The world’s most challenging problems and biggest opportunities share a common issue in sustainability. What’s more interesting to see is that students are more interested than ever in securing the necessary skills and tools to tackle these problems relating to sustainable development head-on.
Sustainability is interdisciplinary and integral to all industries, so quality education in sustainable business should train emerging leaders to tackle sustainability from all angles: environmental, social, governmental, and systemic.
So, how big of a role does sustainability play in the corporate sector? When looked at objectively, corporations are actively and aggressively seeking ways to keep sustainability in their core practices, so it is easy to see how a business education rooted in sustainability is beneficial to the job seeker.
Acquiring these ‘green skills’ is an advantage on its own. The opportunity to learn and practice creative problem-solving in the classroom is helpful to business programme graduates, as the globe’s biggest companies grow hungrier for junior workers with specific skills and areas of expertise within sustainability. When looking at statistics, it is observed that the portion of workers
To back this with statistics, the portion of workers with the knowledge or skills needed to support environmental sustainability has risen by 38.5% between 2015 and 2022, according to LinkedIn. According to the same article, about 10% of job postings on LinkedIn in 2021 required at least one green skill, even for roles outside the environmental sector. This kind of growth is significant.
Corporations hiring sustainable business programme graduates benefit from such education through the hiring of additional staff to develop innovative products and services, hopefully giving them a competitive advantage over others.
In the past few years, customers have become more accustomed to buying sustainable products and services, even if it may mean paying more for the product or service. So, investing in sustainable business education can help improve a corporation’s competitiveness, financial bottom line, and public image.
When looking at the bigger picture, more importantly, sustainable businesses positively affect the entire planet and its inhabitants. By providing sustainable business students with the tools to learn best practices and succeed in their careers, greater society benefits.
It will, of course, take collective action from us all to create real change, since the world’s most challenging problems, from inequality to climate change – transcend country borders. Sustainable business education is just one piece of the puzzle to take us there.
