Business Schools Can Help Achieve Millenium Development Goals

In the July/August edition of BizEd is an interview with Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations. Among Ban's responsibilities are leading the organization to achieve the eight Millenium Development Goals:

1. Eradicate poverty and hunger



2. Improve global educational opportunities



3. Promote gender equality



4. Reduce child mortality



5. Improve maternal health



6. Fight diseases, such as HIV/AIDS and malaria



7. Inspire environmental sustainability



8. Establish a global partnership of organizations to achieve these goals

He is promoting the U. N.'s Global Compact, an initiative that brings together government, nonprofits, educational institutions, and business to improve the prosperity of those at the bottom of the world's economic pyramid.

The world's businesses possess the power to make these objectives a reality. The contributions of business schools also will be essential in helping the U.N. meet its 2015 deadline, Ban stresses. By teaching social responsibility, he says, business schools can instill in each of their students the skills to change the world--and the intention to make a difference.

Read the full interview in the July/August 2008 edition of BizEd.

Sustainability Conference for Business Schools

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) will be hosting a Sustainability Conference in Salt Lake City UT on July 30 & 31. According to AACSB, "Business schools lay at the root of the movement toward sustainable and ethical business."

The conference is intended "to address the critical role business schools play in producing leaders who advance responsible and sustainable business worldwide." The conference will cover ethics, governance, peace through commerce, and responsible global leadership.

Where to get a Business Degree in Sustainability

Degrees and certificates in sustainable business are on the rise. There are a number of resources to find those programs.

• Net Impact's Student Guide to Graduate Business Programs provides a student perspective on their graduate business program's coverage of social and environmental themes in the curriculum.



• The Association for the Advancement of Sustainabilitly in Higher Education (AASHE) maintains a list of undergraduate and graduate sustainability programs in a wide range of disciplines, however, you must be affiliated with a university that is a member of AASHE in order to access the list.



• The Aspen Institute's Beyond Grey Pinstripes offers a ranking of the top 100 graduate business programs worldwide integrating social and environmental themes into the curriculum.

While the resources above allow you to assess how much you'll be exposed to social and environmental issues within the curriculum, some students want to make sure they get a degree or major in sustainable business. Here is our list of known schools with majors or certificates in topics related to sustainable and responsible business. As new degree programs or certificate programs arise, we attempt to keep an updated list on our website...so check back often.

Alliant International University
Aquinas College
Arizona State University
Bainbridge Graduate Institute
Ben & Jerry's Climate Change College
Blekinge Institute of Technology
Brandeis University
California College of the Arts
Clinton School of Public Service
Colorado State University
Dominican University of California
Duquesne University
Goddard College
Green Mountain College
Illinois Institute of Technology
Maharishi University of Management
Marlboro College
Michigan Technological University
New College of California
Northwestern University
Nottingham University
Portland State University
Presidio School of Management
Royal Holloway, University of London
San Francisco State University
Saybrook Graduate School
Unity College
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Denver
University of East Anglia
University of Michigan
University of North Carolina
University of Oregon
York University

NOTE: Please check our website (in the right sidebar) for the most up-to-date list. Additional schools are listed there.

UPDATE: Please also see our more recent post for online degrees in sustainable business and our list of best business programs in sustainability.

Carbon Management: Job & Education Growth

BusinessWeek reports that more business schools are addressing the topic of carbon through education in the classroom, tracking their own carbon footprints, or by purchasing carbon offsets. And Reuters reports that jobs in the global carbon market are expected to double over the next year and increase by 50 times by 2012, but they also state that jobs are "standing vacant because of a lack of suitable talent." Junior level jobs start at over $124,000 but can take 2 or 3 months to fill while senior level jobs start at over $310,000 plus bonus and can take up to 6 weeks to fill.

To meet growing demand and limited talent pools, a new MBA in Strategic Carbon Management program is starting. Billed as the world's first and only MBA in Strategic Carbon Management, the program is housed in the Norwich Business School at the University of East Anglia in the UK. The inaugural class begins in January 2008.

Students Want Green Jobs, Businesses Want Green Credentials, Business Schools Race to Bridge the Gap

According to survey results of college graduates just released by KRI, "80 percent of those surveyed said they are interested in a job that has a positive impact on the environment and a whopping 92 percent would choose working for an environmentally friendly company." In response to the survey findings, MonsterTRAK has created GreenCareers, which focuses exclusively on green employment.

Yet as more businesses attempt to "go green," it is a struggle to find employees with a combination of the functional and technical skills needed AND who also have knowledge and understanding of sustainability, according to an article in the Boston Business Journal.

When Oakland's Community Bank of the Bay couldn't find a candidate with both loan experience and sustainability knowledge, they decided to hire someone who knew sustainability and teach them about banking. They are expecting that adding "green loan officers" will help them obtain a competitive advantage.

In an effort to bridge this gap, the number of classes and degree programs in sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are rapidly growing at business schools across the nation as the demand for green business skills is increasing. This blog maintains a list of colleges and universities with certificate and degree programs in sustainability and/or CSR (see our list of links for Business Education in CSR & Sustainability).

Are you ready for the future?