Blog | Subscriptions | Newsletters | Advertising | RSS | Past Issues | About Us | Contact |
 
 
Focus on: Clean Energy
What actions is your company taking to reduce its carbon footprint?

Investing in energy efficiency
Purchasing renewable energy from utility or third party
Investing in onsite renewable energy
Investing in more fuel efficient transportation systems


































 

Page:   1  of  5

1 |   2 |   3 |   4 |   5      All   »   
Berkeley grad Erin Carlson (center) and the Yahoo! for Good team. Courtesy Yahoo!
UC Berkeley grad Erin Carlson (left) and the Yahoo! for Good team
Do green MBAs get green jobs?
by Melanie Schutt - 4.4.08

The number of jobs in corporate social responsibility (CSR) has increased 37 percent in a three-and-a-half-year period, according to a report jointly released in January 2008by Net Impact and Ellen Weinreb CSR Recruiting. Net Impact, a global organization comprised of green-minded MBA students and professionals, increased its membership by 87 percent in the same timeframe. On the surface, the disparity seems to imply steep competition for the number of “green” positions.

However, there’s a market for specialized MBA skills that goes unaccounted for in statistical studies. The Net Impact/Ellen Weinreb report measured job growth by monitoring the number of CSR postings on two CSR job sites: Business for Social Responsibility’s job page and the CSR- Chicks listserv. The 37percent growth refers to publicly posted, full-time openings that are categorized specifically as CSR positions. Beyond the job sites, graduates from Sustainable MBA programs are finding career opportunities in both startup and corporate settings.

“Many of our students become entrepreneurs,” says John Stayton, director of the Green MBA Program for Dominican University of California. “Dominican has a strong network, and these entrepreneurs come back to hire new graduates from the school as their businesses grow.”

Students are also discovering career opportunities through participation in “green” organizations and activities. Deb Parsons, an MBA graduate with a focus in sustainable enterprise and entrepreneurship, was a Net Impact chapter leader at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler business school. It was through Net Impact that she found an opening at her current company, Good Capital, a San Francisco-based socially responsible investment firm. Good Capital was in its startup phase at the time, with three principals and two staff members.

Parsons also launched a Sustainable Venture Capital Investment Competition (SVCIC) while she was a student. SVCIC is now held annually with MBA candidates from a range of business schools. Parsons became acquainted with subsequent competitors, and Good Capital hired two of these participants as portfolio analyst interns.

What is a “green” job?
For green MBA graduates trying to assess the market for their skills, another challenge is the still amorphous definition of a “green” career. Formally speaking, the term usually refers to positions with responsibility for CSR, sustainability or environmental concerns and social entrepreneurship. Yet, as commitment to responsible business practices grows within organizations, traditional job titles are including more and more sustainability-linked components within their job descriptions.


Page:   1  of  5

1 |   2 |   3 |   4 |   5      All   »   

Post a Comment
Name:

Email:


Comment:


Can I use Cisco while making an MBA with proficiency in diamonds? Like colored ones such as blue diamond in other places than Africa?

Posted by Blik Proof on March 15, 2009 08:25 AM

I don't think that MBAs really encourage green jobs, unlike a Shoebuy Discount Coupon which positively engourages green jobs.

Posted by James on June 02, 2009 07:16 AM

a green mba is sooo specific, whack out your eee pc accessories and save the environment with that instead

Posted by chris on June 06, 2009 07:06 PM

I think that MBAs can give you green jobs. Most MBAs go on to get a paddy power free bet voucher

Posted by Roger on June 10, 2009 07:46 PM


Like this article? Subscribe to Sustainable Industries magazine.

© Sustainable Media Inc. All rights reserved. Permission is required for reproduction in whole or in part. For high-quality reprints of articles, contact FosteReprints at 866-879-9144 or via email: sales@FosteReprints.com
  The green heart of San Francisco? Read More
  Carbon footprint for your pillow? Read More
  Not a lot of there, there Read More
 



 Submit a Job  
   
   
   
  More Jobs  
 Submit an Event  
     
     
     
  More Events