Articles

What to Expect from a Green MBA Program

2009-10-08

As any savvy businessperson knows, there are many reasons for getting your MBA. The MBA often translates into increased employment opportunities and a sense of enhanced professional accomplishment. Also, you can earn more money by getting an MBA!

In this downturn economy, many professionals are re-evaluating their choices and options, including returning to school. This includes considering MBA pros and cons (there are plenty of the former, and few of the latter!), and why getting an MBA makes sense right now.

Universities are now offering, in increasing numbers, an exciting new alternative to traditional MBA programs: the "green" MBA program. What does this mean, exactly?

For one, it means that core values that continue to expand among citizens in the United States form the basis of the curriculum in the "green" MBA. In it, there is a focus on topics such as sustainability, fair trade, and renewable energy. Students study the impact their business decisions have on Mother Earth, as well as the bottom line.

For another, it often encourages the student to turn to the natural world for problem-solving initiatives and learning. It might not seem that the Amazon Jungle has anything to teach MBA students about how to run a business, but "green" MBA students find that that is precisely the case. By turning to the environment for strategies for problem solving, an increased understanding and synthesis with the environment is achieved.

Students in a "green" MBA program also find that the focus is still very much on profit. They find the bottom line almost always improves when there is an emphasis on "going green." For example, when companies decrease their packaging to reduce their environmental impact, their packaging costs also go down. By using renewable energy sources, electrical costs decrease, often dramatically.

"Green" MBA programs in the United States are currently enjoying a surge in both creation of new programs and enrollment in existing programs, due to high interest from both students and major companies. This is a win-win situation, as it allows students to keep their fingers on the pulse of the corporate world as they study, and enables companies to recruit talented students in "green" MBA programs. This close association with the students empowers the company to more easily adopt environmental initiatives in its existing structure.

Ten years ago, "green" MBAs were virtually nonexistent. Today, for many American professionals who have an eye on the environment, the future, and their impact upon it, "green" MBAs are proving to be a very sustainable venture.