Business as an Agent of World Good: Sustainable Development Goals and Transformative Learning

Colloquium
Rich Klimoski,  Anne Magro,  Rumina Dhalla,  Lisa Gring Pemble,  Felipe Perez,  Carole Parkes  

“Business as an Agent of World Good” - in 2007, this vision drove the development of the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) in conjunction with the UN Global Compact. Since that time, PRME, a sister organization to the UN Global Compact, has grown to more than 700 signatory business schools world-wide committed to PRME’s 2030 Vision: Realizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through Responsible Management Education. In this session, we introduce participants to the Six Principles of Responsible Management Education to which PRME Signatories subscribe, share current activities of PRME, and highlight innovative approaches to integrating the SDGs into business school activities. Representatives from several business schools designated as PRME Champions will present ongoing projects that demonstrate how innovative educational approaches, public-private partnerships, global initiatives, and cutting-edge research can make a better world. Projects include community driven and sustainable development initiatives. The session will review how PRME institutions are: integrating the SDGs into experiential programming and curriculum (e.g. George Mason University Honey Bee Initiative, Winchester School of Business and University of Guelph); working with Latin American companies to integrate the SDGs in their business models; and working with underserved communities to integrate SDGs. It will also include time for participants to discuss the role of business schools in achieving the SDGs and strategies for integrating the SDGs into business education and share their views of how other disciplines might go about a PRME-like initiative.