MBA - Area Focus Electives - Sustainability
Sustainability
The Darden MBA program teaches students about sustainability through case studies and experiential opportunities.
Cases are real-time, showcasing entrepreneurs and ventures that are creating new products, processes, technologies, markets and organizational forms to deliver solutions that help to mitigate climate change and other large-scale environmental impacts. Integrated throughout the curriculum is the theme that while business has one main bottom line — profitability — it must be achieved in an ethical, socially-minded and environmentally-responsible manner.
The Innovation for Sustainability concentration (available in the Second Year) prepares students to design and implement sustainability strategies such that their future organizations not only expand their positive impact on society, but also realize revenue growth, cost savings and/or brand enhancement.
-
Courses
Electives
Darden offers numerous elective courses that solely or partially focus on sustainability and ethical leadership/decision-making. Coursework includes tools essential for developing a successful sustainability strategy such as stakeholder engagement and systems thinking. A sample of Darden second year electives are provided below, with hyperlinks to descriptions. These courses also count toward the Innovation for Sustainability concentration.
- Business and Climate Change
- Business Ethics through Literature
- Business-Government Relations
- Global Economics of Water
- Impact Investing
- Thinking of a Master Plan: Non-Profit Management, Metrics & Impact Making in the Field
- Managing Sustainability from the Inside Out
- Technology, Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Policy
- Leadership, Diversity and Leveraging Differences
- Societal Issues in Business
- Strategic Corporate Governance
- Transforming Societies
- Understanding the Non-Profit Sector
Several Darden Global Learning Opportunities incorporate sustainability themes including:
- Brazil - Technology and Sustainability in Business
- Costa Rica - Sustainability and Ecotourism
- Sweden — Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Sustainability
- South Africa — Lessons from South Africa on Public-Private Sector Cooperation to Grow an Economy
Please note: courses are subject to change each year. Consult the course directory for the most up-to-date course offerings.
-
Student Clubs & Opportunities
Net Impact at Darden
Net Impact is dedicated to using the power of business to positively impact social, environmental and economic concerns across the world.
Impact Investing Club
Darden's Impact Investing Club is a student-run venture fund that partners with and supports innovative for-profit enterprises focused on generating financial and social or environmental returns.
Energy Club
The Darden Energy Club connects the Darden community with the resources, advice, and contacts to learn about the industry and successfully pursue their career in traditional or new energy sources.
Business Ethics at Darden Club
The Business Ethics at Darden Club strives to promote awareness, encourage discussion, and prompt action at the intersection of business and ethics at Darden and beyond.
Mobility Club
Food and Ag Club
Darden Nonprofit Internship Fund (DNIF)
DNIF is a student-funded program that helps First Year students defray summer living expenses while pursuing low-paying internships in the nonprofit and social sectors.
Community Consultants at Darden
This student organization performs pro-bono consulting engagements in the Charlottesville community.
Darden Capital Management
Darden students manage $8M of the School’s endowment through five funds. One of the funds, the Rotunda Fund, is explicitly guided by sustainability investment criteria.
View the full list of Darden student organizations.
-
Careers
In the following video, students and faculty discuss Darden's approach to teaching sustainability, as well as experiences in mission-driven MBA internships and career opportunities:
-
Contacts
JULIA JAMES (MBA ’12)
Undergraduate education: Harvard University
Undergraduate major: Environmental Science and Public Policy
Company: Deloitte
Role: Senior Consultant, Commercial Strategy & Operations“The case method style of learning and participating in the Net Impact case competition have been good preparation for working in consulting. In addition, my experiences in learning team and the classroom have made me more comfortable contributing in a team environment.”
PATTY FOGLESONG (MBA ’09)
Undergraduate education: University of Notre Dame (MS from UNC-Chapel Hill)
Undergraduate major: Geological Sciences (MS in Geological Sciences)
Company: National Park Service
Role: Business Management Specialist, Intermountain Region
Current location: Denver, CO“Darden gave me the skills and the confidence to begin making a valuable contribution to my organization on day one. As the only MBA on my team, I have unique expertise to share. As the newest person on my team, I have much to learn about the culture and history of my organization. Darden taught me to ask good and relevant questions as well as to explain new concepts to facilitate learning and collaboration within my team.”
WILL TEICHMAN (MBA ’09)
Undergraduate education: Washington and Lee University
Undergraduate major: Economics and Politics, Certificate in Environmental Studies
Company: Kimco Realty Corporation
Role: Director of Sustainability
Current location: Charlotte, NC“Darden gave me a broader understanding of the elements that make a business sustainable over the long-term. I discovered that sustainability isn't just about checking the boxes on a handful of environmental or social initiatives — it's about making decisions today that will ensure that the business will be around for its customers, employees, and shareholders for years to come. The Darden experience — rigorous case prep, spirited classroom discussions, a tight-knit student population, and world class faculty — gave me a bias toward action that I rely upon every day in my work.”
Electives
