2026 Neuberger Sustainable Investing Challenge

Neuberger is proud to launch the 2026 Sustainable Investing Challenge for the eighth year in a row in conjunction with the Columbia Business School, Harvard Business School, Kellogg School of Management, The London Business School, NYU Stern School of Business, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

2026 THEME

Security & Resilience: Investing in a More Uncertain World

Security and Resilience has emerged as a defining impact theme for investors as geopolitical tensions reshape the global economic landscape. Economies have grown increasingly exposed to disruptions in energy supply, raw material sourcing, and supply chains, and the past year underscored how quickly these vulnerabilities can materialize. Armed conflict, tariff escalation, and mineral export restrictions have shifted from periodic disruptions into structural features of the global economy. A recent survey found that global risk professionals see a geopolitically driven supply-chain breakdown as the most plausible severe shock facing their company within the next five years.¹

In response, leading institutional investors are now dedicating capital to a new impact theme: Security and Resilience. Companies that protect the systems societies and economies depend on stand to benefit as governments and corporations rebuild domestic capacity and reduce reliance on unstable supply lines. These companies may also offer investors portfolio diversification benefits. This capital reallocation is likely to unfold over many years rather than a single cycle.

Over the next few years, we expect institutional investors will increasingly treat security and resilience as a core structural allocation theme. We have identified four sub-themes where this shift is most visible and where investable opportunities are emerging fastest. This competition asks you to identify a publicly listed company that helps strengthen societal and economic resilience across one of these areas, and to make a compelling case that it belongs in a sustainable investment portfolio.

Sub-Themes

Critical Infrastructure

Companies building or safeguarding the physical systems societies cannot function without, from ports and grids to water systems and the facilities that keep them running.

Supply Chain Security

Companies securing the raw materials and components the modern economy depends on, from lithium and rare earths to semiconductors and battery materials.

Energy Supply

Companies strengthening domestic energy independence through renewables, nuclear, LNG, and a hardened grid.

Digital Security

Companies defending the digital infrastructure modern economies run on, spanning cybersecurity software, sovereign cloud, and secure communications networks.