University of Colorado Denver Business School, offering Bachelor, MBA, MS, and PhD degrees

Get a Sustainability Certificate for Working Professionals

CEOs everywhere have sustainable agendas. Now you can too.

Shareholders and investors are looking for evidence that organizations are working to conserve and preserve resources while managing for profitability. The University of Colorado Denver Business School is one of the few in the country that provides a high-quality, globally accredited education on sustainable management in all aspects of business. 

The Business School is pleased to announce a new Managing for Sustainability Certificate geared to working professionals.  The certificate is designed for business professionals seeking a deeper understanding of sustainability and/or the technical knowledge to lead sustainability initiatives in their companies.

Just four classes, available online and on campus

To earn a Managing for Sustainability Certificate, students complete four semester-long graduate Business School courses. Two required courses—Managing for Sustainability and Business and the Natural Environment—provide a baseline understanding of sustainability, highlighting how businesses assess and address their environment impact. Based on their interest, students select their remaining two certificate classes covering such specialized areas as finance, marketing, accounting, and social entrepreneurship. Some students may wish to finish their certificate by completing a significant sustainability-related project where they work. A full listing of courses offered as part of the certificate follows.

• Managing for Sustainability (MGMT 6821): Considers how organizations can work with various stakeholders to develop and promote mutually beneficial products and solutions to key social needs and concerns. Required.
• Business and the Natural Environment (BUSN 6830): Looks at the impact of economic activity on the natural environment as well as the regulatory, market and corporate voluntary responses to reducing this impact. Required.
• Accounting and Finance for Sustainability (BUSN 6850): Introduces techniques that aid companies in becoming more eco-efficient, along with reporting techniques to help investors value a company along social and environmental dimensions.
• Supply Chain Management (BUSN 6826): Introduces the application of purchasing, operations and logistics with an emphasis on the integration and management of processes and systems; the relationship of upstream and downstream players; and strategies that incorporate current and future trends.
• Business Ethics and Social Responsibility (MGMT 6822): Covers business ethics and corporate social responsibility in the global contexts of employment, marketing, product liability, the environment and other areas.
• Marketing and Sustainabilty (MKTG 6830): Explores how companies present and capitalize on their sustainable business initiatives  with clients, customers and other critical stakeholders without illiciting a backlash for “greenwashing.”
• Innovation and the Social Sector (ENTP 6858): Introduces the context, models, trends, opportunities and challenges in social entrepreneurship, providing the tools to develop an opportunity analysis for social ventures.
• Business Planning for Social Entrepreneurs (ENTP 6860): Helps create a roadmap for organizational goals, including the discussion and development of strategies for achieving business sustainability. Internship/Field Study: Supervised experiences involving the application of concepts and skills in a professional setting in the sustainability industry.

Enroll now

There's never been a better time to make both your career and your world more sustainable.
Business School is now accepting applications for the fall semester. Admission is open to professionals with at least three years of work experience and an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher. Classes take place on campus once a week from 6:55 to 9:30 p.m. or online during the 17-week semester. Work inside and outside the classroom typically requires 10 hours per week, per class. Tuition is $750/credit hour, with discounts offered to organizations that enroll three or more students. 

There is no obligation to complete the entire certificate. Students may wish to sample one or two classes before they decide. Those on an accelerated schedule may choose to complete the certificate program in a year.  Whatever the approach, participants have the benefit of interacting with the Business School's world-renowned management faculty and seriously motivated graduate students enrolled in the school's MBA and MS programs. The Business School's AACSB-accredited graduate program, the largest in the region, is in the top 5 percent of business schools in the world and is ranked in the "Global 100" by the Aspen Institute.

To learn more about the Business School's Managing for Sustainability Certificate and the school's highly popular MBA/MS sustainability specialization, contact Ken Bettenhausen.