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Cornell University
Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management

142 Sage Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
United States

In the school's own words...

"Sustainability in the Age of Global Development" is a cornerstone of Cornell University’s strategy. Consistent with this vision, the Johnson School takes an innovative approach to sustainable enterprise management education by framing social and environmental challenges as unmet market needs that can be addressed through innovation and enterprise development. Once issues are framed as business opportunities, managers can leverage leadership and creativity to stimulate entrepreneurship, innovation, business model development and the commercialization of inherently clean technologies. Our approach stands in contrast to those taken by many other programs which focus instead on ethics, philanthropy, corporate social responsibility or environmental management.

Our Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise links alumni, faculty, staff and students from all degree programs across Cornell, harnessing an astonishing range of research and knowledge about the development of sustainable enterprise around the globe. We encourage development of a deep theoretical and practical understanding of a complex set of interrelated economic, social and environmental issues in order to build the skills and capabilities necessary for formulating and implementing practical, operational solutions that have value in the marketplace. We involve Cornell’s top experts, leading researchers, and the most promising student scholars in extensive client engagement and multidisciplinary research to explore scalable, replicable business solutions that move organizations far beyond compliance, philanthropy, ethics and reporting.

We have developed specialized programs in two areas: low-income market development and sustainable innovation. Programs related to private-sector approaches to poverty alleviation utilize a network of partners in more than eleven countries to guide learning and knowledge creation related to innovation and entrepreneurship among the world's poorest people and communities in ways that are culturally appropriate and environmentally sustainable. We have pioneered the development and implementation of a deep engagement process that allows companies and communities to work together to build mutual value at the base of the economic pyramid. Programs focused on the identification, creation and commercialization of next generation, inherently clean products and services which alleviate the world’s most pressing environmental and social challenges are at the intersection of business, science, technology and sustainability - looking beyond incremental technological improvements often associated with eco-efficiency, pollution prevention and product stewardship strategies.

Our Sustainable Global Enterprise (SGE) Immersion program has grown significantly as part of the optional core. The performance learning opportunity provides first year Johnson School MBA students a chance to ensure they understand how sustainable enterprise issues relate to competitiveness of firms. Students engage in field projects that require them to address real problems currently being faced by sponsoring companies. As a unique feature of the Johnson School, Immersions enhance lecture- and case-based training with integrated, experiential and reality-based learning. The SGE Immersion was designed for students interested in developing deep knowledge and experience around competitive business opportunities stemming from social and environmental issues --consistent with our philosophy that innovative MBA programs must train a new generation of business leaders that can fuse social mission with competitive strategy through business development, market creation and technology commercialization.

School Demographic Information