POSTGRADUATE
Sustainable Study
universities are responding by offering corporate social responsibility (CSR) elements to their
Steve Coomber investigates business programmes.
Sustainability is a big issue in business, and
I
n the 20 years since the United Nations created the Commission on Sustainable Development in 1992, sustainability has gradually risen to the top of the corporate agenda. In 2008, for example, CEOs of over 80 global corporations backed a World Business Council for Sustainable Development document, calling for “a rapid and fundamental strategy to reach a low-carbon world economy.” Many companies now include a sustainability element to their annual reporting, while other organisations have introduced sustainable business principles throughout their value chains.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Steve Coomber is a freelance business journalist who writes for The Times, CEO Magazine and Finance Director Europe. He is also
co-author of several books including Architects of the Business Revolution and The Career Adventurer’s Fieldbook.
“Tere is no doubt that sustainability is a big issue in business,” says Dr Wendy Chapple, deputy director of the International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility and director of the MBA in Corporate Social Responsibility at Nottingham University Business School in the UK. “For example, Unilever has just unveiled a new business model that puts sustainability at the heart of its global operations. Paul Polman, Unilever’s chief executive, said the new model was ‘the only way to do business long term’.”
Te increasing significance of sustainability in a corporate context is reflected in business school education. “Over the last decade, I’ve seen how sustainability and climate issues have jumped in importance both in business and business education,” agrees Professor Gail Whiteman, director of the Sustainability and Climate Research Centre at the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Erasmus University and chair of Sustainability and Climate Change at the university. “Many specialist Masters and MBA students are choosing programmes based on the amount of strategic content around sustainability.”
While many business schools incorporate sustainability elements into their general MBA programmes, some schools offer specialist MBA programmes focusing on sustainability issues. In January, 2011, for example, RSM at Erasmus University launched a new water specialisation as part of its Executive MBA programme. “It focuses on the latest water issues – on sustainability, climate change, and better management of water resources in large urban centres,” says Whiteman. “We’re looking for new ways to combine the
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