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Announcing Sustainable Business Strategy, a New Online Certificate Program

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Business leaders can change the world. Will you? Climate change. Income inequality. Social injustice. These are just three of the big problems of our time. In Sustainable Business Strategy, you will learn how businesses can thrive and grow while simultaneously playing a major role in solving some of these big problems. You will also learn how you as an individual can make a difference. Visit online.hbs.edu/courses/sustainable-business-strategy to learn more.

Harvard Business School’s digital learning initiative, is announcing the launch of its newest online certificate program, Sustainable Business Strategy. This course prepares participants to be purpose-centered business leaders and examines the critical role that business can play in solving some of the world’s big problems.

Participants in the online course will gain an appreciation for how business can play a catalytic role in helping solve some of the big issues of our time including climate change, income inequality, and social injustice. They will examine the business models that can drive change and the way individuals, at all levels of their careers, can make a difference. The course uses Harvard Business School’s interactive case method and the engaging HBX online platform to teach participants how to influence management, leadership, and other stakeholders as to the competitive advantages of being a purpose-driven firm.

Sustainable Business Strategy is taught by Rebecca M. Henderson, the John and Natty McArthur University Professor at Harvard University, based at Harvard Business School (HBS), where she has a joint appointment in HBS’s General Management and Strategy Units. Professor Henderson is a research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research and serves as co-chair of the Harvard University Climate Change Task Force. She also serves on the board of several public companies.

“Solving the enormous challenges facing our world will require business leaders who understand the power that business has to effect change and who have the courage and vision to catalyze change both within their firms and across entire industries and regions,” said Professor Henderson. “This course draws on the experience of firms that are navigating these challenges now to give you the tools to begin making a difference wherever you are in your career.”

Sustainable Business Strategy consists of approximately 15 to 20 hours of material delivered via the innovative, student-centered HBX online learning platform over three weeks. Participants complete three modules of coursework on their own time while meeting regular deadlines. Featured in Sustainable Business Strategy are executives from leading companies such as Unilever and King Arthur Flour, as well as individuals working across the broader landscape in government, law, and finance.

Featured Course

Sustainable Business Strategy

Unite profit and purpose.

Boats travel through a narrow fjord surrounded by steep, forested and rocky mountain cliffs.

“Harvard Business School’s mission centers on educating leaders that make a difference in the world,” said Patrick Mullane, Executive Director of HBX. “It is wonderful to see the HBX platform used to help participants influence their firms’ efforts to address the big issues that face the world – and do so through real-world examples of strategies that actually work.”

HBX is accepting applications for the first cohort of Sustainable Business Strategy until May 28, 2018. The course will begin on June 6, 2018 and is priced at $950.