COURSE NUMBER: MBA292T.11
This course is cross-
listed with the EWMBA Program and the College of Natural Resources.
This
course and MBA292T.2- Startup Disco are mutually exclusive due to conflicting meeting
dates.
COURSE TITLE: Business and Natural Resources - Sustainable Use of Ecosystems
UNITS OF CREDIT: 1
INSTRUCTOR: Omar Romero-Hernandez
E-MAIL ADDRESS: oromero@haas.berkeley.edu
CLASS WEB PAGE LOCATION: http://bcourses.berkeley.edu
MEETING DATES: Sundays 9/11 & 10/2 from 9AM – 5PM
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
This course description is
from Fall 2015 and should only be used as a reference.
CLASS FORMAT: A mixture of lectures, cases, simulation, and leading guest
speakers
REQUIRED READINGS: Course materials distributed on bCourses
BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: Case briefs, class participation, and final project.
ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S
CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:
This course represents a strong academic collaboration between the Haas School
of Business and the College of Natural Resources to provide and apply leading
frameworks for corporate ecosystem services, valuation of natural resources and
balancing business risk and opportunities. 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. Few companies have got it right while others are
lagging behind and wasting business value. Those that respond too late will be
at a serious disadvantage. There are clear opportunities to improve the bottom
line by considering natural resource issues on a daily basis – methodologies,
frameworks, cases, have already been prepared to provide you quick and strong
guidance on the best way to impact your business through valuing ecosystem
services. Companies that understand these imperatives will be able to better
navigate an increasingly complex world and the major environmental risks it
faces. Whether you have experience in a bank, IT or Consumer Products,
this course is expected to be a differentiator.
The course incorporates
business and sustainability aspects into the 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: Ecosystem Services, Economic Valuation, 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. Leading
guest speakers are also expected for the course.
CAREER FIELD:
Whether you have experience in a Bank, Real Estate, Food, Drinks, Apparel, or
Consumer Products, this course will help students to support their decision
making process related to the use and conservation of natural resources and the
inextricable link to competitive advantage. Natural resources are part of
the business agenda. Dow, Levi’s, Lafarge, HP, The Nature Conservancy,
and Investment Funds are all already on top of it.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:
Omar Romero-Hernandez, PhD., Faculty and Research Director at the
Sustainable Products and Solutions Program, CRB, Haas School of Business.
He has led various internationally awarded projects in the field of renewable
energy, sustainable business strategies and business processes – sponsors
include the United Nations, Ministry of the Environment, Industry consortiums,
the Stock Exchange and NGOs. In 2010 he was appointed national leader of
Mexico’s Business Summit task force on Economic Growth and Low Carbon
Emissions, which delivers recommendations to the President. Prof.
Romero-Hernandez was the recipient of the 2010 Franz Edelman Award, the world’s
most prestigious award on Operations Research and Management Science.
PhD in Process Economics and Environmental Impact from Imperial College,
London, UK. Graduate studies in Economic Policy and Government and BSc in
Chemical Engineering.
Omar has worked 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. In 2001, he was appointed as Professor
at ITAM, UC Berkeley Fulbright Professor in Haas (2009) and Energy Biosciences
Institute Researcher in 2010. Currently, he is a National Researcher, and
author of four books: Renewable Energy Technologies and Policies, Industry and
the Environment and Introduction to Engineering – An Industry perspective, and
several international publications on operations, business and sustainable
development.