HANNA-LEENA PESONEN Dean, Jyväskylä University School of Business
example, designing dedicated courses and programmes, as well as incorporating sustainability aspects into all courses), research to support sustainable transition in business and society, as well as drawing on faculty expertise for advancing the climate change agenda within businesses and society. The carbon footprint of the Business School itself should also be monitored and actively reduced in order to signal the significance of the issue. Improving a Business School’s own climate footprint provides the foundations for credibility in climate change education and research. The views of the world’s leading Business School decision makers give reason to be hopeful that Business Schools are indeed prepared to re-evaluate their role in the society, to start critically revisiting traditional economic and business concepts, frameworks and theories, and to further integrate climate change into all activities. This will nurture a new generation of business leaders that are prepared to deal with the challenges that climate change poses for businesses and to act as a force for good to create solutions to tackle climate change and other sustainability challenges.
and Economics
The United Nations has declared the 2020s a ‘Decade of Action’ which calls for accelerating sustainable solutions to all of the world’s biggest challenges – climate change included – towards delivering the promises of its 17 SDGs by 2030. The results of the AMBA & BGA International Climate Change Report provide a unique perspective on the current state and future outlook of world-leading Business Schools in regard to incorporating climate change in business education and research. The views of almost 600 senior Business School leaders give reason for optimism. Participating Business School leaders consider the need to develop business sustainability as the most important issue facing business in the next five years and recognise the strong link between climate change and business. Almost all Business School leaders agree that human activity – business included – is a driver for climate change. Similarly, almost all recognise that business is going to be impacted by the environment and climate change. Businesses have been part of the cause of the environmental problems but can, and must, play a role in providing solutions to tackle climate change. The same applies to Business Schools themselves: the responsibility of Schools for dealing with climate change is understood by the majority of survey participants. In the open answers many have voiced a need for Business Schools to rethink their purpose in the world and would like to see business and Business Schools as a ‘force for good’. According to the results of this report, Business Schools are taking efforts to prevent climate change, even if a lot more could still be done. More can be done in education (for
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