Villanova University Launches Sustainable Enterprise Executive Education & Development Program
Bringing together a commitment to lifelong learning with a passion for sustainability, Villanova University announces the launch of SEED—Sustainable Enterprise Executive Education & Development. Combining the leadership expertise of faculty from the highly ranked Villanova School of Business with the technical knowledge of professors in the College of Engineering’s first-of-its-kind Sustainable Engineering program, SEED is for experienced professionals interested in creating value by designing and incorporating sustainability practices into their business environments.
“The time is ripe for this program,” says SEED Director Victoria Minerva ’13 MSSE, ’17 MBA. “As we look at 2021 as the year of ‘building back better,’ business leaders are being called to develop appropriate and effective strategies that address global challenges of sustainability.”
Through five mini-courses, the SEED program promises to teach business and technical leaders how to maximize resources while designing robust sustainability programs that fuel productivity, innovation and profits within their organizations. Recognizing the challenges presented by the COVID era of shrinking resources and budgets, SEED will provide participants with tangible tools to drive growth, enhance reputation, reduce risks and cut costs looking through a sustainable enterprise lens.
“Debating whether to incorporate sustainability into your business strategy is no longer an option,” explains SEED faculty lead Karl Schmidt who spent 28 years as an executive in environmental affairs, process excellence and global supply chain management at Johnson & Johnson. “It’s no longer about being a nice thing to do for the environment; today sustainability is vital to an organization’s long-term success.” Joining Schmidt in the virtual classroom are experienced business leaders Dr. Kathleen Iacocca and Theresa DeVries Narzikul, along with sustainable engineering expert William Lorenz.
SEED’s five online courses can be taken individually or as a series, which earns the participant a certificate at completion. The program begins on March 31, 2021, with “Understanding Sustainability and Making its Business Case.” The remaining four courses are:
- Tackling Sustainability Frameworks with a Systems Mindset
- Designing Resilient Value Chains
- Developing Sustainability Strategy and Integrating Reporting
- Leaders as Drivers for Sustainability Engagement and Enterprise Transformation
Each course in the series meets three times over a period of two weeks for two hours per session.
“We’re excited to offer SEED at this pivotal time,” says Minerva. “And we look forward to learning from our participants, whom we encourage to bring their business challenges to class. The insights shared across industry sectors will be invaluable to everyone in the program.”