COURSE NUMBER: EW292T-12

This course is cross-listed with FTMBA and the College of Natural Resources

COURSE TITLE: Business and Natural Resources

UNITS OF CREDIT: 1

INSTRUCTOR: Omar Romero-Hernandez

E-MAIL ADDRESS: oromero@haas.berkeley.edu

MEETING DAY(S)/TIME: 2 Sundays TBD 9:00AM – 5:00PM

Please note the unorthodox format of this course, which meets all day on two Sundays. You must attend both sessions in their entirety in order to earn a passing grade.

PREREQUISITE(S): None

CLASS FORMAT: A mixture of lectures, cases, and guest speakers

REQUIRED READINGS: Course materials distributed on bSpace

BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: Case briefs, class participation, and final project.

ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:

Businesses are operating in an increasingly resource-constrained world. From water shortages to climate change impacts and energy crises, business managers will have to understand not only the immediate risks from these trends but also the strengthening regulations that will inevitably result. Those that respond too late will be at a serious disadvantage. At the same time, there are clear opportunities to improve the bottom line by considering natural resource issues on a daily basis. Companies that understand these imperatives will be able to better navigate an increasingly complex world and the major environmental risks it faces.

The course introduces sustainability concepts and incorporates them into the broader field of natural resource management. Using economic and ecological concepts students are expected to learn tools, and use them to solve practical natural resource management problems relevant to business and society at large. The course concentrates in four thematic fields: Economic Valuation, Ecosystem Services, Climate Change and Water. In particular, we will relate these topics to a business context. Students are expected to complete assignments distributed in class and based on real and relevant natural resource management problems.

Taking this course will help students to support their decision making process related to the use and conservation of natural resource and the inextricably link to competitive advantage.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:

Omar Romero-Hernandez, PhD., Haas Faculty and Senior Research Advisor, Center for Responsible Business, Haas School of Business.

Omar leads the Corporate Sustainability and Project Management lectures at Haas. He is a Chemical Engineer with graduate studies in Economic Policy and Government and a PhD in Process Economics and Environmental Impact from Imperial College, London, UK.

Omar has worked internationally for a diverse range of public and private organizations such as Procter & Gamble, PEMEX (Oil & Gas), Accenture, and the Ministry for the Environment and Natural Resources.

Currently, he is a National Researcher and author of three books: Renewable Energy Technologies and Policies, Industry and the Environment and Introduction to Engineering – An Industry perspective and several international publications on engineering, business and sustainable development. Omar was the former Director of the Center for Technological Development (CDT) at the Autonomous Technology Institute of Mexico (ITAM). In 2010 he was appointed by former President as national leader of Mexico’s Business Summit task force on Economic Growth and Low Carbon Emissions.

He has led various internationally awarded research projects in the field of renewable energy, sustainable business strategies and business processes – sponsors include the United Nations, Ministry of the Environment, S&P 100 companies, the Stock Exchange and NGOs. Prof. Romero-Hernandez was the recipient of the 2010 Franz Edelman Award, the world’s most prestigious award on Operations Research and Management Science.

Federico Castillo, PhD., Researcher and Lecturer, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management.

Federico Castillo is an Environmental Economist with a PhD and undergraduate degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. Federico’s research is centered on technology transfer and innovation, economic valuation, the socio economic impacts of climate change as well as the economic aspects of protected areas. He is a member of a multidisciplinary team that is developing a research agenda on climate change, agriculture and population issues in the Berkeley Campus. Federico has worked as a consultant for the World Bank, The Tropical Agricultural Research Center, WWF, The Nature Conservancy and other international organizations on a wide range of topics from economic valuation of natural resources to the economic analysis of protected areas. Federico is responsible for teaching an undergraduate class in economic aspects of natural resource management in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management.