New MBA Program Stresses Sustainability, Social Justice
The Bainbridge Island Graduate Institute is offering a new MBA program "for people who want their business career to reflect their commitment to sustainability and social justice."
The Bainbridge Island Graduate Institute (BGI) is offering a new MBA program "for people who want their business career to reflect their commitment to sustainability and social justice."
The program, created by well-known management consultants Gifford and Libba Pinchot, plans to teach standard business subjects "in a way that includes bioethics and the nuts and bolts of cutting-edge sustainability practices in every subject," according to promotional material. Example: a supply chain management module will include standard fare about cutting inventory and costs through closer relations with suppliers, as well as "How to ensure sustainable practices and social justice in your entire value creation chain."
According to the Pinchots, the two-year program is geared to working professionals, involving principally distance learning punctuated by four eight-day intensive in-person sessions each year, either at the Institute’s headquarters just outside Seattle or at a retreat center on a remote island north of Vancouver (where most students will sleep in tents).
The pilot program is scheduled to begin in September with a limit of 15 students; the first student cohort is expected to include managers from several well-known companies. Faculty for the first year includes Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute, evolutionary biologist Elizabet Sahtouris, John D. Adams of the Saybrook Graduate School, and futurist Joel Barker.
Libba Pinchot, BGI’s dean of faculty and students, stresses that the focus on sustainability doesn’t mean the program will forego the fundamentals. "Students will get a strong foundation in business management and leadership," she says. "You will understand how to manage finance, supply chains, marketing, projects, brands, R&D, start-ups, and all the essentials of creating and running a profitable business. We will review traditional solutions in each area as a foundation for understanding the more sustainable business practices that are emerging today."
For more information: http://www.BGIedu.org/MBAsustainability; [email protected]; 206-855-9559.
The program, created by well-known management consultants Gifford and Libba Pinchot, plans to teach standard business subjects "in a way that includes bioethics and the nuts and bolts of cutting-edge sustainability practices in every subject," according to promotional material. Example: a supply chain management module will include standard fare about cutting inventory and costs through closer relations with suppliers, as well as "How to ensure sustainable practices and social justice in your entire value creation chain."
According to the Pinchots, the two-year program is geared to working professionals, involving principally distance learning punctuated by four eight-day intensive in-person sessions each year, either at the Institute’s headquarters just outside Seattle or at a retreat center on a remote island north of Vancouver (where most students will sleep in tents).
The pilot program is scheduled to begin in September with a limit of 15 students; the first student cohort is expected to include managers from several well-known companies. Faculty for the first year includes Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute, evolutionary biologist Elizabet Sahtouris, John D. Adams of the Saybrook Graduate School, and futurist Joel Barker.
Libba Pinchot, BGI’s dean of faculty and students, stresses that the focus on sustainability doesn’t mean the program will forego the fundamentals. "Students will get a strong foundation in business management and leadership," she says. "You will understand how to manage finance, supply chains, marketing, projects, brands, R&D, start-ups, and all the essentials of creating and running a profitable business. We will review traditional solutions in each area as a foundation for understanding the more sustainable business practices that are emerging today."
For more information: http://www.BGIedu.org/MBAsustainability; [email protected]; 206-855-9559.
