As sustainability gains traction around globe, in society at large, well as in the business community, the demand for courses and programs focused on sustainability and social responsibility has increased dramatically;  and business schools are stepping up to the plate. The Aspen Institute recently released the 2009-2010 edition of Beyond Grey Pinstripes, a biennial survey and popular alternative ranking of full-time MBA programs that integrate sustainability and social responsibility into the curriculum. This year, 149 business schools from 24 countries participated in the survey, up from 111 schools in 18 countries.

by Tracey de Morsella, the Green Economy Post

The Aspen Institute recently released the 2009-2010 edition of Beyond Grey Pinstripes, a biennial survey and popular alternative ranking of full-time MBA programs that integrate sustainability and social responsibility into the curriculum.  This year, 149 business schools from 24 countries participated in the survey, up from 111 schools in 18 countries. Beyond Grey Pinstripes is one of the few MBA rankings that look beyond reputation and test scores to measure how well schools are preparing their students for the environmental, social and ethical complexities of modern-day business.

School highlights from this Beyond Grey Pinstripes survey cycle are featured in a new guidebook for prospective MBA students, titled The Sustainable MBA: The 2010-2011 Guide to Business Schools That are Making a Difference.   The guide Providing highlights on over 150 MBA programs located in 20 plus countries-including course offerings, activities, clubs, joint degrees, and career resources-this book is a must-have for any prospective business student interested in creating positive change in the world.

For the first time, the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto, Canada, ranked first in the survey, getting high marks for the extraordinary number of courses available to students that contain environmental, social and ethical content as well as for the number of relevant scholarly articles being published by the School’s faculty members.

The Top 20 Schools Globally

1.    York (Schulich)
2.    U. of Michigan (Ross)
3.    Yale School of Management
4.    Stanford Graduate School of Business
5.    Notre Dame (Mendoza)
6.    UC Berkeley (Haas)
7.    RSM Erasmus
8.    NYU (Stern)
9.    IE Business School
10.    Columbia Business School
11.    U. of Virginia (Darden)
12.    Cornell (Johnson)
13.    GWU School of Business
14.    U. of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler)
15.    Simmons School of Management
16.    Duke (Fuqua)
17.    Wisconsin School of Business
18.    Duquesne (Donahue)
19.    U. of New Mexico (Anderson)
20.    U. of Denver (Daniels)

“The best MBA students move quickly into the front ranks of business–and the attitudes and values they bring to the table are deeply influenced by their time in business education,” said Judith Samuelson, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute’s Business and Society Program.  “Will they accept the status quo or act on their passion about the positive role business can play at the intersection of corporate profit and social impact?  The schools that are competitive in the Beyond Grey Pinstripes ranking are the real trailblazers–they assure that students have the right skill as well as the will to make things happen.”

“In these challenging economic times, the general public, not just scholars, are questioning whether the established models of business are broken,” said Rich Leimsider, Director of the Aspen Institute’s Center for Business Education.  “Beyond Grey Pinstripes schools are thoughtfully pursuing new approaches.  They are preparing students who take a more holistic view of business success, one that measures financial results as well as social and environmental impacts.”

As sustainability gains traction around globe, in society at large, well as in the business community, the demand for courses and programs focused on sustainability and social responsibility has increased dramatically;  and business schools are stepping up to the plate.   The percentage of schools surveyed that require students to take a course dedicated to business and society issues has increased dramatically over time.  In 2001, 34% had the requirement.  Now, 69%  equire students to take a course dedicated to business and society issues.  Since 2007, the number of elective courses offered per school that contain some degree of  social, environmental or ethical content has increased by 12%, from approximately 16.6 to     18.6 electives.The proportion of schools offering general social, environmental or ethical content in required  core courses has increased in many business disciplines–Accounting, Economics, Finance,     Management, Marketing, Operations Management–since the last survey in 2007.

However, the percentage of schools requiring content in a core course on how mainstream    business can act as an engine for social or environmental change remains low, at 30%.  Only approximately 7% of faculty at the surveyed business schools published scholarly articles in     peer-reviewed, business journals that address social, environmental or ethical issues.

Relevant data collected in the survey, as well as the entire “Global 100” list of business schools, is available at: www.BeyondGreyPinstripes.org.

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Argosy University Master of Business Administration – Sustainable Management Concentration. Argosy’s Master of Business Administration (MBA) online program offered by the College of Business emphasizes leadership, action, and solutions. The Sustainable Management concentration stresses the development and implementation of sustainable business practices to create a competitive advantage. Our program enhances your professional abilities and gives you the skills sought by contemporary businesses. You can learn to identify challenges and opportunities, draw on technology and information, and use advanced analytical and planning approaches that position you to create positive changes for an organization. Click here, for more information about the Argosy University Master of Business Administration – Sustainable Management Concentration.

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Author: Tracey de Morsella (323 Articles)

Tracey de Morsella started her career working as an editor for US Technology Magazine. She used that experience to launch Delaware Valley Network, a publication for professionals in the Greater Philadelphia area. Years later, she used the contacts and resources she acquired to work in executive search specializing in technical and diversity recruitment. She has conducted recruitment training seminars for Wachovia Bank, the Department of Interior and the US Postal Service. During this time, she also created a diversity portal called The Multicultural Advantage and published the Diversity Recruitment Advertising Toolkit, a directory of recruiting resources for human resources professionals. Her career and recruitment articles have appeared in numerous publications and web portals including Woman Engineer Magazine, Monster.com, About.com Job Search Channel, Workplace Diversity Magazine, Society for Human Resource Management web site, NSBE Engineering Magazine, HR.com, and Human Resource Consultants Association Newsletter. Her work with technology professionals drew her to pursuing training and work in web development, which led to a stint at Merrill Lynch as an Intranet Manager. In March, she decided to combine her technical and career management expertise with her passion for the environment, and with her husband, launched The Green Economy Post, a blog providing green career information and covering the impact of the environment, sustainable building, cleantech and renewable energy on the US economy. Her sustainability articles have appeared on Industrial Maintenance & Plant Operation, Chem.Info,FastCompany and CleanTechies.