SUSTAINABILITY
How place shapes initiatives Sustainability is not taught in a vacuum; it is shaped by the realities, assets and tensions of the places in which business schools operate. Context matters and we believe Portugal and Porto Business School can bring something distinctive to the sustainable leadership debate. In Portugal, sustainability is not just about compliance or reporting, it’s also about renewables, the blue economy, biodiversity, forestry, resilient territories, industrial reinvention and new business models. Those themes are especially tangible in Northern Portugal: a region with strong industrial capabilities, deep Atlantic connections and increasing relevance in innovation ecosystems linked to energy, nature, advanced manufacturing and development. In response, PBS has developed a growing portfolio of sustainability-focused learning across all programmes. Meanwhile, the school seeks to reinforce its knowledge and innovation ecosystem through initiatives such as the Innovation X Hub and the Sustainable Futures Impact Centre. PBS also aims to help bridge business and science through its role in the BIOPOLIS (an international centre of excellence in environment, biodiversity and agriculture) and related nature-based solutions initiatives. These activities support the transfer of knowledge that enables organisations to turn biodiversity and nature-based innovation into scalable business opportunities. Such connections are increasingly relevant to how organisations think about resilience, value creation, regional development and competitive advantage. PBS’s engagement in this space reflects our belief that business education must help leaders understand not only market systems, but also the natural systems on which economies ultimately depend. Of course, the social dimension is equally important and sustainability cannot be separated from access, opportunity and human development. More than €1.4 million in scholarships were awarded to students at PBS in 2025, providing just one example of how inclusion and talent development can form part of a broader sustainability vision. Leading with purpose The world is changing, with new pressures emerging at pace. This only reinforces our conviction that sustainability, in all its dimensions, must remain central to business education. This is not simply about teaching sustainability as a subject. It is about shaping responsible leaders who can combine ambition with integrity, performance with purpose and innovation with accountability. It is also about developing leaders who understand that business decisions carry economic, social and environmental consequences and they must be prepared to create long-term value across all three of these dimensions. Porto Business School aims to bring this philosophy to life, not because it is fashionable but because it is critical to the long-term success of organisations. In 2023, PBS became the first business school in Portugal to obtain accreditation from the Business Graduates Association, in recognition of our emphasis on positive impact, responsible management and lifelong learning. And it’s an approach that continues to guide the design of our programmes, applied research and external partnerships. It is also a signal of our determination to lead by example in the way we govern, operate and engage with our community.
BIOGRAPHY Patrícia Teixeira Lopes is vice-dean and sustainability officer at Porto Business School, University of Porto, Portugal, where she is also programme director of the Executive Master in Sustainability Management. Previously, she served as vice-rector of the University of Porto. She holds a PhD in business sciences and has completed executive programmes at IMD, London Business School and UCLA
The PBS Sustainability Model is intentionally systemic. It brings together cross-cutting dimensions such as impact knowledge, ethics and compliance, governance and transparency, while also addressing economic, environmental and social priorities. These encompass everything from local economic development, sustainable products and services to nature and biodiversity, people development and community wellbeing. In other words, our view is that sustainability is not only about carbon, but also how institutions govern, create knowledge, engage stakeholders, design programmes and contribute to regional and global development. Many organisations are already doing important work around sustainability, but not always within a coherent framework that connects governance, operations, people, innovation and purpose. Overcoming implementation challenges The following three challenges stand out for organisations. Complexity: Executives are operating in systems where environmental, financial, technological and social questions are deeply interconnected. Leadership therefore requires a broader lens and a stronger capacity to think across silos. Credibility: Stakeholders now expect organisations to demonstrate measurable progress, not just ambition. That requires robust governance, ethical consistency and transparency. In our view, these are not secondary issues; they are the foundations of any credible sustainability strategy. Capability: Many organisations understand the strategic importance of sustainability but are lacking in managers who are equipped to translate it into decisions across finance, operations, supply chains, real estate, reporting, innovation and people management. This is where business schools can make one of their most meaningful contributions: helping organisations build leadership capability at scale. Porto Business School’s response to these three challenges has been to align our portfolio of programmes, applied research agenda, partnerships and campus practices to the Sustainability Model. In this way, our commitment to leveraging the transformative power of education and leadership to address global sustainability challenges is reflected in a framework that connects academic excellence, applied research, stakeholder engagement, diversity & inclusion and more.
Ambition • ISSUE 3 • 2026 29
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