2021 Sustainability Centres Community Workshop:

Designing the Business Sustainability Centre of the Future

Workshop in a Glance

The 2021 SCC Workshop engaged leaders in imagining and operationalizing a desirable future. The workshop goal was for leaders to work collectively toward not just reacting to a new normal, but proactively shaping it.

Daily Schedule - all times are Central European (CET)

Monday, July 12 2021: Multi-Sector Dialogue

 

13:00 - 17:30 Sustainable Transformation: Radical Change vs. More of the Same? 

Leaders from across society discussed the most pressing issues we face.

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Sessions included:

  • Art and purpose: Enabling radical transformation?

  • The new inequalities: Is that the business of business?

  • Small players guiding the way to global change    

  • Innovations as a driver for sustainability  

  • Key takeaways for a transformative sustainable change

Tuesday, July 13 2021: Sustainability Centres Focus

 

13:45 - 15:15 Plenary: “What Does the Future Look Like for Centres?” 

Centre leaders imagined probable and desirable futures for sustainability centers, via plenary presentation and working groups.

Keynote: "The Business of the Future" - Stuart Candy, Futurist at Carnegie Mellon

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15:15 - 15:30 Coffee Break

 

15:30 - 16:30 Breakout Discussions

Breakouts were led by SCC members and addressed diverse topics related to centres, including:

  • Positive Impact Rating for Business Schools (PIR): Deans’ Dialogue on Creating Positive Impact 

  • Building a network of change agents: Using an undergraduate program to advance interdisciplinarity and connections to practice 

  • Building interdisciplinarity in education and research 

  • Make academia meaningful again: A conversation on research, cocreation and impact 

  • Innovative Solutions for Sustainability in Education (ISSUE) 

  • Open our training to a greater social diversity of students: why not them? 

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16:30 - 17:00 Social Networking

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Wednesday, July 14 2021: Sustainability Centres Focus

 

13:45 - 15:15  Plenary: “Designing the Business Sustainability Center of the Future.” Centre leaders worked through the barriers and opportunity sets involved in unlocking that desired future.

Opening Notes: "Running a Business University for Sustainable Future: Challenges and Opportunities" - Edeltraud Hanappi-Egger, Rector of WU Vienna

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15:15 - 15:30  Coffee Break

 

15:30 - 16:30 Breakout Discussions

Breakouts were led by SCC members and addressed diverse topics related to centres, including:

  • Building climate and carbon literacy into business school curricula: A toolkit for centres

  • Blueprint for SDG integration in curriculum, research, and partnerships 

  • How Onlin​e Tool Venturely.io Stimulated Outreach, Teaching, and Research on Sustainable Business Models

  • Going beyond the case: Incorporating games, simulations, and other digital learning into the sustainability curriculum 

  • Using digital technology for local development research in remote communities in the context of COVID-19 

  • The why, what, and how of integrating sustainability into a business school

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16:30 - 17:00 Social Networking

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Thursday, July 15 2021: Sustainability Centres Focus

 

13:45 - 14:15 Social Networking

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14:15 - 15:00 "Open Mic"

Centres shared one-minute idea pitches, for collaboration and action.

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15:00 - 15:15 Coffee Break

 

15:15 - 17:00 Plenary: "Learning from Each Other" 

Center leaders shared personal challenges and successes, through a collective problem-solving and solutioning process.

Access the SCOOCS platform here.

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