Milwaukee Walks the Sustainability Walk

If you want one year of prosperity, plant corn.
If you want ten years of prosperity, plant trees.
If you want one hundred years of prosperity, educate people.

-Chinese proverb

Increasingly more and more meeting and convention planners are looking at a community's commitment to sustainable practices when deciding a host destination. While the Milwaukee area and its Milwaukee 7 Water Council are working to make the region a worldwide hub for fresh water research sciences and sound environmental practices, the community's many educational resources are also leading the way in these efforts.

The University of Wisconsin System is now offering a Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Management degree offered collaboratively by four UW campuses: UW-Parkside, UW-River Falls, UW-Stout, and UW-Superior.

The program is available for students who have completed the first two years of a bachelor's degree or have completed at least 60 credits of transferable coursework with a minimum GPA of 2.0 at any of the 26 UW campuses, or (if approved) at other colleges or universities in Wisconsin or the United States.

The Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Management is an interdisciplinary program that helps students gain a broad understanding of the ways in which business systems, natural systems, and social systems intersect. The curriculum includes courses in:

• Environmental studies
• Triple bottom line accounting
• Natural resource management
• Information systems
• Logistics, supply chain management, and sustainability

With a Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Management, graduates will be qualified to help businesses develop sustainable practices for a global marketplace, while still helping to preserve natural resources and strengthen community.

What is sustainability?

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

-World Commission on the Environment and Development

By educating our students on sustainable business practices, Milwaukee will be better positioned to capture this workforce and continue its efforts as it continues to leverage its freshwater assets and implement other sustainable practices.