CLU offers new Sustainable Business track

(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – May 31, 2012) California Lutheran University will offer a new Sustainable Business professional track in its MBA program beginning in fall.

The CLU program will prepare a new generation of managers with the knowledge and vision to drive innovation in environmental sustainability. Today, large and small companies need decision-makers with knowledge of law, engineering, finance, marketing and theory as they relate to green business.

CLU’s School of Management has been integrating sustainability into its curriculum for years, but faculty created new courses and revamped old ones in order to offer the new track.

“Business of Renewable Energy Technologies,” offered for the first time this summer, explores business opportunities, financing and regulatory aspects of ocean, hydroelectric, biomass, biofuel, geothermal, wind and solar energies. “Sustainable Marketing,” which will be offered during winter term, will cover integrating social responsibility and environmental issues throughout the marketing process.

A course on operations management that didn’t touch on sustainability was revamped into “Sustainable Business Operations,” which provides insights into the trade-offs associated with sustainable operations management decisions. It will be offered for the first time in fall.

A “Green Business” course that had been offered since 2009 has been revised as “Sustainable Business Strategies,” which reviews innovative ways of achieving competitive advantage through sustainability. CLU is considering requiring that all MBA students take this course.

New courses on information technology solutions for sustainability, product development, and sustainable accounting and finance are being developed and will likely be offered starting in the 2013-2014 year.

Faculty are collaborating with local companies and organizations to provide research, consulting and internship opportunities for students.

Valeria Makarova, a lecturer and visiting assistant professor who has a background in both business and science, has been coordinating the new sustainability curriculum. She earned an MBA from CLU and a doctorate in biology from Lomonosov Moscow State University. She spent 15 years conducting research in biophysics and plant physiology for universities and organizations including the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado. She also specializes in marketing and promotes sustainable and socially responsible business practices. A native of Russia who has worked in Germany and Korea, she has a global perspective on environmental challenges and has focused on collaboration between academia and industry.

For more information, go to callutheran.edu/mba or contact Makarova at 805-493-3285.