Takeaway on recent article Business Because by Seb Murray, B-Schools Embrace Sustainability to Give MBAs Careers with Social Impact
For businesses, sustainability often depends on the triple bottom line managing financial, social, and environmental responsibilities. While juggling these responsibilities is difficult to achieve in practice, recent developments have encouraged global businesses to embrace sustainability. The new global climate agreement set in Paris this year, along with the United Nation’s post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals are just two of many major pushes toward a more sustainable world.
Even with these positive developments, there is still much work to be done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition toward clean energy. Companies often introduce new business operation plans at the executive level, but leaders do not always have the skills and knowledge necessary to drive sustainable development. For this reason, the focus is now being directed toward business school students.
“Business schools are educating tomorrow’s business leaders, and sustainability must be part of that future,” urges Tima Bansal, Canada research chair in business sustainability at Ivey Business School. Bansal is a leader in the field, and she believes research is crucial to show companies they can be both profitable and good for the community. “Companies are increasingly realizing that sustainability must be a central part of business.” With a sustainable business plan, companies tend to be more adaptive and innovative and run less financial and reputation risk.
This is especially true now that business school graduates are searching for more meaningful careers and long-term success. Students across the globe are rushing to pursue an education in sustainability. Business schools like Copenhagen, Cornell, Mendoza, and Carnegie Mellon are pioneers in meeting this demand, offering courses such as sustainable finance and green real estate.
For now, this grassroots approach seems to be the most effective way to achieve a greener, more sustainable future.
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Kelly Song is the Programs Summer Intern at the Global Business School Network