Sustainable Business and Innovation

Overview

Growing societal demand

Businesses increasingly face significant challenges and opportunities from environmental issues such as climate change, energy, and water and social issues such as labour and human rights, corruption, and transparency. 

Stakeholders in these businesses – including governments, shareholders, business customers, local communities, consumers, employees, and NGOs – are demanding that companies become more focused on sustainability for themselves and the communities they impact.

As a graduate of the  Sustainable Business and Innovation programme at Utrecht University with the knowledge and skills to develop sustainable business practices, you will have excellent career prospects across multiple sectors and industries.

Developing sustainable societies

During your studies, you will learn about topics such as sustainable development, sustainability innovations, life cycle assessment, ecoefficiency and cleaner production, environmental management systems, sustainability reporting, organisational change, and management for sustainability. 

As a graduate from this programme, you will understand how to help business and organisations in their journey toward making societies more sustainable. 

The course content is framed by life-cycle thinking, systems thinking, and long-term thinking. If you would like to become a sustainability change agent in positions such as sustainability officer or sustainability director in a business, government agency, or other organisation, this programme offers you the perfect preparation.

Career perspectives

As a Sustainable Business and Innovation graduate, you will have the perfect training to work in firms that are interested in changing their business strategy to a more sustainable direction.

As a graduate, you are likely to enter a career in environmental consultancy, business and management, or corporate social responsibility. You can also become an environmental officer in a non-governmental or government agency, or in business in the Netherlands or abroad. Furthermore, you are well placed to pursue a PhD in the field of Governance for Corporate Sustainability.

Whatever your exact position will be, we will train you to become a sustainability change agent in commercial organisations, industries, NGOs, and government bodies. You may also want to continue with research at a university.

Accreditation

Accredited by the NVAO - Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders.