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Business as a Force for Good
At the University of Oregon's Lundquist College of Business, sustainability is not a slogan or side project. It's a core strategic priority embedded in how we teach, research, and engage with industry.
As global markets confront climate risk, regulatory uncertainty, supply chain disruption, and growing stakeholder expectations, companies are looking for leaders who can integrate environmental and social insights with financial performance. That is exactly what we prepare our students to do.
Through our Oregon MBA specialization in sustainable business practices, our undergraduate sustainable business minor, and a required sustainable business course (BA 322: Fundamentals of Business Sustainability) for both business and accounting majors, we equip students with the analytical tools, experiential learning, and global perspective needed to lead in a business environment where sustainability is central to strategy, operations, and competitiveness. Few business schools in the country take such a comprehensive approach to embedding sustainability across degree programs.
And the results speak for themselves.
Our Oregon MBA has consistently been ranked by The Princeton Review as a top five Green MBA for more than a decade. That distinction reflects the rigor and depth of what our MBA students actually study and practice. In their courses, they examine corporate environmental management using policy and market frameworks; take a systems-based view of production and operations via a course in industrial ecology; develop technical fluency in life cycle assessment in order to quantify environmental impact at the firm and product level; and work directly with real organizations—recent examples include Allstate, Rivian, Trane, Maersk, WSP, Persefoni, Amazon, and Vestas—seeking measurable sustainability improvements.
On the undergraduate side, more than 200 Lundquist students partnered with the City of Oakridge through the University of Oregon's Sustainable City Year Program to tackle real economic and sustainability challenges facing the rural community. Working in teams across multiple business disciplines, students delivered actionable recommendations on topics ranging from downtown revitalization and tourism development to small business support and long-term economic resilience.
Given all this, it is not surprising that in my conversations with employers, I consistently hear the same message: what our students learn is exactly what environmental consulting firms and in-house sustainability teams are doing today. The training we provide is practical, analytical, and directly relevant to real business and community needs.
The end result is that our graduates and alumni are securing meaningful roles across industries and working at such companies as Columbia Sportswear, Nike, KPMG, Unilever, Cushman Wakefield, and Avangrid, as well as at leading sustainability consulting firms.
Experiential Learning Across the Globe
At the heart of all the momentum at the college around sustainable business is our Center for Sustainable Business Practices (CSBP), led by Professor of Practice John Davis. The center plays a central role in shaping curriculum, fostering industry partnerships, and ensuring that what we teach remains aligned with business needs.
A signature component of the CSBP experience is immersive study tours, both domestic and international, that allow students to see sustainable business in action.
Through curated visits across the United States, Europe, and Asia, students engage with leaders at organizations such as Microsoft (Seattle), Bain (San Francisco), LSEG (London Stock Exchange), BCG (Paris), ERM (Bangkok), and JP Morgan (Singapore). These engagements deepen students' understanding of how sustainability is implemented in complex global enterprises. They see firsthand that although U.S. regulatory policy often lags Europe, companies continue to invest in climate and environmental initiatives because the business case is strong. They learn how dramatically renewable energy costs have declined—often undercutting fossil fuels—and how climate risk has become operational risk, with extreme weather increasing costs and disrupting supply chains. And internationally, students observe a more fully integrated "triple bottom line" approach embedded in organizational governance and daily operations.
Research That Shapes Policy and Markets
The same integration of rigor and real-world relevance that defines our curriculum and study tours also defines our faculty research in sustainable business, particularly in our Department of Management.
Emeritus Professor Michael Russo, a pioneer in sustainable business strategy, helped establish the now widely accepted view that strong environmental performance can drive competitive advantage. Professor Anne Parmigiani examines how organizations structure partnerships and governance systems to manage complex global supply chains—research that speaks directly to resilience and responsible production. CSBP Director John Davis recently published Radical Business: How to Transform Your Organization, which provides a framework for C-suite leaders to place societal value at the center of business strategy. And Professor of Practice Josh Skov contributed to a statewide analysis quantifying the economic costs of climate change in Oregon and the financial risks of floods, wildfires, and adaptation.
And it's not just management. Across disciplines, our faculty advance research that shapes how markets measure, manage, and respond to environmental and social challenges.
Operations and business analytics professor Nagesh Murthy studies how firms design supply chains and operational systems that are both efficient and environmentally responsible, ensuring sustainability is embedded in execution. Accounting professor Dane Christensen's widely cited work on ESG ratings—referenced by the Securities and Exchange Commission, The Financial Times, and the United Nations—has influenced how investors and regulators interpret corporate sustainability performance. And marketing professor T. Bettina Cornwell—an internationally recognized scholar whose research examines how marketing communications, sponsorship, and branding influence consumer behavior, particularly in areas related to sustainability, food systems, and public well-being—was inspired to create eye-catching art with an environmental message that was shown in Paris.
Students Leading the Conversation: The Summit for Sustainable Organizations
Beyond producing influential research, we also convene the conversations that move sustainable business forward. One of the most visible examples is the Summit for Sustainable Organizations (SSO), an annual conference hosted by Lundquist graduate students that brings together practitioners, professionals, and students to connect, learn, and collaborate.
Taking place April 10–11, 2026, this year's summit will explore how creative ideas translate into measurable outcomes that advance sustainable practice and will discuss such topics as decarbonization, responsible operations, and systems-level change.
If this work resonates with you or with colleagues in your network, we encourage you to attend or share it with others who might be interested.
We are also grateful to Lithia Motors for committing multiyear sponsorship support to sustain and grow this important event.
A Moment of Opportunity
I hope this edition of Inside Lundquist has made clear that the success of our sustainable business programs rests on a powerful combination of faculty scholarship, industry collaboration, immersive student experiences, and the support of alumni and partners.
The challenges facing our planet are complex, requiring leaders who understand markets, incentives, systems, and human behavior. At the Lundquist College of Business, we take pride in developing those leaders who are grounded in analytics, sharpened by real-world engagement, and motivated by purpose.
To sustain and build on this momentum, I welcome conversation about how you might help strengthen scholarships, expand applied research, and deepen the experiential learning and industry engagement that advance sustainable business at the Lundquist College. If you are interested in supporting our programming, please reach out to Bob Brothers, Director of Development.
Together, we can ensure that our graduates continue to lead and innovate for a more resilient and prosperous future.
As always, thank you for your partnership—and Go Ducks!
Go Ducks!
Bruce Blonigen
Edward Maletis Dean, Lundquist College of Business
Philip H. Knight Professor of Social Science
University of Oregon