COURSE NUMBER:  MBA292T.12

This course is cross-listed with the EWMBA Program

COURSE TITLE:  Business and Natural Resources - Sustainable Use of Ecosystems

UNITS OF CREDIT: 1.0

INSTRUCTOR: Omar Romero-Hernandez

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

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

Please note the unorthodox format of this course, which meets all day on two Sundays (10/19 & 11/2). 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: This course represents a 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 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. Leading guest speakers are also expected for the course.

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.