Green MBA

The traditional MBA degree (Masters in Business Administration) requires coursework and other study of business from a primarily financial standpoint, with some attention to management of people, to conventional economic theory, and to business ethics. A sustainable MBA program includes these subjects, and also study of managing for environmental and social sustainability. These programs are sometimes called "green MBAs".

Sustainability in these programs is generally defined to include economic, environmental, and social sustainability, collectively known as the Triple Bottom Line. For each of these domains, sustainability means that it will be possible to continue through the foreseeable future, at least, without major breakdowns, such as

The environmental and social justice movements are sources for many of the issues, arguments, and research on sustainability, but the idea has firm roots in classical economics.

One of the themes of sustainable MBA education is the extent to which environmental and social sustainability can be achieved at a profit, a question by no means answered fully.

Sustainability or "green" MBA programs can vary significantly from one school to another, some may stress management, some may stress entrepreneurship, others simply add a few "green" classes to their existing MBA program. Many advise to look at a program's curriculum, history, vision, mission, and most of all, to go and attend a class before fully enrolling in a program, as transparency is espoused as core to a sustainable MBA.

The oldest sustainability MBA in the USA (founded in 2000) is the MBA in Sustainable Enterprise, also officially known as the GreenMBA at Dominican University of California, the university itself being founded in 1890.

The following are some of the current business programs explicitly offering MBA degrees in sustainability. Although many traditional MBA programs have incorporated sustainability-related topics into their curriculum, this list only includes schools offering a specific degree or concentration in sustainability areas:

As interest in sustainability within MBA programs has increased, so has an interest on assessing their quality and different approaches. Beyond Grey Pinstripes, a biennial ranking and program survey, published by the Aspen Institute is based on the integration of social, environmental, and ethical stewardship into university curriculum and faculty research. The ranking also weights significantly the extent to which students are exposed to these topics throughout their studies. Participation in the survey requires US-based schools possess accreditation; international schools must also be accredited or be recognized as leading institutions. The 2009-2010 cycle consisted of 149 participating universities. The top-ranked school with a specialization in sustainability, Schulich, is Canadian. 63% of these schools were based in the US, while the remaining 37% were located throughout 24 countries. Although survey information from all participating schools is made available online, the top participating schools were ranked in the Aspen's Global 100 list. The 2011-2012 survey and ranking again include data from 149 universities.

...
Wikipedia