It could be just an earth-hugging environmentalist fad or perhaps the next great industrial revolution.
In 2002 Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Mich., began an undergraduate degree program in sustainable business. It was the earliest of only three such programs among Catholic colleges in the United States. Duquesne University in Pittsburgh has instituted a master’s degree program in sustainable business. Dominican University of California in San Rafael, which calls itself an “independent university of Catholic heritage,” offers a master’s degree in sustainable enterprise.
The Aquinas sustainable business degree program is described as fostering “ecological and social intelligence in business decisions. Sustainable business practices restore environmental quality, promote stable and healthy communities, and increase long-term profitability.”
Matthew Tueth, the program’s director, told NCR: “We perceived an opportunity to develop a unique interdisciplinary program that would combine conventional business, the sciences, environmental studies and sustainable business. We anticipated filling a demand for formally trained graduates with a skill set that would enable them to assist existing organizations in a transition to durable, healthy and profitable enterprises.
“Our impetus came from strong personal convictions that such an approach to both business and higher education would prove to be a distinct competitive advantage.”
The four-year bachelor of science degree program in sustainable business includes conventional business courses, such as accounting, marketing and management; biology, chemistry and physics; at least two environmental studies classes; and seven sustainable business courses. All students also complete a semester-long internship with an organization in order to gain experience applying sustainable business theory inside an actual company.
“Our brand of sustainable business involves continuously improving the conditions of employment inside an organization and of the human community around the organization,” Tueth said. “Sustainable business involves not only eliminating the entire concept of waste and pollution but also regenerative and restorative endowments to the natural world.”
Tueth believes this program fits well with Catholic values and teaching. “The Catholic Dominican tradition of academic endeavors within a global perspective, leadership and service to others, and the pursuit of truth and the common good are all found inside the tenets of authentic sustainable business.”
Graduates from the program that Tueth has tracked concentrated primarily on transitioning existing businesses toward sustainable principles and practices. “Aquinas graduates are driving change inside health care, manufacturing operations, the office of a U.S. congressman, financial institutions, a variety of educational institutions, consulting companies, and not-for-profit organizations.”
Joe Balog is a junior majoring in sustainable business at Aquinas. Raised in Traverse City, Mich., he said his parents often took him camping where he explored Michigan’s forests and developed a love for hiking, climbing and camping.
For Balog, the program champions the ability of individuals to humble themselves and learn from others, “especially nature from which we should take our design cues.”
He said the business degree program has motivated him to dig deeper into his Catholic faith to find answers. “This search has led me to compile the beginnings of a series of essays on a topic I call theo-ecology (not a phrase I coined, I later discovered), which is faith seeking understanding through the lens of socio-ecological systems.
“Our program is about creating systemic intentional change; Christ’s mission and existence is about creating systemic intentional change.”
Mary Tate, also a junior in the program, was raised in Petoskey, a small town in northern Michigan.
“I knew that it was the perfect opportunity to fully engage my passion and understand how I could take part in preserving the environment and help humans to find their niche on this planet. It encompasses everything I hoped for and has built upon my own personal values of preservation, community and kinship. It has taken my childhood passion for ‘saving the world’ and turned it into a reality that I can live out in my everyday activities, as well as my career choices.”
For her, the best thing about the program is meeting others who share her beliefs and passion for restoring and preserving the natural environment.
“It has taught me the concept of the Triple Top Line. This concept is fairly new and it means that in order for something to be sustainable, it must have value in three areas: environmental, social and financial. This program teaches you that a business must be profitable, beneficial to the community, and at the same time it must have a positive impact on the environment.
“When I pursue a career, no matter what field it may be in, I will be more marketable because businesses look for potential employees who recognize the value of profits and who can problem-solve in order to make sustainable innovations marketable, profitable and beneficial to the environment and society.”
Tate wants to focus her studies on sustainable agriculture and biomimicry, which is the study of emulating organisms and natural systems. “I am fascinated by how humans have strayed so far from sustainable farming and I would like to research how to restore a connection to the food we eat.”
According to university spokeswoman Karen Ferrick-Roman, Duquesne’s 45-credit master of business administration sustainability curriculum combines accelerated coursework in essential business disciplines — accounting, finance, marketing, economics, operations, organizational behavior, information technology and ethics — with global best practices in sustainability.
Two live consulting engagements with corporate and not-for-profit partners anchor the program, “providing opportunities to solve contemporary sustainability problems while applying learning from across the curriculum and professional project management methodology. Study trips to Asia, Europe or South America offer firsthand opportunities to expand perspectives, investigate emerging trends and study global economics at a partnering university.”
Throughout the 12-month program, students interface with thought leaders, executives, guest speakers and alumni at an annual sustainability symposium, ethics luncheons, activities with the environmental business nonprofit Net Impact, and other events. In addition, selected sustainability fellows participate in research and coauthor scholarly papers.
Balog summed up the relation between sustainability and business: “Doing the right thing is very different from doing the wrong thing well. What is more Christian than trying one’s best to do the right thing?”
[Rich Heffern is an NCR staff writer. His e-mail address is rheffern@ncronline.org.]
