Why Sustainable Management Education Is The Need Of The Hour

With every passing day, the privately owned businesses are conquering newer territories – ranging from mere production to space travel. Regardless of the industry, they operate in, firms around the globe are facing the barrier of sustainable development.

Simply put, sustainable development refers to development without hampering the ecological and social balance. The concern for the environment and society and the expectations of the general public from businesses have forced them to adopt sustainable development practices.

Keeping this in mind, the UN General Assembly drafted a universal agenda for sustainable development - 2030 in 2015. The agenda highlights 17 sustainable development goals and comprises 169 targets, which can be adopted by the businesses accordingly.

A recent report published by the Business and Sustainable Development Commission states that adopting sustainable development practices will create opportunities worth $12 trillion. The report also indicates a boom in employment opportunities, rising by $380 million by 2030.

Now, this has created a surge in demand for professionals who understand and apply effective, sustainable development practices in the day to day business. This is even reflected in the lookout for management students with a deeper understanding of sustainable management in business.

Apart from the cutting of further training costs, the following are some of the reasons why sustainable management education from the root level is the need of the hour.

Newmarket opportunities

Sticking on to the appropriate sustainable development goals opens new doors for the business in terms of both markets and offerings. For a business that is on a continuous lookout for expansion, a workforce with a good knowledge of sustainable management could be a great breakthrough.

Innovation

Management teams are always under the expectation of making innovative contributions. When combined with sustainable management practices, the odds of them leaving a huge positive impact on the business are high.

Sustainable management education triggers a problem-solving mind. Hence, it initiates a number of innovations that mutually benefit the business organisation and society as a whole.

Stakeholder management

The satisfaction of the stakeholders is unarguably the topmost priority of any business. Progressing in a sustainable way and also running the CSR activities is entrusted upon the businesses by its stakeholders.

The inputs provided by the management team who are academically trained in sustainable management make the job much easier for the business.

Long term perspective

The idea of sustainable management does seem like a loss of crucial funds in the short term. A report submitted by Arthur D Little states that nearly 95 per cent of businesses view sustainable management as a crucial part of their business.

Also, more than 83 per cent of the business owners practising sustainable management have noticed the impeccable growth in their business value. Sowing the seeds of sustainable management in future managers thereby generates a great return in the long run of the business.

Managerial Versatility

No two organizations work in a similar way. Thereby the sustainable management team should be able to align the goals of the organization with the sustainable measures they are ought to adapt in the organization.

These sustainable development goals act as a foundation for business conduct. Such a scenario calls for expert hands with proper sustainable management education and versatile skills who can handle the transformation effortlessly.

Imparting the knowledge of sustainable management is indeed a complex task. The following are some ways in which educating sustainable management can be made easier.

Backing up the problems faced by the environment and society with solid statistical data. A cognitive mind always searches for optimum solutions for the problems, which is the first sign of a sustainable manager.

Providing practical and real-life examples of successful execution of sustainable management policies. This will boost the morale and approach of the students towards sustainable management.

Encourage the students to take part in activities associated with environment protection, social issues, etc., a psychological attachment to sustainable management harvests more good during the practical applications.

Sustainable management is more than a mere set of competitive strategies to adopt in the business world. It is impossible for the businesses to have a decent long run by not battling the odds of climate change, hunger, and poverty, social injustices, etc., in the society it is a part of.

Dr Adya Sharma

Guest Author The author is Director, SCMS Pune