MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA SPECIAL REPORT
climate leadership in the region – was to launch BS4CL Africa, building and learning from the experience of BS4CL Europe. The project brings schools together to build a collaborative framework for centring climate leadership at the core of their strategic decisions. The collaboration goes beyond the six founding schools; BS4CL Africa hopes to influence business throughout the region in collaboration with its European counterpart and PRME’s Africa Chapter. BS4CL Africa will invite intercontinental contributions from the private sector, not-for profit organisations, start-ups, investors, scientists and academics in what will hopefully become an Africa-wide alignment of purpose. Recognising the critical role that higher education plays in addressing climate change, the ultimate aim of BS4CL Africa is to integrate sustainability and climate seamlessly and e ectively across the business school ecosystem. This will encompass formulating a portfolio of joint academic activities such as curriculum development, faculty collaboration, research projects, case studies, student competitions and community awareness and development activities, as well as executive education. Supporting home-grown talent The BS4CL model in Europe and Africa is built on institutional commitment from both the top down and bottom up – from deans and directors, as well as faculty members and professional sta . When fully deployed, BS4CL Africa can help develop and support home-grown talent in the form of identifying faculty members interested in sustainability and climate, formulating cross-continent networks and strategic partnerships with other business schools and organisations and preparing future leaders with the right skills and capacities to deal with those growing socioeconomic challenges related to climate. We also envisage projects too big or important for any one school that we can accomplish together. If BS4CL Africa is to succeed as an impactful alliance of business schools, it requires thought leadership, resources, focus, priority and a collaborative approach driven by concrete actions, while acknowledging possible challenges such as resource limitations, conflicts, competition and lack of industry commitment. Schools around the world are gradually shifting their traditional view of business from being solely focused on preparing the next generation of graduates driven by wealth creation to those who can be part of institutions that lead by example, with a commitment to people, purpose and planet – and not just profit. Management education continues to be a force for positive change by progressing not only profitable ventures but also societal priorities through teaching and learning, scholarship, outreach and community development. The challenge and opportunities of climate change are massive, but business schools, working hand-in-hand and building on their respective experiences, can make a huge di erence. The prospects for BS4CL Africa are bright in realising inclusive and sustainable development for the continent and its people.
society, have the awareness, understanding, mindset, knowledge and capacities needed to make the most appropriate decisions. These should balance business and economic priorities with social and environmental imperatives to create a positive, scalable and sustainable impact on society. At the same time, they must support businesses through the readiness of their workforce to realise the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the UN framework convention on climate change. To play an influential role in climate leadership from the outset, business schools need to commit resources to clearly defined actionable plans with specific objectives. They must adapt to current and projected future demands in addressing the climate issue and reflect that in their o erings. This portfolio could be demonstrated in implementing innovative approaches to curriculum development, degree programme delivery and research endeavours. This should be done while adapting to the context of the continent, coupled with business and industry engagement through a pan-African partnership scheme with a range of stakeholders, including universities and business schools. Business schools are fortunate to have a learning ecosystem that includes degree programme students, lifelong alumni learners, seasoned executive education participants, faculty and admissions and accreditation sta . To help all members of this ecosystem become better climate leaders, schools can draw from alumni experience and corporate partners; it will also require the upskilling of faculty members on an array of sustainability and climate issues. These cover a whole host of topics such as green finance, leadership, policies, governance, diplomacy, innovation, energy, health, green technology, renewables, agri-tech, water, biodiversity, social entrepreneurship, inclusive development, sustainable development goals (SDGs) and environmental, societal and governance (ESG) issues. We all need to become climate learners to become climate leaders. Setting up an Africa-centric initiative Inspired by Business Schools for Climate Leadership Europe (BS4CL Europe), an initiative formulated around COP26 in Glasgow in 2021 comprising eight European business schools, several schools in Africa, in collaboration with the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), met at the AUC School of Business in Cairo on the eve of COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh. The purpose of the roundtable – driven by having business schools play an impactful and scalable role in
Ambition SEPTEMBER 2023 | 29
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