Become a Master at Sustainability: Green MBAs

The future of our green economy will demand a new kind of expertise amongst educational, business and administrative leaders. It already shows in the growing demand for (and noticeable lack of) a skilled workforce to drive and implement sustainable building practices, including design, construction and leadership. In response to that need, there has been a push at the university level to offer advanced degrees in sustainability, and subsequently there are a growing number of opportunities for students of business and science to pursue Green MBAs.

Going Green is both a personal and societal movement. At the personal level, we can reduce our energy consumption or install energy-efficient lighting, solar power, geothermal heating and a host of other adjustments. But to make green a standard in our society, to transform Going Green into Gone Green, it must become (as an option) a standard in our educational system, from high school to graduate programs. Specifically for Masters of Business Administration (MBA), it will serve to solidify the transition to a triple bottom line in the business arena – one that focuses on economic, environmental and social responsibility.

The Green MBA is, quite logically, an interdisciplinary degree that spans several fields relevant to those three tenets of the new sustainable paradigm. Following are a list of available Green MBA programs, as culled from Easy Ways to Go Green, plus a few more. For more detailed information on each program, click the links to each university. A location for each school is listed, although several of the programs are available online and may be accessible from anywhere.

Green MBA Programs in the United States

• Alliant International University: Marshall Goldsmith School of Management Bright Green MBA Program (California, Tokyo, Mexico City)
• Anaheim University Kisho Kurokawa Green Institute MBA in Sustainable Management or Online Green MBA (California)
• Antioch University New England Green MBA Program in Organization and Management (New Hampshire)
• Bainbridge Graduate Institute MBA in Sustainable Business (Bainbridge Island, WA)
• Colorado State University Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise Program at the School of Global Environmental Sustainability
• University of Colorado Denver Green MBA with Managing for Sustainability Specialization
• Dominican University of California Green MBA Program at the School of Business and Leadership (California)
• Duquesne University’s Palumbo/Donahue Schools of Business MBA in Sustainability Program (Pennsylvania)
• Green Mountain College Sustainable Business Leadership Program (Vermont)
• Lipscomb University College of Business Sustainability MBA – Institute for Sustainable Practice (Nashville, TN)
• Maharishi University of Management MBA in Sustainable Business (Fairfield, IA)
• Marlboro College Graduate School Green MBA in Managing for Sustainability (Vermont)
• Marylhurst University Accelerated Online MBA in Sustainable Business (Oregon)
• Portland State University MBA With Concentration in Sustainability (Portland, OR)
• Presidio Graduate School at Alliant International University MBA in Sustainable Management (San Francisco, CA)
• San Francisco State University College of Business MBA With Emphasis in Sustainable Business (San Francisco, CA))
• University of Michigan Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise MBA/MS Degree (Ann Arbor, MI)
• UNC Kenan-Flagler School of Business MBA with Sustainable Enterprise Concentration (North Carolina)
• California College of Arts MBA in Design Strategy (Oakland, CA)

These are examples of universities with specific Green MBA programs or specializations. Bear in mind that the movement toward sustainable education spans nearly every university in the United States. Many business schools may not be developing specific sustainable MBA programs, but are interweaving sustainable education into their existing MBA programs, offering sustainability courses or integrated sustainable teaching into existing courses.

As Green MBAs are almost universally interdisciplinary degrees, different programs may have different focuses. For example, California College of Arts’ Design Strategy program focuses on design, while University of Michigan’s program actually combines an MBA with a Masters of Science (MS). The number of options are growing fast. It is up to you, the prospective graduate student, to decide which program best fits your own vision.

Resources:

• Easy Ways to Go Green – Green MBA Programs
• Sustainable MBA – Wikipedia
• MBA Programs Go Green – BusinessWeek
• Ecopreneurist

Photo Credit: Michigan Engineering

Posted on December 15th in Solar Information by Dan.