Energy & Sustainability Specialization for Evening & Weekend MBAs
Managing the world’s resources in a sustainable way is increasingly central to competitive dynamics and value creation. Kellogg's Sustainability: Climate, Environment, & Energy Academic Specialization offers students a map to courses on leading enterprises in natural-resource-based industries (especially energy, food and agriculture, and mobility), and for integrating sustainability into enterprise and investment decisions.
The selected courses build on the core MBA curriculum as a foundation and offer extensions that allow students to develop deep expertise in the economics and strategy of energy markets, corporate sustainability, as well as sustainable investing and entrepreneurship.
The Sustainability: Climate, Environment, & Energy specialization prepares students for careers in the traditional and renewable energy sectors, other natural-resource-based industries, corporate sustainability and consulting, and corresponding entrepreneurial and investment roles.
Faculty sponsors: Klaus Weber (MORS) and Meghan Busse (Strategy)
Note: The ISEN courses listed on this pathway are pre-approved as credits that will count toward a Kellogg MBA. Students file a request with the Registrar's Office.
1. Foundations
- What Every MBA Should Know About Climate: STRT-959-5
- Geo-Economics: MECN-925-5
- Ethics and Leadership: PACT 460-0
2. Specialized Professional Toolkits
- The Economics of Energy Markets and the Environment: STRT 458-0
- Climate Impacts: SSIM-960-5
- Carbon Removal, Capture, and Use: ISEN 432
- Government Incentives: ISEN 452
- Value Creation through Sustainability: Managing the Corporate Transformation: SSIM-938-0
- How to Navigate a Climate Transition: SSIM-947-5
- ESG Investing and Sustainability Reporting: ACCT-459-0
- Managing Firms for Shareholders and Society: FINC-484-5
- Climate Activism and Its Business Impacts: ISEN 472
EXPERIENTIAL
- Sustainability Lab: SSIM 636-0
- Social Innovation Practicum: SSIM 452-0
- Abrams Climate Academy:
SSIM 621-0, SSIM 622-0, SSIM 623-0
- Impact Investing and Sustainable Finance: FINC 946-0
- NUvention: Energy: ENTREP 474
- Entrepreneurial Finance and Venture Capital: FINC 445-0
- Early Stage Impact Investing: SSIM-940-0
- Private Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure Development and Finance: ISEN 440
EXPERIENTIAL
- GIM: Impact & Sustainable Ventures: INTL-473-0
- Venture Lab: FINC-615-0 & Private Equity Lab: FINC-639-0
3. Specialized Industries
- Breakthrough Energy Efficiency and Net-Zero Buildings: ISEN 433
- Real Estate Technology: REAL-930-5
- Sustainability in Water and Wastewater: ISEN 470
- Sustainable Supply Chain Management: ISEN 462
- Circular Economy: ISEN 463
- Sustainable and Responsible Supply Chain Strategy Execution: OPNS-941-5
Pre-approved ISEN Classes:
ISEN 402 CASE-BY-CASE Basis - see note*
ISEN 422 Electrify Everything: Beneficial Electrification, Electric Vehicles, and Beyond (1.0 credit)
ISEN 431 Advanced Topics in Electric Technologies: Storage and Microgrids (0.5 credit)
ISEN 432 Carbon Capture, Renewal, and Use
ISEN 440 Energy Infrastructure Development and Finance (1.0 credit)
ISEN 452 Government Incentives (0.5)
ISEN 462 Sustainable Supply Chain Management (1.0 credit)
ISEN 463 Circular Economy (1.0 credit)
ISEN 470 Sustainability in Water and Wastewater (0.5 credit)
ISEN 471 Sustainable Food (0.5 credit)
ISEN 472 Climate Activism and Its Business Impacts (0.5 credit)
ISEN 473 The Future of Food & Agriculture (0.5 credit)
*ISEN 402 focuses on the technical and engineering aspects of electrical grids and could be valuable for Kellogg students without an engineering background who need enough technical understanding to succeed in industry management roles. However, it should not be pre-approved since ISEN did not request this and it is not part of the MBA curriculum, with such courses typically taken outside MBA credits (except possibly MMM students). Instead, it could be handled through case-by-case approval when a student has a strong rationale and needs MBA credit. Additionally, the course is a core ISEN offering that is not shared with other programs, which explains why it is not included in the pathway and why details were not previously provided.
Last edited October 21, 2026. For any questions regarding this page, please email kellogg-registrar@kellogg.northwestern.edu.