MBA - Area Focus Electives - Sustainability | UVA Darden School of Business

Sustainability

The Darden MBA program teaches students about sustainability through case studies and experiential opportunities.

Cases are real-time, showcasing entrepreneurs and ventures that are creating new products, processes, technologies, markets and organizational forms to deliver low-pollution electrical power, outdoor gear made from recycled materials, packaging polymers from plant-based materials, low CO2-emitting cement and modular green buildings. Integrated throughout the curriculum is the theme that while business has one main bottom line — profitability — it must be achieved in an ethical, socially-minded and environmentally-responsible manner.

The Innovation for Sustainability concentration (available in the Second Year) prepares students to design and implement sustainability strategies such that their future organizations not only expand their positive impact on society, but also realize revenue growth, cost savings and/or brand enhancement.

Courses
Electives

Darden offers numerous elective courses that solely or partially focus on sustainability and ethical leadership/decision-making. Coursework includes tools essential for developing a successful sustainability strategy such as stakeholder engagement and systems thinking. Specific courses are below, with hyperlinks to descriptions. These courses also count toward the Innovation for Sustainability concentration.

Business and Sustainability (video)

Business Ethics through Literature

Business-Government Relations

Creative Capitalism (video)

Entrepreneur as Change Agent

Faith, Religion and Responsible Management Decision Making

Global Economics of Water

Leadership and Diversity through Literature

Leadership and Theater: Ethics, Innovation and Creativity (video)

Leadership, Values and Ethics

Markets in Human Hope

Social Responsibility and Entrepreneurship

Sustainable Innovation and Entrepreneurship (video)

Systems Design & Business Dynamics

Several Darden Worldwide Courses incorporate sustainability themes including:

Sweden — Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Sustainability

Israel — Innovation and Technology

South Africa — Lessons from South Africa on Public-Private Sector Cooperation to Grow an Economy

Please note: courses are subject to change each year. Consult the course directory for the most up-to-date course offerings.
Concentration
Darden faculty created the following concentration to help Second Year students develop a course plan:

Innovation for Sustainability

The Innovation for Sustainability concentration includes both courses and a required capstone project. The objectives of the Sustainability concentration are to:

Equip students with the ability to create and execute collaborative sustainability strategies to: increase firm revenues through innovative products and services; lower costs and raise profitability through efficiencies and design; create and enhance brands; better manage supply chains; and mitigate business risk.

Instill knowledge about the global and systemic impacts on natural systems and human well-being from accelerating trends such as urbanization, industrialization, climate change and population growth, as well as emerging scientific knowledge.

Inform students of regional and global institutions and policy instruments that influence business operations and strategy.
Clubs & Events

Net Impact at Darden

Net Impact is dedicated to using the power of business to positively impact social, environmental and economic concerns across the world.

Darden Nonprofit Internship Fund (DNIF)

DNIF is a student-funded program that helps First Year students defray summer living expenses while pursuing low-paying internships in the nonprofit and social sectors.

Community Consultants at Darden

This student organization performs pro-bono consulting engagements in the Charlottesville community.

Darden Capital Management

Darden students manage $8M of the School’s endowment through five funds. One of the funds, the Rotunda Fund, is explicitly guided by sustainability investment criteria.

View the full list of Darden student organizations.
Careers

In the following video, students and faculty discuss Darden's approach to teaching sustainability, as well as experiences in mission-driven MBA internships and career opportunities:
Contacts

JULIA JAMES (MBA ’12)

Undergraduate education: Harvard University
Undergraduate major: Environmental Science and Public Policy
Company: Deloitte
Role: Senior Consultant, Commercial Strategy & Operations

“The case method style of learning and participating in the Net Impact case competition have been good preparation for working in consulting. In addition, my experiences in learning team and the classroom have made me more comfortable contributing in a team environment.”

PATTY FOGLESONG (MBA ’09)

Undergraduate education: University of Notre Dame (MS from UNC-Chapel Hill)
Undergraduate major: Geological Sciences (MS in Geological Sciences)
Company: National Park Service
Role: Business Management Specialist, Intermountain Region
Current location: Denver, CO

“Darden gave me the skills and the confidence to begin making a valuable contribution to my organization on day one. As the only MBA on my team, I have unique expertise to share. As the newest person on my team, I have much to learn about the culture and history of my organization. Darden taught me to ask good and relevant questions as well as to explain new concepts to facilitate learning and collaboration within my team.”

