It's the First Green MBA Program in the U.S.

Students can now enroll for the first Green MBA – an MBA in Environmental Entrepreneurship – at an accredited institution in the U.S. Offered in conjunction with New College of California, its mission is to “bring about a just, sacred and sustainable world by transforming business to be a vehicle for social change and environmental restoration. We do this by training passionate, intelligent individuals with strong environmental and social values to successfully bring their initiatives into the world.”

Classes include: Critical Thinking for Change Management, Systems Thinking and Dynamics, Eco-Commerce Models, Environmental Accounting & Finance, Business Planning, and Green Marketing.

“We teach environmental responsibility as a component of success,” says MBA Program Coordinator John Stayton. “If management understands the implications of greenhouse gas emissions, for example, their responsibility is to change and create successful alternatives. Innovative businesses can help to significantly reduce the amount of natural resources we use, create cleaner products and processes, and therefore reduce the harmful pollutants we are producing and putting into the biosphere.”

Less than 20 percent of the top business schools in the US have any course or activity linking business with the environment or social equity, according to Beyond Grey Pinstripes: Preparing MBAs for Social and Environmental Stewardship, published by the World Resources Institute.

“We have the technology to change the world. What we need is leaders to diffuse that technology while rebuilding our humanity through ethical commercial ventures.” says Jane Lorand, one of the instructors.

Students are focusing on entrepreneurial initiatives in areas like solar energy, tree-free paper and mushroom bioremediation. One student, a CPA, is developing a sustainability consulting business unit for her firm.

The faculty have personally succeeded as entrepreneurs: Lorand, an attorney and business consultant, operates an organic catering business, and Stayton, a former high-tech marketing professional, owns an organic fruit farm.

In its 30th year, the New College of California links education with social change towards a more just and sustainable world.

www.green-mba.com