Social Responsibility and Ethics Certificate

 

 

Social Responsibility and Ethics (SRE) Certificate
For the Leeds undergraduate interested in the nexus of business and sustainability, the SRE Certificate is a program that blends curriculum and experiential learning.

 

Pro gram Eligibility 

Must be a Leeds undergraduate student with a 3.0 GPA at time of graduation. 

 

SIGN UP FOR THE SRE CERTIFICATE

About the SRE Certificate

About the Program

Students pursuing the SRE certificate acquire the following skills while at Leeds:

  • An ability to make a business case for sustainability and knowledge of market trends 
  • An understanding of values-based decision-making approaches  
  • A deep understanding of social and environmental risks and opportunities 
Benefits of SRE

Certificate Requirements 

1) Course Requirements

Students must complete 9 credits of approved coursework. To help you get started, here are three highly recommended classes that students consistently rate as engaging and impactful:

  • CESR 4130: Sustainable Operations
  • ORGN 3030: Critical Leadership Skills
  • CESR 4005: Business Solutions in the Developing World
  • FULL LIST of classes that count for the certificate
Students Discussing Business Sustainability

2) Experiential Learning

Students must complete at least 20 hours of experiential education. Students may choose to fulfill their hours by doing ONE of the following. 

  • Work: Students can earn hours for SRE through an internship or volunteer experience
    • Interning for a company with a specific focus on sustainability, social impact or ethics (EX: renewable energy intern at Xcel)
    • Integrating SRE skills into a functional role like marketing, finance, operations, or supply chain
    • Volunteering at a non profit that provides sustainability or social impact services
    • Leadership of an organization on campus that relates to SRE skills
  • Additional Coursework: Students can earn hours for SRE by completing an additional course.
    • CESR 4005, CESR 4850 or a startup related to sustainability in ESBM 4830 may count toward the experiential learning requirement or toward the business coursework requirement, but NOT both.
  • CESR-sponsored Events: Students can earn hours for SRE by attending at least 20 hours of approved CESR events during their time at Leeds.
    • Take a look at CESR's Upcoming Events here.
    • CESR staff tracks attendance internally. 
bus trip photo

3) Submit an application for graduation

Before graduating, students must submit an application for graduation. 

The application will ask you to: 

  1. Verify that you have completed all coursework
  2. Verify that you have completed your experiential hours
  3. Submit a reflection essay about your experience with the program
  4. Share your post graduation plans 

Please complete the graduation application here.

Graduates sit at graduation ceremony, their caps visible

 

Student and Alumni Testimonials

Lorena Payne (MGMT, SRE '23)

Inclusion, Giving & Impact Analyst at Xcel Energy. 

"Through the SRE Certificate’s courses, it became clear that I wanted to work for an organization that prioritizes ESG and DEI. The Certificate has shown me that it is possible to mitigate negative effects of business operations. I know that the work I am doing is delivering value to my community and will generate a positive impact.”

 

Xcel Energy Logo
Lola Lichtenstein (MGMT, SRE '25)

Business Analytics at Bloomberg

“I have always been passionate about sustainability and never really had experience with how it interconnected with business...I gravitated towards SRE and SRS for environmental reasons, but also really felt more grounded in ethics after the four years."

 

 

Bloomberg Logo
Wesley Obmascik (FNCE, SRE '26)

Power Markets Intern at Lightsource bp

“I found out about sustainability through CESR and through their ethics class. Then I attended a climate finance workshop — it was awesome because it combined both finance and sustainability, which I didn’t realize you could combine. If you’re passionate about protecting the earth or social responsibility, there’s now a whole industry around sustainability. You can have a very successful career while also contributing to something bigger.”

Lightsource bp Logo