MBA Programs Going Green

Babson Globe

Business programs seem to be stretching their reach a bit, from a bottom line of profits, profits, profits, to a newer line of profit, people and planet. Because we live in a world which is currently beset by fairly severe economic woes in addition to environmental problems, the fact that business schools are gradually expanding their “green” curriculum is good news for everyone involved. The overall recruiting environment for MBA programs may look a little sluggish right now, but the sustainability area is a potential shining star in the business world. Even though the economy is causing jobs to dry up on Wall Street, the clean technology sector is growing by leaps and bound. Only a few years ago, less than half of the top MBA programs offered anything remotely resembling a social or environmental concern; this is changing quickly enough to make your head spin.

What Exact Is a Green MBA?

A green MBA is, simply put, a more responsible approach to business with the environment being a critical piece of the puzzle. Lest you despair, however, green business is not about forgoing profits for the sake of Mother Earth, but more about the theory that “less is more,” such as less electricity, less chemicals, less packaging, etc. Efficiency is the key to green or sustainable living, and the goal in all areas of business. Profits are, however, still in mix—yes, we want to create sustainable businesses, but we still care about the bottom line—or the triple bottom line (TBL or 3BL), which is, once again, profit, people, planet.  The goal of the new, green MBA’s is to provide sustainable environmental practices for our planet, to implement fair business practices toward staff, contractors, suppliers and the community, and to make a profit, which is what keeps business in business. Although there are some naysayers who believe that in order to incorporate the complex issues of sustainability into existing curriculum business schools would have to change over from process thinking and into systems thinking. In short, there would have to be a new approach to business education which is more scientific than the current approach which emphasizes the business analytical mind. Some think this is much too radical a shift to happen swiftly, but others believe the business mind is easily adaptable to a systems thinking approach.

Enrollment Surge for Green MBA’s

Many schools with MBA programs note they have seen enrollment in sustainability electives easily double over the past four years, even though the size of the MBA students has remained roughly the same. Today, the Presidio School of Management in San Francisco boasts an enrollment of over 250 students in their sustainable management program, while only a short few years ago, a mere 20 students were signed up. Most business schools expect that the interest in sustainable business will continue to grow and peak, then will likely drop off a bit, but the need to understand how business affects the environment will not change. Following the collapse of Enron in 2001, and the resulting scandal, many business schools made a concerted push to add ethics to their MBA curriculum. Although that particular effort never became a fully fleshed out business ethics program, many feel that sustainability is a trend that will continue to have lasting significance in business curriculums for a very long time. Some business schools have even incorporated sustainability courses into the required core courses, while others are still offering them as specialized electives, but in either case, the enrollment in such courses is rising rapidly.

Green Campuses

There are some business schools in the United States which are adding a caveat to their sustainable curriculum in the form of green campus initiatives. These can include recycling cooking oil from the dining facilities or even generating wind power on campus. Stanford’s new business school campus is expected to incorporate recycling, increasing energy efficiency and using rainwater or gray water for sewage as well as many other environmental on-campus programs. Many other campuses are making their own contributions, albeit in smaller ways, by promoting recycling, installing solar panels on campus buildings, discouraging the use of plastic bottles, or emphasizing biodegradable paper products.

Specific Green MBA Programs

Among the many schools currently jumping on the bandwagon, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School offers a joint MBA/Master’s in environmental science degree as well as an MBA concentration in environmental management. Babson College offers the Sustainable Entrepreneurship by Nature course where students must turn to the “natural” world to solve business problems. One of the first schools to develop and incorporate sustainability into their curriculum was Bainbridge Graduate Institute, and they now offer an actual Sustainable MBA. Presidio Graduate School offers both an MBA and MPA in Sustainable Management as well as dual programs for those who want to combine the strengths of each specialization. Stanford University is expected to achieve the highest platinum certification for environmental sustainability, and the curriculum for almost every class has some aspect of sustainability built into it. Yale University School of Management is currently fostering partnerships between their business school and Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in order to educate students about good business solutions to current environmental problems.

The Bottom Line

Even though Green MBA’s may be a fairly new buzzword, the Aspen Institute currently puts out a top 100 Green MBA ranking—clearly business that can make on impact on our environment and our world is rapidly growing in importance and interest. The world’s present problems are not of the kind which will be easily solved. Smart, savvy business people will play a central role in resolving our environmental problems for a long time to come and will be making the hard choices necessary for more sustainable living.

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