
For many MBA students at Duke and beyond, EDGE managing director Katie Kross is a go-to resource for climate, clean energy, and sustainability career trends. For nearly 20 years, she has researched with practitioners, posted jobs, compiled resources, and coached individual students seeking to marry their business skills with their passion for driving positive environmental and social change in the world.
“There are so many different ways MBA students can work on climate and sustainability challenges,” she says. “But it can be hard for students to find these career paths. Many of them don’t have the word ‘climate’ or ‘sustainability’ in the title, and many of them are new or emerging. The jobs in this field today didn’t exist 2 years ago.”
This year marks the release of an updated 3rd edition of Katie’s book Profession & Purpose: Your Guide to MBA Careers in Climate & Sustainability. First published in 2009 and reissued in 2014, the new edition of Profession & Purpose reflects an industry context that has changed dramatically over the years.

“Writing this edition gave me renewed hope,” she says. “There has never been a time when the world needed climate, clean energy, and sustainability work more than now. And there has never been a time when so much talent has been aimed at working on climate and sustainability solutions more than now. There is important work to be done.”
The third edition includes 12 new profiles of recent MBA graduates working in careers like corporate sustainability, climate finance, impact investing, sustainability consulting, and clean energy. It also includes a new chapter on “Leading with Impact” to inspire students to look for opportunities to create sustainable change from wherever they sit–whether that’s as a student in school, a local community member, or an executive working in a traditional management role. As with past versions, this edition of Profession & Purpose is also full of specific, up-to-date tactical resources including recommended books, newsletter, podcasts, and job boards.
For students interested in a copy, anyone on campus or in the Durham area can get a copy in person from Katie at direct cost. Others can use code 26AFLY2 at the Routledge site for 20% off their pricing.
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