People, Environment, and Sustainability is for students interested in the relationship of the environment and standard of living and how individual decision-making affects business decisions and social expectations. The goal of the course is to give students the knowledge and skills to help organizations understand and act on the principles of sustainability, while gaining a deeper understanding about the relationship of day-to-day decisions and the impact of those decisions on the environment and on those less fortunate.

Though People, Environment, and Sustainability is not solely a class about the development of corporate strategy, it is clear that future leadership in the sustainability area will come from, and indeed must come from, the private sector. As one of, if not THE, dominant social institutions of our time, corporations have the financial resources, the technology, the know-how and the global reach to successfully respond to the challenge of sustainability.

Over the next two decades, corporations will be challenged to create entirely new, environmentally-sustainable and socially-responsive strategies. Progressive companies are investigating the financial benefits of operating in a “sustainable” manner, and the most innovative are carving out market niches that reflect the basic tenets of sustainability. The goal of these businesses is to make a profit within the conditions of sustainability through innovation – whether that innovation is in product or service design, production, distribution or end-of-life issues.

At the very core, this is a class about sustainability: Meeting the needs of the current generation without sacrificing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Balancing economic, environmental and social considerations. Thinking holistically instead of reductionist thinking. Recognizing and respecting the relationship of people and nature.