Worcester Polytechnic Institute
AC-4: Graduate Program

MBA & MS concentrations in Sustainability Management ___________________________________________________________ Corporations, non-profits, governmental agencies and municipalities are hiring individuals with the skills and commitment to meet the challenges of balancing people, planet, and profit. Future leaders need a broad set of competencies including sustainability, environmental and change management. The Foisie School of Business offers a concentration in Sustainability Management to prepare you with the management skills and knowledge to enable you to work cross-functionally with diverse stakeholders to achieve optimal performance economically, environmentally and socially. This Concentration includes the following courses: BUS 598: SP. TOP: INTRO. TO SUSTAINABILITY MGMT. This course introduces students to the business case for and management basics of Sustainability in corporations including: integration with business strategy, operations and the culture. Students will learn about the relationship of Sustainability to: economic and social drivers, including triple bottom line, services, product design, manufacturing, office operations, information technology, purchasing and suppliers as well as innovation and entrepreneurship. The course focuses on practical application of knowledge and skills by extensive use of case studies enhanced by insights from guest speakers and experience with decision-making processes related to Sustainability capital projects. Students will gain a sound understanding of: high performance building design to save energy, water and reduce waste, management’s role in fostering sustainable practices, how to measure, account for and report environmental and social impacts plus marketing strategies to promote sustainability results. BUS 598: SP. TOP: ENERGY MANAGEMENT This course covers a broad spectrum of energy management topics important to future business managers and leaders including: energy management strategies for business, governmental regulations, incentives and resources, European Union energy policies and programs including carbon credits and related markets. We will study energy efficiency practices as they relate to ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems, the U.S.Green Building Council (USGBC), Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED), High performance buildings, data centers, renewable energy sources and smart grid. Special focus will be on energy management for financial and Corporate Social Responsibility benefits from the perspective of CEOs, CFOs, COOs and CSOs. The course is conducted based the principle of learning by doing. Student teams work with a corporation, non-profit or municipality conduct an energy audit and develop and present an energy management plan. OIE 598: SP. TOP: SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAIN & OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT This course is intended to provide students with understanding the intra- and interorganizational implications of environmental practices and policies. The role of organizational operational and supply chain management functions, activities, tools and methods and their relationship to the natural environment will be introduced and discussed. At the end of the course a successful student should be able to: grasp the scope of general operations and supply chain management and environmental sustainability as they relate to the firm, be able to relate to the manners in which management may respond and collaborate/cooperate with suppliers, customers, and various other stakeholders influencing and influenced by operational and supply chain activities from practical and theoretical case studies and able to evaluate various factors and understand tradeoffs in management decisions as they pertain to environmental operations and supply chain management.

In WPI’s Water Resources graduate certificate program, you’ll learn more about the world’s most critical natural resource, which is also under multiple complex threats. You will work with an advisor to choose appropriate classes to cover advanced topics that suit your interests, including improved methods of detecting and removing hazardous contaminants, utilizing zeolites for risk remediation, and spearheading water sustainability initiatives in your community and around the world.