It is both a business imperative and a core belief for civic-minded business schools to take the lead in researching, teaching and enacting responsible and sustainable leadership. Our research needs to drive innovation and policy agendas that look to the UN Sustainable Development Goals as the bedrock of planetary sustainability and social responsibility. Our students expect to graduate prepared to become the next generation of responsible leaders, managers and entrepreneurs. And our operations must ‘walk the talk’ if we are to be credible. But how far should business schools transform our research strategies, core curriculum and business models to meet these goals? And what measures should we be considering? BOLT-ON, BUILT-IN OR EMBEDDED? Most business schools already recognise the importance of transforming into civic institutions and are adopting one of three strategies. The bolt-on approach focuses primarily on the taught curriculum and addresses the need for change through the addition of specialist sustainability/ responsibility-related modules to existing programmes. Whilst clearly signalling a change in direction and acting as a short-term quick fix, this approach is likely to generate withinprogramme disconnects for participating students, and also between what is taught and how the institution operates. A built-in approach aims to incorporate sustainability principles and competencies throughout the curriculum, sometimes working with partner organisations to fill gaps in expertise. Institutions may adopt relevant governance frameworks – such as the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) – for teaching, research and operations, thus progressively eliminating disconnects. An embedded approach goes even further. It enacts a comprehensive shift towards establishing the institution as a platform for sustainable/responsible management education. Institutions adopting this approach implement environmental sustainability and social responsibility as a strategic priority. It is a mindset and cultural given. Whilst this clearly requires sustained transformational effort, the few institutions to travel this route have demonstrated that it is both possible and commercially viable. THE LONG TERM Based on the findings of the B-School to ESG-School research project within Lancaster University Management School, it is clear the bolt-on and builtin approaches are only staging posts to a fully embedded sustainability/ responsibility mindset. Our project considered Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) business standards as a benchmark not just for good business, but for the provision of good management education. So, what are some of the transformative strategies business schools should be considering? INTERNAL OPERATIONS To be credible with the students we teach and the policymakers who read our research, it is important we ‘walk the talk’. This is partly about governance, but also culture. Whilst 48 |
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