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Navigating the Ecosystem of Support for Teaching Sustainability – NBS Climate Teaching Series

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Leaders from international organizations share resources and services for educators teaching sustainability in business schools. Learn how they can support you!

Around the world, business school educators are increasingly aiming to integrate more sustainability content into their teaching practices. This journey isn’t always easy — but many organizations help light the way.

In the fifth session of the monthly NBS Series on Teaching Climate in Business Schools, participants explored resources and services offered by six international organizations which support educators.

Following 10-minute presentations from each organization, participants connected with leaders in World Café Breakouts. Then, the session closed with a debrief session exploring the gaps and opportunities in the ecosystem of support for teaching sustainability.

Below, you’ll find the session recording (including the closing debrief), presentation slides, and a summary of key insights.

Session Recording and Slides

If you missed the session, you can access the slides and watch the full recording here:

Summary: Who are these 6 organizations and what do they offer?

In this table, generously drafted by session participant Miron Avidan (Chatham University), we summarize the 6 presenting organizations. Who are they? What do they offer? How can you get involved? Find the summary in the PDF below.

Do you know an organization missing from this chart? Fill in this form; NBS can add it.

Want to explore or revisit one organization in more detail? Find individual presentation videos below.

Presentation 1: ClimateCAP

Presented by: Katie Kross, Co-Founder and Advisor, ClimateCAP, USA

Additional contact: Jessica Wingert, Program Lead, ClimateCAP, USA

Contacts: katie.kross@duke.edu, jessica.wingert@duke.edu

About ClimateCAP

  • In one sentence: ClimateCAP is the premier learning resource for MBA students interested in the business of climate.

  • Focal audience: MBA students, business school educators and staff

  • Offering: Annual Summit for MBA students; Fellowship for MBA students; virtual speakers/webinars open to anyone; deep-dive collaboration calls with educators, newsletters with resources

  • How to get involved: Subscribe to the ClimateCAP mailing list; Follow ClimateCAP on LinkedIn (and tell your students!); Check out our MBA Academy series (including recordings) and other resources; Consider joining as a Partner School

Presentation 2: GRONEN

Presented by: Javier Delgado-Ceballos, Full Professor of Management and Corporate Sustainability, University of Granada, Spain

Additional contact: Ambra Galeazzo, Associate Professor of Management, University of Padova, Italy

Contacts: jdc@ugr.es, ambra.galeazzo@unipd.it

About GRONEN

  • In one sentence: Within GRONEN (Group for Research on Organizations and the Natural Environment), a group of scholars aims to support and advance teaching practices through workshops and resource sharing.

  • Focal audience: Scholars/Educators

  • Offering: Online & onsite workshops, resource sharing

  • How to get involved: Join the GRONEN association http://www.gronenonline.com/_gronen1/members/join-gronen/

Presentation 3: Open Climate Curriculum (OCC)

Presented by: Bruce Usher, Professor, Columbia Business School and Columbia Climate School, Faculty Co-Director, Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change; Lauren Westley, Administrative Director, Climate Change and Business Initiatives, Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change, Columbia Business School, USA

Contacts: bruce.usher@gsb.columbia.edu, law2171@gsb.columbia.edu

About Open Climate Curriculum

  • In one sentence: By sharing materials and resources through the Open Climate Curriculum, we can accelerate the climate education of business school students.

  • Focal audience: Business school educators

  • Offering: Platform with educational materials across four categories: core and elective course materials, cases, exec education; Emphasis on leveraging AI tools to help plan courses (under development)

  • How to get involved: Join Open CC: www.openclimatecurriculum.org; Contribute resources, provide feedback, and share with colleagues

Presentation 4: Network for Business Sustainability (NBS)

Presented by: Abby Litchfield, Community Manager, Network for Business Sustainability; Jury Gualandris, Associate Professor, Ivey Business School, Director, Network for Business Sustainability, Canada

Contacts: info@nbs.net, alitchfield@nbs.net

About NBS

  • In one sentence: NBS shares knowledge about business sustainability by connecting with an international network of scholars and practitioners to co-create resources and build community.

  • Focal audience: Scholars/educators, sustainability centre staff, students

  • Offering: The NBS resource library, resources for academics teaching sustainability, Sustainability Centres Community (SCC), open events series

  • How to get involved: Sign up for the newsletters, join the SCC, access resources, follow LinkedIn; Contact info@nbs.net

Presentation 5: PRME i5

Presented by: Meredith Storey, Senior Manager, PRME i5; Samantha Thompson, Coordinator, PRME i5, USA

Contacts: storey@unglobalcompact.org, thompson@unglobalcompact.org

About PRME i5

  • In one sentence: PRME i5 shares pedagogical approaches based on LEGO Foundation research, which develop holistic skillsets and equip business students and educators to be future leaders who address sustainable development issues.

