UK: The greening of business schools

Business schools in the UK are gearing themselves up for new developments in sustainability. In a new report, the Association of Business Schools says business communities need to embrace environmental and sustainable ways of working and embed them into everyday policies and procedures to ensure the future of the planet.

The association also says students are more discerning about green issues, including buildings, courses and content. They are aware of integrating sustainability into business practices and of the newly created 'green collar' jobs.

The report, Pillars of the sustainable economy, highlights examples of good practice among business schools around the country.

Birmingham City University has just created a new post of director of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and has appointed Professor Upkar Pardesi, Dean of the university's business school. Queen's University Belfast's management school is offering a course in green supply chain management and an MSc in environmental management, and in CSR. Similarly, Sheffield Hallam's school of business and finance centre for international tourism resources is taking part in the tourism industry carbon offset service scheme.

Meantime, the business schools association's European Quality link, EQUAL, a network of 20 European and North American organisations connected with business schools and management education, is preparing guidelines on sustainability for its members.

Collectively, EQUAL members represent more than 2,000 business schools around the globe, 150 major international corporations and some 100,000 managers in the corporate world. EQUAL acts as a think-tank for the European Quality Improvement Scheme (EQUIS), a major international accreditation body for top quality business schools. The EQUAL guidelines on sustainability are being developed to inform EQUIS and other international accreditation bodies.

Association Chief Executive Jonathan Slack says he hopes the guidelines will be approved by the board in May and then published.

diane.spencer@uw-news.com