complex sustainability challenges across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Through an interdisciplinary curriculum spanning sustainability science, policy, finance, economics, and management, students develop the practical and analytical skills needed to help organizations manage environmental impacts and risks and advance sustainable solutions.
Designed to serve both emerging leaders and working professionals, the program offers full-time and part-time pathways and connects students with leading academics, researchers, and practitioners. Its applied curriculum prepares graduates to navigate a rapidly evolving sustainability landscape and translate interdisciplinary knowledge into meaningful organizational and societal impact.
Learn more about the program here.