  • Focal audience: Business school educators, administrators, and students

  • Offering: Playbook/Data Story, Viewbook, i5 Introductory Workshops, i5 Certificate of Engagement, Assessments: Welcome Survey and Student Survey, Toolbox: For Educators, For Students, For Everyone

  • How to get involved: Explore this link-tree with a variety of opportunities to connect; Sign up for our mailing list

Presentation 6: Sustainability in Academia (SiA)

Presented by: Clementine Robert, Project Manager, Sustainability Curriculum Development, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland

Additional contacts: Fabio Allegrini, Assistant Manager Sustainability Curriculum Development, University of St. Gallen; Mara Moos, Project Manager Higher Education, WWF, Switzerland; Abby Litchfield, Community Manager, Network for Business Sustainability, Canada

Contacts: clementine.robert@unisg.ch, fabio.allegrini@unisg.ch, mara.moos@wwf.ch, alitchfield@ivey.ca

About Sustainability in Academia

  • In one sentence: SiA accompanies faculty in their journey to further integrate sustainability in their courses using an online platform for curriculum materials.

  • Focal audience: Faculty, curriculum development staff, students

  • Offerings: Interactive resource platform. Content classified by basic/advanced, general management, business disciplines, industry-specific, teaching methods

  • How to get involved: Review materials, share content, and give feedback: https://forms.office.com/e/25RX630rc6; Connect with the team to get involved: info@sustainabilityacademia.org

Session Debrief Discussion

After breakouts, organization leaders reflected on the day’s discussions and share ideas that emerged. Particularly, they addressed the question: How can this ecosystem best serve educators in the future?

Here are key insights from the debrief period:

    • Katie Kross (ClimateCAP) expressed ClimateCAP’s dedication to spreading the word about any teaching tools, education resources, case studies, simulations, etc. that would be useful to educators and students. She suggested sharing short videos of each of the day’s presentations and is excited to continue to collaborate with other organizations.

    • Jury Gualandris (NBS) came out of the session with a better understanding of how organizations can collaborate effectively to address key needs. He stressed the importance of developing a unified theory of change across organizations. Jury also suggested leveraging network connections to influence deans and leaders to create more incentives and support within schools. Jury noted that while these organizations have grown organically, they now have enough of a foundation to begin working together with more coordination.

    • Javier Delgado-Ceballos (GRONEN) noted that more information isn’t always better when educators have limited time. He proposed having workshops that teach how to use the specific resources and materials that organizations share, citing the importance of making these resources more accessible.

    • Meredith Storey (PRME i5) commended the participants in the room for their deep knowledge and wonderful questions in the breakout rooms. She highlighted the importance of personal connections and collaborations when engaging in discussions about sustainability education.

    • Clementine Robert (SiA) recognized that the wealth of resources available can be overwhelming. She agreed that providing a summary for participants of who does what could make it easier to navigate. And encouraged more follow-up discussions between organizations. Clementine encouraged participants to continue the discussions initiated during the session and follow up on next steps.

    • Bruce Usher (OCC) seconded notions of increased collaboration and also spoke to questions about how AI tools can/should be used to support education. He said that while integrating these tools can feel complex and overwhelming, they are going to be an important part of the future of education in one way or another, and he believes they can contribute positively.

Other Resources from NBS

    • NBS Resources on Teaching Sustainability: Access resources related to best practices for teaching sustainable business.

    • NBS Resource Library on Sustainable Business Topics: NBS works with experts around the globe to prepare evidence-based resources about a range of sustainability topics, from Climate Change to Social Justice. Explore these and consider adding some to your curriculum!

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Authors

  • NBS

    The Network for Business Sustainability (NBS) is a non-profit advancing sustainable development to build a fairer and more environmentally sound future. We aim to improve business practice by facilitating knowledge sharing across an international community of business leaders, scholars, students and policy makers. With these stakeholders, we co-create high-quality content that enables practical action. Our content focuses on 6 critical sustainability themes, from climate change to social justice.

    View all posts
  • Abby Litchfield
    Community Manager
    Network for Business Sustainability
    Honours Business Adminstration, Ivey Business School

    Abby Litchfield is the Community Manager at the Network for Business Sustainability, overseeing partnerships, processes, social media, and all things graphic. Abby is deeply passionate about bringing people and organizations together to advance sustainability, and loves creating new content with NBS collaborators because it's an opportunity to do just that.

    View all posts
  • Light Naing
    Digital Content Specialist
    Network for Business Sustainability
    Honours Business Administration, Ivey Business School

    View all posts
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