Environmental problems and the impact of climate change on our planet are not required to be taught at modern business schools, nevertheless, it’s an important and interesting topic. For any entrepreneur, knowing how carbon footprint affects the environment is crucial.
Environmental problems as innovation drivers
The long-term goal for any business should be sustainability, or they would be useless in the future. It has long been the trend for many top companies, like Facebook, Google and Amazon, Unilever and Virgin, to address the environmental problems stemming from modern business. For instance, Unilever has set a goal for its business to go sustainable as soon as possible. During the last eight years, this company has diminished its waste by almost 100%, and 63% of its electricity is generated from renewable sources.
However, it’s not so easy for everyone to go sustainable. There is not much information on the moves you should make to reduce your impact on the planet. It’s not common knowledge what kinds of investments you should make to become greener, or what areas should be targeted first after your decision to pursue sustainability. Even governmental policies in the wake of the Paris climate agreement are still vague.
Hence, companies experiencing problems with cash flow or stock prices are more likely to skip investing in green technologies and sustainability, as they have far more immediate matters to look into. Additionally, few companies even have enough knowledge to plan their new moves and hire the right employees.
Why it’s useful to learn about sustainability in business school
Taking into account everything mentioned above, companies still should make an effort to reduce their carbon footprint. Their determination to become greener can manifest itself anywhere: in using cars for business trips and delivery, or in heating their offices. The same standards could be applied to providers and suppliers.
Of course, “greenwashing” should be avoided, thus, major companies should implement green innovations on several levels. Hence, MBA graduates with environmental knowledge in managerial positions will become huge assets to companies who decided to go green.
According to Financial Times, more and more MBA students are becoming interested in sustainability, from the obvious energy sector to the financial area. Graduates with such expertise will also be welcome at startups dedicated to greener technologies and renewable energy.
Of course, a lot depends on governments here: they have to implement green policies and create new frameworks, like giving subsidies to innovative and sustainable companies to make environmental awareness profitable.
Thus, environmental impact remains a crucial point for future businesses, and MBA students should get interested in this problem to become well-rounded professionals after graduation.
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