How has sustainability teaching evolved over time in European business schools ? A case study of HEC Liège.

Abstract

In a society witnessing increasing disparities and environmental degradation, the concept of sustainable development has become more than prominent. To face and solve these issues, companies, organisations, authorities, and people, that are responsible for the situation, have started to look for solutions. As we all know, education for sustainable development can be one of the most efficient solutions as it is considered as an essential catalyst for transforming society. More specifically, business schools have increasingly recognised their major role in this social and environmental transition since they have the responsibility to educate, equip, and train the future business leaders. At the same time, companies’ and (business) students’ ambitions have evolved. On one side, companies increasingly take sustainable development into account in order to satisfy their multiple stakeholders that now look for more transparency and sustainable commitment. On the other side, students now intend to have an impact on the environment and society. In this context, this present research thesis examines the evolution of education for sustainable development in European business schools through a theoretical analysis and a case study of the HEC Liège Management School. This structure divided into two main parts aims to compare theory with practice.