Creating a niche for the environment in the business school curriculum - Business and the Environment - Editorial

Business Horizons, March-April, 1992 by A. James Barnes, Janice K. Ferry

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

One encouraging development is the National Wildlife Federation Corporate Conservation Council's efforts to design a new curriculum for business schools that will "promote managerial awareness and understanding of environmental issues." The council, composed of top executives from 16 major corporations, was established in October 1982 as a forum for business leaders to discuss environmental issues. The council believes that as pressures increase, the presence of environmental considerations in business decisions must also increase. With this in mind, the council is currently funding curriculum development for business schools in an effort to provide students with an understanding of the way environmental issues are woven into the entire fabric of business operations.

Proceeding on the basis that "economic development and environmental protection are inextricably linked and mutually dependent, [and that] environmental impacts must always be considered fully in corporate decision-making," the council has determined that regulatory constraints, liability concerns, resource availability and usage issues, and public concerns affect business decisions in research, procurement, manufacturing, marketing, and finance. Dow Chemical's Robert L. Dostal notes that Dow is participating in the discussions because "as a major chemical company we need to ensure that as the managers of the future are being trained through the business schools, there is an awareness and understanding of the environment to assist in company and business operations." (Cohen 1990).

The curriculum team is working to identify existing materials on business and the environment. The results of their search will be periodically updated and entered into a reference database that will be made accessible to all interested parties. The team is also developing new case texts and related materials to be tested in pilot courses offered over a two-year period ending in August 1991. Pilot courses are being offered by James Post at Boston University's School of Management, Rogene A. Buchholz at Loyola University of New Orleans' College of Business Administration, and Alfred Marcus at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. The courses are being evaluated by students and faculty to determine the feasibility of the new curriculum. The feedback thus far has been very positive, with students responding that they learned a lot "about issues with which they had no previous familiarity." Post has received more than 100 requests for information in the last year, and the students "seem very interested, curious and responsive" (Cohen 1990).

In the pilot courses, "business [should be] in the position of not just responding to government regulations but also initiating programs, policies and technologies to mitigate some of those environmental problems," notes Buchholz (Cohen 1990). The University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management is participating in the pilot program because of its philosophy that business success can be increased by avoiding risks to people and to the globe, and because opportunities exist for innovation in the environmental sector.