Darden offers numerous elective courses that solely or partially focus on sustainability and ethical leadership/decision-making. Coursework includes tools essential for developing a successful sustainability strategy such as stakeholder engagement and systems thinking. A sample of Darden second year electives are provided below, with hyperlinks to descriptions. These courses also count toward the Innovation for Sustainability concentration.
- Business and Climate Change
- Business Ethics through Literature
- Business-Government Relations
- Global Economics of Water
- Impact Investing
- Thinking of a Master Plan: Non-Profit Management, Metrics & Impact Making in the Field
- Managing Sustainability from the Inside Out
- Technology, Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Policy
- Leadership, Diversity and Leveraging Differences
- Societal Issues in Business
- Strategic Corporate Governance
- Transforming Societies
- Understanding the Non-Profit Sector
Several Darden Global Learning Opportunities incorporate sustainability themes including:
- Brazil - Technology and Sustainability in Business
- Costa Rica - Sustainability and Ecotourism
- Sweden — Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Sustainability
- South Africa — Lessons from South Africa on Public-Private Sector Cooperation to Grow an Economy
Please note: courses are subject to change each year. Consult the course directory for the most up-to-date course offerings.
Net Impact at Darden
Net Impact is dedicated to using the power of business to positively impact social, environmental and economic concerns across the world.
Impact Investing Club
Darden's Impact Investing Club is a student-run venture fund that partners with and supports innovative for-profit enterprises focused on generating financial and social or environmental returns.
Energy Club
The Darden Energy Club connects the Darden community with the resources, advice, and contacts to learn about the industry and successfully pursue their career in traditional or new energy sources.
Business Ethics at Darden Club
The Business Ethics at Darden Club strives to promote awareness, encourage discussion, and prompt action at the intersection of business and ethics at Darden and beyond.
Mobility Club
Food and Ag Club
Darden Nonprofit Internship Fund (DNIF)
DNIF is a student-funded program that helps First Year students defray summer living expenses while pursuing low-paying internships in the nonprofit and social sectors.
Community Consultants at Darden
This student organization performs pro-bono consulting engagements in the Charlottesville community.
Darden Capital Management
Darden students manage $8M of the School’s endowment through five funds. One of the funds, the Rotunda Fund, is explicitly guided by sustainability investment criteria.
View the full list of Darden student organizations.
In the following video, students and faculty discuss Darden's approach to teaching sustainability, as well as experiences in mission-driven MBA internships and career opportunities:
JULIA JAMES (MBA ’12)
Undergraduate education: Harvard University
Undergraduate major: Environmental Science and Public Policy
Company: Deloitte
Role: Senior Consultant, Commercial Strategy & Operations
“The case method style of learning and participating in the Net Impact case competition have been good preparation for working in consulting. In addition, my experiences in learning team and the classroom have made me more comfortable contributing in a team environment.”
PATTY FOGLESONG (MBA ’09)
Undergraduate education: University of Notre Dame (MS from UNC-Chapel Hill)
Undergraduate major: Geological Sciences (MS in Geological Sciences)
Company: National Park Service
Role: Business Management Specialist, Intermountain Region
Current location: Denver, CO
“Darden gave me the skills and the confidence to begin making a valuable contribution to my organization on day one. As the only MBA on my team, I have unique expertise to share. As the newest person on my team, I have much to learn about the culture and history of my organization. Darden taught me to ask good and relevant questions as well as to explain new concepts to facilitate learning and collaboration within my team.”
WILL TEICHMAN (MBA ’09)
Undergraduate education: Washington and Lee University
Undergraduate major: Economics and Politics, Certificate in Environmental Studies
Company: Kimco Realty Corporation
Role: Director of Sustainability
Current location: Charlotte, NC
“Darden gave me a broader understanding of the elements that make a business sustainable over the long-term. I discovered that sustainability isn't just about checking the boxes on a handful of environmental or social initiatives — it's about making decisions today that will ensure that the business will be around for its customers, employees, and shareholders for years to come. The Darden experience — rigorous case prep, spirited classroom discussions, a tight-knit student population, and world class faculty — gave me a bias toward action that I rely upon every day in my work.”
Sustainability Faculty

Alan Beckenstein
Professor of Business Administration

Peter Debaere
Professor of Business Administration

Gregory Fairchild
Isidore Horween Research Associate Professor of Business Administration Associate Dean for Washington, D.C. Area Initiatives and Academic Director of Public Policy and Entrepreneurship

Mary Margaret Frank
Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development; Samuel A. Lewis Sr. Faculty Fellow; John Tyler Professor of Business Administration; Institute for Business in Society Academic Director

R. Edward Freeman
University Professor; Elis and Signe Olsson Professor of Business Administration Academic Director, Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics

Jared Harris
Samuel L. Slover Research Chair and Associate Professor of Business Administration

Toni Irving
Frank M. Sands Sr. Professor of Practice

Michael Lenox
Tayloe Murphy Professor of Business Administration Senior Associate Dean and Chief Strategy Officer

Elena Loutskina
Professor of Business Administration Peter M. Grant II Bicentennial Foundation Chair in Business Administration

Carolyn Miles
Special Advisor and Executive Fellow

Daniel Murphy
Jung Family Associate Professor of Business Administration

Frank Warnock
James C. Wheat, Jr. Professor of Business Administration

Veronica Warnock
Senior Lecturer, Batten Institute Fellow
