About BESR
The Business, Environment & Social Responsibility Program (BESR) is housed within the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. BESR is home to the only graduate level certificate offered by the WI School of Business. The BESR certificate is the first example of the School’s commitment to sustainable enterprise.
The mission of the Business, Environment & Social Responsibility Program is to provide students, executives, and organizations with education, knowledge and practice tools to become leaders and drive innovation in sustainable enterprise. When fully developed, BESR is expected to be uniquely positioned to respond with urgency to the environmental, economic and social challenges that society confronts, both in the developed world, and in developing economies.
Global capitalism is at a crossroads. The underlying natural systems that support human economies – forests, fisheries, soils, ecosystems and climate – have precipitously declined. Anti-globalization demonstrations have made it apparent that if corporate expansion is seen as coming at the expense of the poor and the environment, it will encounter vigorous resistance. For business, therefore, it has become increasingly clear that the historical separation between competitive strategy and environmental and social performance must be eliminated. Rather than treating environmental or social issues as expensive luxuries, companies are increasingly fusing environmental and social policy with competitive strategy. Indeed, a form of “new capitalism” is emerging where environmental and social performance is embedded in the competitive strategy of the firm.
The Business, Environment and Social Responsibility Program is intended to be set against this background. Both MBA students and students training for careers in regulatory, environmental and social organizations are realizing that business principles and sustainability practices are important in making their future employers more efficient and effective. The BESR certificate is designed to serve the growing number of highly qualified students for whom social and environmental responsibility is an important element of their professional goals. Bringing students with different orientations and backgrounds together, through the certificate program, will create an interdisciplinary educational experience.
The importance of developing a focus on sustainable enterprise is evidenced by the Beyond Grey Pinstripes survey, conducted by the Aspen Institute and the World Resources Institutes. This bi-annual survey ranks business schools’ efforts in environmental and social stewardship. In the most recent survey the UW-Madison School of Business was ranked 17th in the world, up from 33rd in the world in 2007 and 28th in the world in 2005. Note that our ranking puts us above most of our peer institutions.
The work currently being undertaken through the BESR program is important. We hope you agree that it exemplifies our core values and differentiates us from other top schools.
