Rising Suns: Graduating green: Progressive MBA program makes sustainability the bottom line

Source: Pacific Sun
May 4, 2007
by Jacob Shafer

Quote from Article:

Joey Shepp of Fairfax, a graduate of the program, offers a ringing endorsement.

"I was part of the third graduating class, so I had a huge opportunity
to help shape the program," says Shepp. "It was amazing—small classes,
great faculty and really self-directed."

Shepp has parlayed his educational experience into a career with a Web
strategies firm called Earthsite (www.earthsite.net ) that helps green
businesses build and maintain an online presence. He’s also founder of
Green Maven (www.greenmaven.com ), which he describes as "the green
Google." It’s a search engine that highlights environmentally conscious
Web sites—helping enviro types find everything from fair-trade coffee
to organic socks.

Asked if green business is a growth industry, Shepp answers without
hesitation. "What we’re seeing is a new, modern environmentalism that’s
pro-business and pro-profit," he says. "Environmental problems can be
seen as business opportunities, and I think more and more companies are
realizing that to maybe sacrifice a little now is to grow for the
future. This is a bright green market—one that’s looking seven
generations into the future."

Shepp is, of course, just one example of the many students who have
used the Green MBA as a springboard. Stayton says graduates generally
find jobs in three key areas: entrepreneurship, sustainability
consulting and what he calls "intrapreneurship," working within
established corporations to effect change from the inside out.

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Source: Pacific Sun
May 4, 2007
by Jacob Shafer

For a long time, the prevailing opinion in both the business community
and the environmental movement seemed to be that the two sides were
incompatible. You were either pro-bottom line or pro-preservation—but
almost never both.

Things have changed. Resources, particularly fossil fuels, are growing
ever scarcer; global climate change is threatening to fundamentally
alter the face of the planet; old paradigms are shifting. And
businesses are beginning to wake up to the reality that sustainable
industry is the wave of the future, and those who don’t ride it are
going to drown.

It is with this spirit of environmentally conscious enterprise that the
Green MBA program was created. The brainchild of John Stayton and Jane
Lorand, founder of the nonprofit Institute for Environmental
Entrepreneurship, the program first launched at Santa Rosa’s New
College of California in 2000 as an M.A., morphing into an MBA in 2002.

Now, it’s moving with staff and curriculum intact to Dominican
University in San Rafael, with the first slate of classes set to begin
in the fall.

"We’re extremely excited about [coming to Dominican]," says Stayton. "They’ve been so welcoming and accommodating thus far."

The move is something of a homecoming for Stayton, who earned an MBA in
International Business from Dominican in 1995. He says that Dominican
was an appealing destination for the program for a number of reasons,
including the university’s centralized location and its established
status as a mainstream institution.

"I have nothing but good things to say about New College," Stayton adds
emphatically. "But it felt like it was time for us to move on, and this
feels like the right fit."

Stayton says that while the program will undoubtedly change and grow in
its new home, it’s coming to Marin fully formed, with a group of 12
faculty members and an educational philosophy that has gained a
reputation for being dynamic, forward-thinking and effective.

Joey Shepp of Fairfax, a graduate of the program, offers a ringing endorsement.

"I was part of the third graduating class, so I had a huge opportunity
to help shape the program," says Shepp. "It was amazing—small classes,
great faculty and really self-directed."

Shepp has parlayed his educational experience into a career with a Web
strategies firm called Earthsite (www.earthsite.net ) that helps green
businesses build and maintain an online presence. He’s also founder of
Green Maven (www.greenmaven.com ), which he describes as "the green
Google." It’s a search engine that highlights environmentally conscious
Web sites—helping enviro types find everything from fair-trade coffee
to organic socks.

Asked if green business is a growth industry, Shepp answers without
hesitation. "What we’re seeing is a new, modern environmentalism that’s
pro-business and pro-profit," he says. "Environmental problems can be
seen as business opportunities, and I think more and more companies are
realizing that to maybe sacrifice a little now is to grow for the
future. This is a bright green market—one that’s looking seven
generations into the future."


Shepp is, of course, just one example of the many students who have
used the Green MBA as a springboard. Stayton says graduates generally
find jobs in three key areas: entrepreneurship, sustainability
consulting and what he calls "intrapreneurship," working within
established corporations to effect change from the inside out.

"Green MBA students are prepared for the modern workforce in a number
of ways," says John Regatz, an adjunct faculty member who lives in
Novato. "About half of our students go out and start their own
companies. The other half end up working in a variety of
fields—nonprofits, socially responsible companies. They bring new
knowledge about how to reduce waste, find substitute materials,
encourage recycling, provide living wages, reduce energy consumption.
Their learning can help in the development of new products for the new
era."

While he feels we have "reached a tipping point" in terms of
environmental issues, Regatz emphasizes that hope, rather than gloom,
should be the order of the day.

"[We teach] the concept of the ‘triple bottom line’—that all business
decisions need to consider economic profit, people and the planet," he
says, adding that this doesn’t necessarily mean giving up a high
quality of life. "We are learning that environmentalism is not always
about sacrifice. [Energy efficient] light bulbs are a good example. So
are solar panels. So is wind energy. Adapting does not have to mean a
lower standard of living."

Henry Wong of Sausalito, another adjunct professor, says that the Green
MBA is different from other programs in that it approaches business
with an entirely new philosophy.

"I teach corporate finance at UC Berkeley, but my course in the Green
MBA program is called entrepreneurial finance—which is a completely
different skill set and allows students to break free from traditional
limitations and think outside the box to solve today’s crucial business
issues."

Wong agrees that green jobs are booming—and takes things a step further.

"There are many studies that show green jobs are on the rise," he says.
"However, it’s more important to note the upward trend in the
‘greening’ of business. In other words, all jobs will be green jobs
eventually, as we re-think our roles in the business environment."

Sound idealistic? Perhaps, but it’s also a refreshing antidote to the
discourse one often hears regarding the future of enterprise and the
planet—a maddening back-and-forth between head-in-the-sand deniers and
pessimistic doomsayers.

With some predicting the impending collapse of life as we know it, it’s
nice to hear there’s a growing movement that not only holds out hope
for a bright tomorrow, but is developing a plan for how to get there.

"This is an exciting time for us," says Stayton, his enthusiasm
apparent. "We’re really on the edge of something that’s already big,
and is just going to continue growing. We’ve come a long way as a
program, and there’s still a long way to go."

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