From the blog formerly known as Green, Inc.:
... a growing number of graduate business programs are offering electives in topics like carbon accounting, corporate social responsibility and lean manufacturing techniques to reduce waste and environmental impact.
Net Impact, a membership organization for sustainability professionals and students, publishes an annual “Business as Unusual” guide to programs like these. The group released its 2011 edition last week. ...
Although Net Impact does not pick the winners among these programs, [Net Impact’s executive director, Liz Maw] said she believed the best ones were careful to mix green-thinking with core business skills.
“You can’t just approach your next job with green glasses on,” she said. “You’ll need those finance, marketing and operations courses just as any traditional M.B.A. grad would.”
The top programs will also offer a variety of learning experiences, like “team projects, large and active student clubs, and hands-on field experience,” she said, as well as classes in policy and environmental management.
Appstate is part of this trend with a sustainable business concentration in the MBA degree. Economics teaches benefit-cost analysis and environmental economics as electives for the concentration. My benefit-cost analysis class started yesterday and I have a number of MBA students. In addition to the standard theory, measurement and comparison topics, the students will be doing an applied research project for real clients in the community (or fictitious clients) as if they work for John C. Whitehead Consulting (I'm not letting them talk with the real clients this semester, not because they are not capable, but because it is too much work for the instructor).
It is nice to see that we are not alone in what we are doing. It would have been even nicer if we were included in Net Impact's guide!
