Personally, when I began to shop around for an MBA program I knew I wanted an MBA to advance my career, but sustainability was not even in my search box. After much needed research into the topic I realized that sustainability was a lot more than just the “green movement”.
Then I wondered – how could I be so naive? Sustainability has to do with all parts of business from reporting financials to strategic planning.
A widely accepted definition of sustainable development is “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs”. In Dr. Sroufe’s Sustainable Theories and Models class we used this definition to as a jumping off point to create our own definition of sustainability.
My classmate Peter shared his interpretation of sustainability in a simple, but an easy to understand manner. He compared sustainability to the Boy Scouts’ mantra to “leave the campground cleaner than when we found it”. Often it is hard to find the words to describe our program to family and friends, but Peter’s point makes it easy for all to relate to the concept of sustainability in business.
Now that I understand sustainability – how I could have ever not wanted an MBA with a sustainability focus? Our unique program allows us to leave the world a better place through sustainable business practices, which is more than most MBA programs can say.
