Business Sustainability Strategy: Technology and Management

Business Sustainability Strategy: Technology and Management, offered by the MIT Sloan School of Management through GetSmarter, is a six-week online short course designed to help business leaders balance sustainability priorities with long-term profitability. The course examines how environmental regulation, stakeholder expectations, technology, and changing market conditions are reshaping business strategy. It uses MIT Sloan’s PROMISE framework to help learners evaluate sustainability choices, trade-offs, and their wider organisational impact.

Core Content

The curriculum is structured across six modules covering global environmental and social challenges, sustainability management, the PROMISE framework, technology and innovation, market failures, and organisational change. Learners examine issues such as climate change, inequality, poverty, dematerialisation, institutional barriers, and the role of technology in sustainability. The course also explores how businesses can redesign strategies, influence stakeholders, and respond to tensions between environmental goals and financial performance.

Key Skills

Participants will develop the ability to assess complex sustainability challenges, evaluate strategic trade-offs, and design more effective sustainability initiatives. The course strengthens skills in stakeholder engagement, sustainability strategy, technology-driven innovation, systems thinking, and change management. Learners also build the ability to use the PROMISE framework to examine business decisions and identify ways to pursue sustainability goals while maintaining commercial performance.

Target Learners

The course is designed for business leaders, decision-makers, and professionals involved in day-to-day operations who want to move into positions where they can shape company-wide sustainability strategies and policies. It is also relevant for professionals with environmental expertise who want to connect their technical knowledge more closely with business strategy and demonstrate the commercial value of sustainability.

Learning Format

Hosted on GetSmarter, the course is delivered through a cohort-based online format over six weeks, excluding orientation, with an expected study commitment of approximately six to eight hours per week. Learners work through six structured modules with guidance from MIT Sloan faculty and guest experts while completing applied activities focused on sustainability strategy and organisational change. The current course page lists the next start date as September 30, 2026, and successful participants receive a digital certificate of completion from MIT Sloan.

Additional Benefits

The course gives learners access to insights from MIT Sloan faculty, including Roberto Rigobon and Jason Jay, while connecting sustainability management with technology, institutional change, and business competitiveness. Completion can also count toward an MIT Sloan Executive Certificate when combined with other qualifying programs, providing additional value for professionals pursuing broader executive education in management and strategy.

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