Schools teaching 'good' business

Kristin Kent, a second-year UW-Madison student in the university's Master of Business Administration program, would like to see businesses make more socially responsible choices.

"Right now it is very easy and cheap to waste - natural resources, people, ecosystems, land are all disposable," Kent said.

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"I think that businesses are the most powerful tools to make a difference in an area where governments have failed, individuals have failed, nonprofits have failed," said Johanna Brotherus, an exchange student from Finland.

"My dream would be to work at a company that is already doing well in corporate responsibility, maybe take over my family company and make a social impact."

Business programs are beginning to address these ideas and topics. The World Resources Institute and the Aspen Institute recently ranked UW-Madison's Business School 16th in the U.S. and 28th in the world for its environmental and social stewardship education.

"Do businesses have a responsibility to take on society's challenges?" Tom Eggert asked his class of 54 students during fall semester. It's the highest enrollment since he started teaching sustainable courses in 1999.

The class, environmental strategy and sustainability, discusses the question each week and student interest in the subject is skyrocketing, Eggert said. "I think we're in a time of transition regarding the role of business in society."

An analyst at the World Resources Institute, Annie Woollam, said students who graduate from schools ranked high for environmental stewardship education will have a broader perspective of the role of business.

"They learn to look beyond a single bottom line," she said.

Don Hausch, associate dean for the UW-Madison Business School's masters program, echoed that notion. Corporations are interested in hiring students who have exposure to this type of education and know how to think about a business' broader mission, he said.

"Those thinking in the old-world model are less desirable from a recruiting perspective," Eggert said.

For many students, such a curriculum coincides with deeply held beliefs and interests.

"Sustainability is a really hot topic right now," said Grant Wheeler, who heads the 28-member student group Business Action for Sustainable Enterprise and also is a student in Eggert's class.

Students in BASE learn about how businesses can meet economic needs without sacrificing social and environmental principles. Some students in BASE are working on building a biodiesel pump in Madison, which can provide a renewable alternative for fuel.

"It's really encouraging to see the rankings come out and see us making the top 30 for the first time," said Andrew Freedman, an MBA student who is president of the business school's Net Impact chapter, a group of 35 students working to promote corporate responsibility. "I hope we continue to improve our reputation and attract top-notch students that would've gone elsewhere."

In Eggert's class students work with businesses that have taken on sustainable business models. Darin Harris, co-owner of Second Nature Homes, a company that builds sustainable houses, asked members of Eggert's class to help him produce a marketing plan.

"The students are getting real-life experience," Harris said. "I don't look at them as students, but as consultants."

Social responsibility can no longer be ignored by business, Harris said. "People are looking at gas prices, the impacts on the environment and are starting to make some connections."

"Businesses should do more than do no harm," said Home Savings Bank president James Bradley while visiting Eggert's sustainability class last semester. His company offers clients an option to "green" their accounts. Customers can choose to have their paychecks directly deposited into their accounts, use recycled checks and do all of their banking online.

Home Savings will save money in printed check statements and environmentally conscious consumers will feel good knowing they're doing a little something to conserve.

"We try to know our community and reflect our community in everything we do," Bradley said.