Sustainable MBA at City University of Seattle

 What is Sustainable Business?

Sustainable Business is a new way of thinking about how companies are run and how everything we do impacts the environment.  It is a way of conducting business that takes into account the long-term view, not merely short-term shareholder maximization.  Sustainable business is:

• An ethical way of thinking about how to run a business taking into consideration how an organization impacts people and the environment while still turning a profit.
• Individuals that recognize that we are all part of the same global ecosystem and that actions in one part of the world can have global implications.
• A way of doing business that limits the amount of fossil fuels that are burned to transport people and goods and to power our companies.  This limits the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that are being released into the atmosphere and slows global warming.
• How to meet societal and corporate energy needs using power from renewable sources such as solar, wind, tidal, and bio-based inputs.
• A method of finding ways to limit the amount of waste that businesses produce thereby limiting the amount of material that finds its way into increasingly limited landfills.  To the extent possible, both products and by-products are recycled and become inputs to another process.
• A collection of managers who have become aware of the social injustices and economic inequities that our current business methods cause and support.  Once aware, these managers can take steps to correct these problems.
• Companies that learn to preserve the earth for future generations of humans and other species.

In short, it is a way of doing business that we can maintain over the long term because it does not deplete resources, cause global damage, or treat people inequitably.

 

What Programs is City University of Seattle offering?

Currently, City University is offering a sustainable business emphasis area in the MBA and a graduate certificate in sustainable business. 

Students who wish to complete the MBA and specialize in the study of sustainable business practices can take the MBA option.

Students, who do not wish to pursue an MBA, can study sustainable business by completing the graduate certificate.

MBA students who are interested in earning both the MBA and the graduate certificate can do so by taking one additional course beyond those required to earn the MBA.

 

 

Why is City University of Seattle offering these programs?

City University is making a commitment to offer programs in Sustainable Business to equip future business leaders with the knowledge and tools they will need to address a rapidly changing business landscape.  The United States, and most of the developing world, is on the cusp of a new way of doing business that respects the limits of the environment and of social systems.  Knowing how to conduct “business-as-usual” will no longer be enough to ensure that companies will be successful.  Future business leaders will be faced with:

• Increasing governmental regulations both at home and abroad
• Demands from consumers for greener and more socially responsible products
• Rising costs of doing business using conventional methods
• Incredible opportunities to lead profitable business ventures that are not only socially and environmentally responsible but that actually tie business success to responsibility.

City University has also made a commitment to support the United Nation’s Principles of Responsible Management Education and, in doing so, will work to ensure that all Sustainable Business graduates understand the state of the global environment and the position the planet is currently in when dealing with issues of climate change, pollution, water scarcity, and the impact that modern business could have on the ecosystems around the planet.

 

What courses are included in the program and what do they cover?

The list of courses includes:

Social and Environmental Responsibility

This course offers an introduction to Sustainable Business (but it does not necessarily need to be taken first). It covers the state of the world’s environment, how business has contributed to or caused many of the problems we are seeing today, and how many pioneering business are changing their practices to methods that are responsible and sustainable.

Environmental Accounting

Today’s business leaders need to be concerned not just with profits but with the impact their businesses are having and all three parts of the triple bottom line:  profits, people, and the environment.  This course builds on the principles of managerial accounting and teaches managers how to approach financial decisions with all parts of the triple bottom line in mind.

Marketing in the new Economy

In recent years, environmental awareness has evolved from an emerging social movement to become a mainstream consumer value. Businesses are increasingly beginning to understand that environmental marketing initiatives are not only good for society at large, but also for their own bottom lines.

The ultimate aim of this course is to provide students with an understanding of tools to address environmental values in all aspects of marketing to improve the performance of the firm.  Student will also learn about the hidden aspects (energy use, pollution generation, water consumption) that are tied to common everyday products.

 

Sustainability and Business Opportunity

Last year, over $100 billion was invested in startup companies and new divisions within establish companies that deal with sustainable technologies and businesses.  In 2009, the federal stimulus package included about $40 billion for sustainable energy technologies.  The time for investing in green energy and businesses is at hand.  How can companies capitalize on these opportunities?

This course will cover the vast array of opportunities that are present in the emerging green business economy and will teach business leaders to take advantage of these opportunities to the extent that it make sense for their companies.

The Responsibilities of Global Citizenship

Taken by those students who want to earn the graduate certificate in sustainable business

We can no longer regard ourselves as just citizens of our own countries – we are all global citizens who interact with and impact individuals from around the world.  We need to see ourselves a part of a global system where our actions can impact others in parts of the world that we may never see.  How can being aware of the impact of our actions help us to make better decisions?  How does technology impact this process?

This course will teach you how your actions may have global impacts and will help you understand how best to apply systems theory to ensure that the impacts you have are in alignment with your values and the values of the organizations that you are associated with.

 

What other topics will I study in the Sustainable Business program?

• Planning business strategies that incorporate aspects of social justice
• Strategic and operational management that incorporates sensitivity to environmental concerns
• Packaging that meets consumers’ demands for environmental sensitivity
• Marketing products in alignment with sustainable business practices
• Financing and accounting practices that will allow managers to operate within parameters that involve triple bottom line, responsible investment, cap and  trade, green credits, and other sustainable business practices
• Identification of business opportunities that exist within the new green economy, including opportunities related to energy generation, recycling, and green consulting and education
• Business interactions with global organizations and individuals in support of socially and environmentally focused practices.

 

Will the program cover LEED and the USGBC?

It will, but only from an informational standpoint.  We will teach students about the United States Green Building Council and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification process but we will not address specifics about how to set up buildings so that they will meet LEED certification requirements.   

 

Will this program cover any of the science behind climate change?

To a certain extent, yes.   However, none of the courses are intended to make that topic the sole focus.

It is difficult to find any books on sustainable business that do not, to some extent,  address the specifics of climate change including the types of greenhouse gases involved, the specifics of environmental damage that have been caused, or the processes that are involved in the natural or man-made impacts on the environment.  The course on Social and Environmental Responsibility does a good job framing the problems and the state of the climate.  This should provide a foundation of understanding for further study.