Sustainability used to be the exclusive
concern of environmentalists.
No longer. Rising costs, governmental
regulations, and consumer awareness
of environmental issues are
forcing managers to reduce the raw
materials, energy, and water they
consume in business operations.
To prepare managers for this
new reality, we can’t simply offer
a single course on corporate social
responsibility while leaving the
rest of the curriculum unchanged.
Rather, we must weave sustainability
into multiple core courses, from
product design and supply chain
management to strategy, marketing,
communication, and environmental
accounting.
Plenty of observers are tracking
our progress. For instance, author
Giselle Weybrecht published The
Sustainable MBA: The Manager’s
Guide to Green Business in 2010,
and every other year, the Aspen Institute
releases the Beyond Grey Pinstripes
report, which ranks schools
by their commitment to social and
environmental sustainability.
But in addition to teaching
sustainability, we must become
greener in our operations. Many
new landmark business schools are
pursuing LEED certification, which
rates buildings on their sustainable
design features. Other schools are
conserving natural resources by
switching to all digital documentation.
For example, IE Business
School expects this year’s introduction
of digital documentation
to save up to 17 million sheets of
paper per year, the equivalent of
about 300 trees.
Besides paper, lighting, and heating,
there is a significant aspect of
business schools’ environmental
footprint we often fail to appreciate:
travel. When IE conducted an
environmental audit of its MBA
program, it found that the lion’s
share of environmental impact
stemmed from students’ travel to
and from campus.
The problem is even worse in
executive programs. A March 2011
feature on Poets & Quants
(poetsandquants.com) is fittingly
titled “Clooney Has Nothing On
These MBA Warriors.” Author
Andrea Carter describes a student
who flies from Seoul to San