1. Academic Programs
  2. Master’s Programs
  3. Master of Environmental Management — MEM
  4. MEM Specializations
  5. Business and the Environment Specialization

Business and the Environment Specialization

For YSE students who are interested in working on environmental issues in for-profit organizations, or in NGOs and public agencies that partner with for-profit organizations, be well prepared to do so. This specialization will be particularly helpful for MEM students with an environmental science or policy background and less experience with business concepts.

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    Note that a capstone course used to fulfill the MEM capstone requirement cannot also be used toward fulfilling an MEM Specialization requirement; a capstone course taken once cannot be used to fulfill multiple requirements. Learn more about YSE capstone courses by visiting the MEM Capstone page.

    Program Courses

    Core

    Two required courses.
    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 807
    Corporate Sustainability: Strategy and Management         		Esty  
    MGT 502/ACCT 270
    Foundations of Accounting and Valuation    		        

    Electives

    Students must take four courses from the lists below, including at least (a) one Quantitative course or one Finance course and (b) one from the list of Additional Electives.

    Quantitative

    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 603
    Environmental Data Visualization for Communication         		Queenborough  
    ENV 617
    Real World Environmental Data Science         		  Grewal
    Tentative
    ENV 757
    Data Exploration and Analysis         		Reuning-Scherer Reuning-Scherer
    ENV 758
    Multivariate Data Analysis in the Environmental Sciences         		  Reuning-Scherer
    ENV 795
    Nature as Capital: Merging Ecological and Economic Models         		  Fenichel
    ENV 811
    ESG Controller         		Cort  
    ENV 828
    Risk Assessment & Management: Climate Change         		  Wargo

    Finance

    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 635
    Renewable Energy Project Finance         		  Gross
    MGT 842
    Financing Green Technologies    		        

    Additional Electives

    Other courses or independent projects may be used to satisfy elective requirements subject to approval of the faculty coordinator of the specialization.
    Course Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Fall Spring
    ENV 636
    Carbon Dioxide Removal         		O’Rourke  
    ENV 639
    Food Systems and Climate Services         		Hernandez-Aguilera  
    ENV 641
    Market-Based Mechanisms for Water Management         		  Pilz
    Tentative
    ENV 659
    The Practice of Silviculture: Principles in Applied Forest Ecology (Friday field trips)         		  Ashton
    ENV 742
    Fundamentals of Working with People         		  DeCew
    ENV 800
    Energy Economics and Policy Analysis         		  Gillingham
    ENV 814
    Energy Systems Analysis         		Rao  
    ENV 816
    Electric Utilities: an Industry in Transition         		Rhodes  
    ENV 824
    Environmental Law and Policy         		  Klee
    ENV 884
    Industrial Ecology         		Faculty  
    ENV 894
    Green Building: Issues and Perspectives         		Kops  
    ENV 953
    Sustainable Business Capstone Consulting         		  Boyd
    ENV 956
    Strategies for Land Conservation         		  Gentry
    ENV 965
    Regenerative Agriculture & Just Food Systems Lab         		Engel  
    ENV 982
    Bio-inspired Design and Engineering         		  Zimmerman
    MGT 525
    Competitive Strategy    		        
    MGT 532
    Business Ethics    		        
    MGT 541
    Corporate Finance    		        
    MGT 872
    Managing Sustainable Operations    		        
    MGT 873
    Supply Chain Management    		        
    MGT 893
    Non-Market Strategy    		        
    Business and the Environment Illustration

    Learning Community

    There is a corresponding “Learning Community” for each specialization, where anyone interested in the topic can find related news, spotlights, colleagues, and events.

    Explore the Community

     Faculty Coordinator

    Staff Manager