University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
EN-12: Continuing Education

Certificate in Sustainable Management: A sustainable business is one that generates profits for its owners, protects the environment, and improves the lives of the people with whom it interacts. This program covers several key topics, including: the reasons for sustainability's increase in popularity, the connection between the environment and sustainability, the business case for embracing sustainable management within an organization, the role government regulation plays in sustainability efforts, and some criticisms of corporate sustainability. Students will learn to apply sustainable management principles in the workplace, like the triple bottom line (TBL) concept and its three pillars of "People, Planet, and Profits" and recognize and implement best practices for measuring sustainable management efforts. An Overview of Sustainable Management: Sustainable management is managing a firm so that it generates profits for its owners, protects the environment, and improves the lives of the people with whom it interacts. The business case for sustainable management is that it can help a company's long-run profitability and success. After completing this module, students should be able to define sustainability and its application in an organizational setting, as well as the connection with the environment. Students will discuss leadership in sustainable management, outline the criticisms of corporate sustainability, and apply sustainable management principles to workplace scenarios while recognizing the role of government regulation in corporate sustainability efforts. Corporate Social Responsibility: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the concept of organizations taking responsibility for their impact on society and the environment. Businesses which embrace CSR promote the public interest through what they do (for example, encouraging community growth and development) and what they refrain from doing (for example, eliminating or avoiding practices that harm stakeholders, regardless of whether such practices are legal). CSR is the inclusion of the public interest into corporate decision-making. After completing this module, students should be able to define and explain CSR concepts, arguments, criticisms, impact on corporations, and role of standards and measurements as well as outline best practices for CSR. Measuring Sustainable Management Performance: One well-known business saying is that you can't manage what you can't measure. With the growing importance of sustainable management, business leaders must find the appropriate tools and techniques for measuring their organization's sustainability performance. This course reviews the measurement of sustainable management practices and performance. After completing this module, students should be able to: -Explain how managers can model and measure sustainable management practices -Discuss how strategic performance measurements, including the balanced scorecard and Shareholder Value Analysis, can be employed in looking at corporate sustainability efforts -Outline how accounting systems, including activity-based costing, life-cycle costing, and full cost accounting can be used in assessing sustainability -Understand methods of calculating return on investment for sustainability decisions and green capital investments -Discuss measuring and reporting sustainability to government and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) -Recognize best practices for measuring sustainable management efforts Sustainable Management: Leadership Ethics Leaders are increasingly being held responsible and accountable for the manner in which they lead—and if they are adhering to ethical behavior when they make decisions. Organizations have learned that the costs of unethical actions can be high, both legally, and from the perspective of brand image and reputation. At the same time, research is showing that good business ethics translates to good business results. Leading in an ethical manner can provide a clear advantage in building a thriving enterprise. This course reviews the key issues surrounding leadership and business ethics. After completing this course, students should be able to: -Discuss the role of ethics in the workplace and for leadership -Describe some of the major ethical frameworks used in developing business ethics -Discuss the use of ethical standards and ethics codes in the workplace -Recognize the role of leadership in setting the ethical tone for an organization -Apply ethical principles to workplace scenarios Taking the Helm at Coastal Industries Simulation: Throughout this simulation, you will play the role of the new chief executive officer of Coastal Industries, a fictional manufacturer of industrial transformers. During the simulation, you will be asked to make a series of decisions as Coastal Industries adopts sustainable management practices. These decisions will involve the company's operations, its standing in the community, and its relations with local government and state and federal regulators. Each of your decisions will affect Coastal Industries in different ways. Your goal in the simulation is to optimize positive scores across the following project management factors: Leadership Performance, Board Support, Employee Relations, Social Responsibility, Regulatory Compliance, Environmental Practices, and Financial Performance. This simulation is meant to sharpen your understanding of the key leadership skills necessary for effective sustainable management, including: -Analyzing financial data and using that information to make educated decisions -Managing organizational change -Understanding the relationship between corporate responsibility and the community -Assessing sustainability practices and measuring their organizational and financial impacts -Finding compromises that meet short and long-term financial objectives Triple Bottom Line Accounting: In order to pursue the goal of sustainability, corporate and government leaders must manage companies and economies in terms of balancing and optimizing the triple bottom line of social, environmental, and economic impacts. The Triple Bottom Line concept, also known as the "3Ps" ("People, Planet, and Profit"), is both a metaphor for thinking about sustainability as well as the basis for a practical framework for accounting and reporting on organizations' activities and impacts. The TBL concept borrows the well-known and widely accepted idea of financial accounting and its "bottom line" and expands it. After completing this module, students should be able to: -Explain the triple bottom line (TBL) concept and its three pillars of "People, Planet, and Profits" -Describe the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) TBL accounting framework -Explain how economic, environmental, and social performance indicators are developed -Discuss how TBL accounting measures an organization's sustainability performance -Outline the criticisms of TBL accounting -Describe best practices for TBL accounting Other continuing education courses address an aspect of sustainability, whether that is providing education and health services to under-served populations, or serving as resources for persons wanting to change careers, learn new skills or boost their earning potential in a sustainable way. For example, a Certificate in Non-Profit Management course is designed to enhance existing skills and develop new ones for dealing with "real-world" challenges and situations in the nonprofit sector.

Created in 2013 by legacy institution, the University of Texas Pan American, the Certificate in Sustainability Management continues to be offered by UTRGV. Sustainability refers to the use of ecosystems and their resources in a manner that satisfies current needs without compromising the needs or options of future generations. A sustainable business is one that generates profits for its owners, protects the environment, and improves the lives of the people with whom it interacts. This program covers several key topics, including: • The reasons for sustainability's increase in popularity • The connection between the environment and sustainability • The business case for embracing sustainable management within an organization • The role government regulation plays in sustainability efforts • Some criticisms of corporate sustainability • Applying sustainable management principles in the workplace • Applying the triple bottom line (TBL) concept and its three pillars of "People, Planet, and Profits" in organizations • Recognizing and implementing best practices for measuring sustainable management efforts

UTRGV’s continuing education courses support the sustainable development goal of quality education and responsible communities by offering courses and programs that train community members about sustainability.