Chapter 8: Embedding Sustainability in the Gustavson School of Business: A Change in Culture

Inspired by international frameworks such as the principles for responsible management education (PRME) and accreditation schemes such as the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) Accreditation, and the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), there is an increased awareness of the role that management education can play in changing the mindset of students toward sustainable development¹ (Godemann, Haertle, Herzig, & Moon, 2014; Wu, Huang, Kuo, & Wu, 2010). Management schools and entire higher education institutions are responding to increasingly influential accreditation bodies and associations advancing sustainability in higher education (e.g., the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education or AASHE), changing on-site operations as well as educational offerings in order to stay competitive in attracting students. Despite such global efforts, however, sustainability integration into curricula, research, operations, and outreach is not a mainstream activity in higher education in general and management education in particular (Christensen, Peirce, Hartman, Hoffman, & Carrier, 2007; Lozano et al., 2015; Rands & Starik, 2009).