WILL TEICHMAN (MBA ’09)

Undergraduate education: Washington and Lee University
Undergraduate major: Economics and Politics, Certificate in Environmental Studies
Company: Kimco Realty Corporation
Role: Director of Sustainability
Current location: Charlotte, NC

“Darden gave me a broader understanding of the elements that make a business sustainable over the long-term. I discovered that sustainability isn't just about checking the boxes on a handful of environmental or social initiatives — it's about making decisions today that will ensure that the business will be around for its customers, employees, and shareholders for years to come. The Darden experience — rigorous case prep, spirited classroom discussions, a tight-knit student population, and world class faculty — gave me a bias toward action that I rely upon every day in my work.”

Electives

Darden offers numerous elective courses that solely or partially focus on sustainability and ethical leadership/decision-making. Coursework includes tools essential for developing a successful sustainability strategy such as stakeholder engagement and systems thinking. Specific courses are below, with hyperlinks to descriptions. These courses also count toward the Innovation for Sustainability concentration.

Several Darden Worldwide Courses incorporate sustainability themes including:

Please note: courses are subject to change each year. Consult the course directory for the most up-to-date course offerings.

Darden faculty created the following concentration to help Second Year students develop a course plan:

Innovation for Sustainability

The Innovation for Sustainability concentration includes both courses and a required capstone project. The objectives of the Sustainability concentration are to:

Equip students with the ability to create and execute collaborative sustainability strategies to: increase firm revenues through innovative products and services; lower costs and raise profitability through efficiencies and design; create and enhance brands; better manage supply chains; and mitigate business risk.
Instill knowledge about the global and systemic impacts on natural systems and human well-being from accelerating trends such as urbanization, industrialization, climate change and population growth, as well as emerging scientific knowledge.
Inform students of regional and global institutions and policy instruments that influence business operations and strategy.

Net Impact at Darden

Net Impact is dedicated to using the power of business to positively impact social, environmental and economic concerns across the world.

Darden Nonprofit Internship Fund (DNIF)

DNIF is a student-funded program that helps First Year students defray summer living expenses while pursuing low-paying internships in the nonprofit and social sectors.

Community Consultants at Darden

This student organization performs pro-bono consulting engagements in the Charlottesville community.

Darden Capital Management

Darden students manage $8M of the School’s endowment through five funds. One of the funds, the Rotunda Fund, is explicitly guided by sustainability investment criteria.

View the full list of Darden student organizations.

In the following video, students and faculty discuss Darden's approach to teaching sustainability, as well as experiences in mission-driven MBA internships and career opportunities:

JULIA JAMES (MBA ’12)

Undergraduate education: Harvard University
Undergraduate major: Environmental Science and Public Policy
Company: Deloitte
Role: Senior Consultant, Commercial Strategy & Operations

“The case method style of learning and participating in the Net Impact case competition have been good preparation for working in consulting. In addition, my experiences in learning team and the classroom have made me more comfortable contributing in a team environment.”

PATTY FOGLESONG (MBA ’09)

Undergraduate education: University of Notre Dame (MS from UNC-Chapel Hill)
Undergraduate major: Geological Sciences (MS in Geological Sciences)
Company: National Park Service
Role: Business Management Specialist, Intermountain Region
Current location: Denver, CO

“Darden gave me the skills and the confidence to begin making a valuable contribution to my organization on day one. As the only MBA on my team, I have unique expertise to share. As the newest person on my team, I have much to learn about the culture and history of my organization. Darden taught me to ask good and relevant questions as well as to explain new concepts to facilitate learning and collaboration within my team.”

WILL TEICHMAN (MBA ’09)

Undergraduate education: Washington and Lee University
Undergraduate major: Economics and Politics, Certificate in Environmental Studies
Company: Kimco Realty Corporation
Role: Director of Sustainability
Current location: Charlotte, NC

“Darden gave me a broader understanding of the elements that make a business sustainable over the long-term. I discovered that sustainability isn't just about checking the boxes on a handful of environmental or social initiatives — it's about making decisions today that will ensure that the business will be around for its customers, employees, and shareholders for years to come. The Darden experience — rigorous case prep, spirited classroom discussions, a tight-knit student population, and world class faculty — gave me a bias toward action that I rely upon every day in my work.”