HBA Sustainability Certificate
Empowering the next generation of sustainable leaders
The HBA Sustainability Certificate is directed by Dr. Oana Branzei and is generously funded by RBC and the Chisholm Family Foundation. The Certificate empowers Ivey HBA students to build and lead more sustainable organizations. It includes a coordinated set of courses and experiences designed to provide a strong grounding in the principles and best practices of sustainability. The program positions students to begin their journeys as responsible C-Suite decision-makers, entrepreneurs, non-profit leaders and policymakers.
For 2023-2025, the certificate program is excited to welcome Associate Professor, Diane-Laure Arjaliès as co-director. Diane-Laure Arjaliès leads the Centre's Sustainable Finance Lab. Winner of the 2021 teaching recognition award for overall excellence in sustainable finance education, which is jointly awarded by the Financial Times and the Impact and Sustainable Finance Faculty Consortium.
Applications for the 2023/2024 cohort of the HBA Sustainability Certificate are closed.
If you're a manager wanting to engage with students in this program, contact sustainability@ivey.ca
0.5 required courses: To complete the Certificate you must successfully complete HBA1 and the following HBA2 course:
1.0 electives: In addition to the 0.5 required course, students must take 1.0 credits from the following. These 1.0 credits must be unique from your required course. For instance, if you select 4553 Social Enterprise as your required course, you must choose 1.0 additional elective courses to complete the certificate.
Sustainability certificate students are expected to engage in 4 exclusive, events in September and March. Events are mandatory for all students with the exception of students with class conflicts. Students will also get exclusive access to optional speaker events throughout the year (not currently listed).
Purpose Statements
Students will be asked to write and submit a brief (200 words maximum) purpose statement and an mp4 video recording of their declaration of purpose on LEARN by March 1st, 2023. Students will have the opportunity to seek guidance from the Fellows and the Mentors. They can participate in three optional peer-coaching sessions mid-November, January and February. A short documentary feature combining all statements which will be released at our Closing Ceremony on March 30, 2022. Preparation steps, including templates and worksheets are available on LEARN.
Students going on exchange in the second term must complete all core courses at Ivey but can substitute 0.5 electives with sustainability-related courses offered by your host institution. Students must obtain pre-approval from the Sustainability Certificate Program and the HBA Program Office for these substitutions before leaving on exchange.
Mentorship
Certificate students will each be paired with a sustainability mentor before their certificate year. Sustainability mentors are Ivey alumni working in sustainability-related fields or roles. Many are also alumni of the certificate program. Mentors will support students throughout the year and provide feedback on the professional reflections that students will write. Mentors will also be invited to attend major certificate events (i.e. Worldchangers, Closing Ceremonies).
Certificate students receive the first invitations to exclusive events, including conferences, dinners, guest speakers and other networking events. These events are not required, but are excellent opportunities to learn and network. Each student is also paired with an individual mentor during the certificate.
The program has limited enrolment. The application for admission consists of a standard 'fill-in-the-blanks' form with three written-answer questions, plus a biography, photo, and resume.
Professor Oana Branzei - Director, obranzei@ivey.uwo.ca
Tara Grzegorczyk - Coordinator - tgrzegorczyk@ivey.ca
HBA students participate in Live Case Event (September 2021)
Journey to Purpose -HBA Sustainability Certificate field trip (October 2021)
A Closing Ceremony that opened new doors (March 2019)