Accelerate Change

The Time for New Thinking is Now
—The Place is Vermont

Climate-change models now predict catastrophic environmental and social impacts by the year 2050. If carbon levels continue to rise, we face significant disruptions to existing weather patterns, food and water availability, sea levels, and polar ice cover. That is why a new partnership between Vermont Law School, the nation's top environmental law program, and the University of Vermont's Grossman School of Business is putting a new kind of leader on a fast track—professionals trained in environmental or energy law and schooled in the best practices of sustainable business.

The accelerated dual-degree program combines a one-year Sustainable Entrepreneurship MBA (SEMBA) from UVM with a two-year JD or master's degree from Vermont Law School. The combined degree program cuts as much as two years off what would normally be required. In addition to significantly reducing costs at a time when many students are struggling to afford advanced education, the goal of the collaboration is to train tomorrow's leaders in both business and law to create profitable and sustainable business and social enterprises—and to get them out into the world doing good work as quickly as possible. In its focus and accelerated time frame, the program stands apart from other dual-degree programs.

Increasingly, corporations understand that sustainability has become the business imperative as they respond to changing consumer demands and grapple with the challenge of designing business models that will thrive in the new realities of a world where a burgeoning population puts ever-increasing stresses on finite resources. Michael Dupee, a vice president for Sustainable Innovation Exploration at Vermont-based Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, symbolizes the shift in corporate thinking. He drives the innovation of sustainability into his company's innovation and product design processes. "Addressing social and environmental issues in a business context is not new," Dupee says. "What's changed over the past five or six years is the urgency of the issues, and the value to businesses in addressing them. If you're making plans for the future, you need to understand market and consumer trends, of course. But if you're a beverage company like we are, you better be thinking about water resources and access to clean water—and look hard at your own internal water footprint."

Dupee sits on the board of advisors for the new Sustainable Entrepreneurship MBA program at the Burlington-based business school, alongside representatives from Ben & Jerry's', Seventh Generation, King Arthur Flour, Burton Snowboards, and other progressive companies that have made Vermont an epicenter for sustainable and socially responsible business.

"We are really trying to prepare a new breed of business leader, as we cannot continue with business-as-usual," says Willy Cats-Beril, who is the Director of the SEMBA program and a professor in the UVM Grossman School of Business. "In addition to ensuring these students have the full MBA toolkit, we want to accelerate their re-entry to the workforce by keeping the program to just 12 months and emphasizing hands-on learning with companies and entrepreneurs that are focused on sustainability."

For its part, Vermont Law School has the top-rated environmental law program in the country and a national reputation for teaching students who use their legal training to make a positive difference in the world. "Students truly interested in making an impact on the world—in the private, public, or social sector—need the tools of the law in order to know how to get things done," says VLS President and Dean Marc Mihaly. "The Sustainable Entrepreneurship MBA at UVM is a perfect complement to what we do here. It accelerates the change our students want to make."