Emily Reyna | May 4, 2010
The emerging green economy has made sustainability a hot topic in the MBA world. And while the increased interest is driving the formation of corporate sustainability departments, clean tech start-ups and sustainable investment firms, the challenge will be for business school programs and companies alike to make sustainability an enduring core component of the curriculum and business strategy, rather than a passing fad.
To prepare students, many MBA programs are going green, as Francesca Di Meglio points out in her recent Businessweek article, and have begun to offer sustainability certificates or dual degree programs where students take classes at both the business and the environment schools. The programs that have already developed curricula and joint degrees in this area, including my alma mater, University of Michigan's Erb Institute for Global Sustainability, are expanding course offerings to meet the growing interests of the students and the increasing requests to inject sustainability into traditional MBA topics. A recent Financial Times (FT) article by Sarah Murray titled, "Class is not always greener," highlighted the Michigan's Ross School of Business, which is offering a new elective finance course that teaches students how to evaluate social and environmental returns, as well as the financials, when investing in business projects.
While programs like Michigan's are well-established, and others are in the process of growing the sustainability programs, many programs are at the other end of the spectrum and have not yet embarked on the sustainability path. If your program is in the latter category, fear not. There are still ways that MBA students can seek out sustainability educational opportunities. A recent GreenBiz article gives 10 tips on how to turn any MBA into a sustainable MBA. The tips include:
- becoming involved with university-wide sustainability initiatives such as campus greening;
- speaking with professors or administrators about offering a course in this area;
- joining a student club such as Net Impact that focuses on sustainability issues; and
- seeking internships with organizations working in this area.
Here at EDF, we are excited to offer MBA students the opportunity to participate in the EDF Climate Corps Program, which places fellows in companies for a summer to make the business case for investing in energy efficiency. Our fellows represent business school programs from the full spectrum of sustainability integration. This summer's fellows start this May and will be sharing what they learn via our EDF blog, so be sure to follow.
The trend reflected by these recent articles reflects a growing interest in the intersection between business and environmental issues.
However, I'm cautiously optimistic, because much like the majority of MBA programs, sustainability is still an add-on for most companies.
While more and more companies are incorporating sustainability initiatives into their core strategies, few have it fully integrated throughout the fabric of the organization.
It will take time and work, but as long as the MBA's keep pushing the case and keeping it hot, I am very hopeful for the prospect of sustainable business. As the late CK Prahalad, a world-renowned corporate strategist who taught at Michigan that sustainability is a key driver of innovation, said: "Don't look at sustainability as compliance and regulation, but as an opportunity for breakthrough innovation."
Recognizing and realizing these opportunities will be the key to integrating sustainability into MBA curricula and corporate America.