Green Options

There’s a lot of excitement out there, especially in the green sector, about President Obama’s plans to improve the economy. That much of the stimulus is also environmentally friendly means more growth in the green sector. And that means more green jobs.

I can’t resist a plug for my alma mater, The Thunderbird School of Global Management. (Those of you who keep an eye on who went where to school where, should note that Josh Dorfman, The Lazy Environmentalist is a graduate too!)

For the second year, Thunderbird will be hosting the Annual Sustainable Innovation Summit, a global competition for business school students. Last year, the challenge attracted 118 teams from 59 universities and 15 countries.

Student teams are challenged with developing sustainable innovative business solutions for real-world companies and compete for a $20,000 prize and the title: Global Champions of Sustainable Innovation.

Reflective of the changing manner of education and working groups in the 21^st century teams can be made of students within a single school, within a single major or cross functional teams at different universities. As long as at least one member of the team is currently enrolled in an MBA program or has earned a graduate degree in business; you’re good to go.

Have you been thinking about getting a sustainability focused MBA? Have you been wondering what they’re really like? If they have substance? If they have depth? If they will be of any use to you out there in the real world? Well today, in part 2 of a series on sustainability focused business education, it’s all about Presidio School of Management, where I was part of the third cohort.

What’s to know about it, from an insider’s perspective? Let me tell you, it was a tremendously beneficial experience, on an educational, personal and professional level. I gained confidence, learning extensively how to give a great presentation, even enjoy the experience, from a starting point of utter terror. I learned how to work in teams, of varying strengths, skills, and personalities, and how to manage when things become, well, unmanageable. I got a broad and deep understanding of what’s going on in the realm of sustainability, in terms of business, government, and society as a whole. And beyond that, I saw how the emerging sustainable business paradigm overlaps with the existing, and how to bridge between the two.

Have you been pondering getting your feet wet in the ever expanding world of green business? Perhaps you’re already in it, to a degree, but want to go deeper. An MBA perhaps? Sustainable Development? Design? But where? Coming next Thursday, I’m going to tell you what I know from personal experience at one of the premier places today to get a sustainability focused MBA: Presidio School of Management.

But first, let me tell you what else I know, and I invite you to fill in the blanks. There are now several programs out there, such as the esteemed Bainbridge Graduate Institute up in Washington state, which has been around roughly the same amount of time as Presidio. They offer both a full MBA and two certificate programs, in Sustainable Business, Entrepreneurship, and Intrapreneurship. The certificate programs are aimed for those already in business, or who have already gotten an MBA.

The Green MBA program is another early entrant into this realm, and recently underwent what seems a helpful transformation, relocating to Dominican College in San Rafael, California. They currently offer an MBA in Sustainable Enterprise. As before, they have a social justice/activist leaning, in addition to their business education. Judging by their website, the future looks promising for this program, with a stronger integration between academic learning and active engagement with the real world.

In Europe, a dynamic, creative, real world oriented business program of a different flavor exists, known as KaosPilots.

With the growth in green technology comes a growth in the green business sector. While this is great news, it begs the question ‘who will lead the business community in the green revolution?’ Oftentimes, business owners are far too busy to brush up on their sustainability knowledge and managers have so much on their plate, that the whole process may just seem overwhelming.

More and more, small and mid-size business are turning to ‘green

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