Green Building MBA Program

By Christine Wipfli, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO – “Innovating and transforming people and organizations for a sustainable life” is what the initiative Sustainable Latin America (América Latina Sustentável) is promoting, and they are taking another big step towards that goal here in Brazil.

With the help and support of both Sustainable Latin America along with The Green Building Council of Brazil, a brand new MBA degree program is being offered here in Rio de Janeiro at the Catholic University of Petropolis (Universidade Católica de Petrópolis).

The post-graduate degree called ‘Sustainable Building: Project and Performance’ (Edificações Sustentáveis: Projeto e Performance) is commencing this month at the University and is already promising successful results.

The Green Building course is offered to professionals with the desire to develop the abilities for the management and production of sustainable buildings. The concepts and strategies of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) are also integrated into the program to ensure that the students gain a perspective of the standards and regulative practices implemented in sustainable building worldwide.

The degree consists of 396 class hours in order to complete the course successfully with such topics introduced as: legal aspects of sustainable construction, management of environmental risks, eco-design, energy efficiency, sustainable urban development, and waste management.

The course focuses on equipping students with knowledge of the techniques, methodologies, and technology that qualify the pupil to project, manage, and evaluate social constructions, as well as the impact they have economically and environmentally.

The Green Building Council is a non-governmental organization that was founded in the U.S in 1999 and arrived in Brazil in March 2007. The Council is focused on maintaining a sustainable, healthy, and prosperous environment through the means of Green Building design and development. The Brazilian sector has already contributed a great deal towards moving Brazil into the right direction by drawing support and contribution from national and international companies working towards a healthier more sustainable future.

With the course already gaining a lot of interest and attention throughout Brazil, plans are already underway to incorporate the program into Universities in Vitória, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Porto Alegre and Salvador.

With a booming population, and a large but limited amount of resources, organizations like Sustainable Latin America and The Green Building Council of Brazil are taking the necessary steps towards a large development plan needed to ensure an environmentally and economically prosperous future.