The world is at a turning point. Social and environmental changes are demanding new solutions in the coming decades. In 2007, humanity’s footprint exceeded the earth’s bio capacity by 50%. By 2025, we will need the equivalent of 2 planets to sustain the consumption pattern of global citizens. Business is considered to be part of the problem, yet business leaders often don’t know how to embrace a sustainable and responsible approach to getting things done.
Business schools play a critical role in assuring that the world has leaders in business and beyond who are capable of understanding, embracing and addressing the challenges the world faces today and in the coming decades. New challenges require new competences. New competences arise from assuming new perspectives and envisioning new solutions. New challenges also require new leadership skills. Subject expertise needs to be complemented with the ability to drive change and implement new solutions across organizational boundaries.

BSL takes these challenges very seriously. We consider it our key responsibility to drive innovation in business education towards a sustainable and responsible leadership in business and any other organizations active in the global scene today. As a co-founder of the World Business School Council for Sustainable Business (WBSCSB), we work on a radically new vision for what business education should or could look like in the future. The 50+20 Project, a collaborative effort of the WBSCSB, GRLI and PRME involves more than a dozen engaged thought leaders and deans from around the world, seeking to deliver both a vision as well as emerging new practices. BSL and the University of St. Gallen are launching a new executive Diploma in Sustainable Business as of September 2011, one of the concrete emerging actions to achieve this objective (more under programs).
We are open to collaborate with any interested organization, from business education to business to civil society and thought leaders in other relevant domains. Please feel free to contact me if you see how we can do better, how we can work together to make this world a better place.