ROUNDTABLE REVIEW AMBA & BGA GLOBAL CONFERENCE 2023
Kenji Yokoyama (left) and Håkan Ericson looked at sustainable leadership in a panel chaired by Zhongming Wang (right)
its programmes, particularly at the MBA level. “Sweden has often taken a bold stance and has set ambitious targets on sustainability and in most cases that has worked well. For many years now, our schooling has reinforced and increased the focus on sustainable leadership,” he noted. Ericson then outlined how this plays out in his school’s executive MBA programme: “We emphasise sustainability across all 21 volumes. Every faculty member is tasked with bringing up cases and angles relating to sustainability, whether it’s in marketing, accounting or any other module.” This, Ericson advised, is in addition to the programme’s dedicated module on sustainability where the underlying aim is to help participants understand that “sustainability can no longer be an add-on responsibility or function… It must be integrated into the strategy and business models of all companies.” Joining an international network has helped NUCB Business School develop and enhance its approach to these topics, according to dean of external relations Kenji Yokoyama. The school joined the Partnership in International Management as a full member last year and Yokoyama remarked that this has had a “big impact on how we carry out our responsible management education.” Yokoyama then presented a challenge. “We have a small problem that I want to share. We have managed to establish a good collaboration with our local community, but how can we raise students’ awareness of the importance of sustainability? We give a lecture and an assessment and then they have some knowledge about the concept of sustainability. But how do we develop students’ mindsets more in this area? Mindset is very important,” he concluded.
greatly with “moving from activism to science” on EDI’s benefits and in commanding industry acceptance.
Developing responsible leaders How can business schools improve their capabilities in the areas of sustainability and responsible leadership? This was the focus of a panel session chaired by Zhongming Wang, who invited panel members to share their institutions’ latest approaches, initiatives and ideas. The session, entitled Sustainable entrepreneurship and leadership development , began with Wang talking about the work of the Silk Road Entrepreneurship Education Network and the need “to encourage students to think about the future of entrepreneurship and innovation.” Established in 2014, the network promotes partnerships and joint initiatives among business schools through collaborative platforms and workshops. Tian Meng, executive dean of the MBA Centre and Global Management Education Institute at Shanghai University, then talked attendees through a new track available through the university’s MBA programme. Focusing on carbon management, the track considers how businesses can achieve carbon neutrality and, as Meng explained, is designed to meet an identified gap in this area. He continued: “We are also testing a track on how to organise financial results in the green industry. Shanghai is seeking to establish itself as the international green financial centre of the word, so we arrange many programmes and speakers from this industry.” Håkan Ericson, managing director of GU Executive Education at Gothenburg University, shared some insights into how his institution addresses sustainable leadership in
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