There's a new concept entering the world of Wall Street. Called Sustainability, it's the method of exploiting a resource so it's never depleted so that the resource is not permanently depleted. In other words, it's a fancy way of exploring the concepts of President Obama's desire for green technology. It's gaining so much steam that a number of colleges, both on campus and online, have opened up MBA programs on it.
It makes excellent sense. As anyone who pays attention to the news understands, the world is entering a crisis. If we keep going at our current rate, we will either destroy or deplete all our natural resources. Getting an MBA in Sustainability is all about examining the costs and benefits of investing in replenishable and non-polluting technologies and ending the world's pollution issues.
How they do it is to divide problems into thee particular categories, entitled "the Triple Bottom Line," defined as economic, environmental, and social sustainability. The current oil crisis is categorized as an economic issue. Global warming is considered environmental, while overpopulation is a sustainability matter.
There are those who call this program "Green MBA." Despite this "colorful" description, anyone interested in pursuing an MBA Sustainability degree still needs to get a BA or BS degree in an appropriate business curricula and also pass a GMAT. From there, they should pay very careful attention to the schools that offer programs. As it happens, more and more institutions are offering them every year.
Due to this, it's a good idea to examine a school before one enrolls in it. Talk to a career counselor, but also go on the internet and do a little research, ask how long the program has been in existence and don't be afraid to ask for referrals.
After finding the right school, one should expect not only the standard post-grad load in established business courses, but an equally important load in the ecological sciences and related topics. It should also be noted that having an MBA in Sustainability is not the same thing as having a Masters in Environmental economics. The latter is a STEM occupation, heavy on technical solutions. Sustainability is from the economic side.
It should be noted that Green MBAs are also not approved by everyone in the business community. More traditional MBA schools feel that a true businessman is only concerned with the business of business, not in saving the world. Of course, this argument that if the planet's ecology isn't addressed soon, there isn't going to be much of a world left to do business in.
As it stands, it should be remembered that this is a very new area for those who once considered themselves the masters of the universe. They realize the economic costs of a global ecologic disaster would make something like the BP Oil spill in the Gulf Coast look picayune in comparison. Online classes may play a large part of many top MBA programs as learning over the Internet reduces a lot more than just the costs associated with college.
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