Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is high on the business agenda, or at least high in the annual report, but a new management mantra is threatening to take over – sustainability. Is this just CSR by another name?

While the two are often used inter-changeably, Professor David Grayson, chairman of the Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility at Cranfield School of Management, makes a subtle distinction: “When you talk about CSR, smaller owner-managers think it is just for the big boys, but how small and medium enterprises deal with these issues is as important as the actions of publicly quoted companies. Sustainability is something that they can identify with, and often embed in their organisations much more quickly than large corporations.”

Cranfield has introduced a new sustainable business MBA module, which, as Grayson explains, “combines the idea of managing a business that will sustain itself and grow over many years with that of managing it in a way that contributes to the sustainability of the environment and fabric of society”. Sustainability, he claims, should run through all the activities of a business, including marketing, finance and production. Using published sources, students on the module will prepare a critique of British Telecom’s sustainability strategy, assessing the triggers for taking a more socially responsible approach to business. BT was chosen because it has been measuring social and environmental impacts for a decade and is the current Business in the Community company of the year.

Henley Management College’s School for Reputation and Relationships was set up to focus on research on sustainability and its relationship to business. Professor Steve Downing, associate professor of strategy, says: “We have been teaching sustainability at Henley for five years, but the issue is to the fore now with the public concern about climate change. Investors are getting the message and sustainable funds are the fastest growing sector. So it is relevant that Henley’s new full-time MBA programme has woven a sustainability strand through its modules.” Students look at how corporates such as Interface are doing it right – or wrong – but also examine how their own company is performing, and through projects and dissertations look at changes they can bring to the organisation.

The prize for introducing the UK’s first, and so far only, MBA in corporate social responsibility goes to Nottingham University Business School, which ranks first in the UK and fourth in Europe in the Aspen Institute’s Beyond Grey Pinstripes ranking. This is a prestigious biennial ranking that highlights innovative full-time MBA programmes, and business schools that lead in integrating ethical, social and environmental issues into their teaching and research.

Jeremy Moon, professor of corporate social responsibility, is keen on practical learning in the approach to sustainability. “We hold lunches for students to hear first hand from practitioners including Accenture and the Ethical Trading Initiative, which bring to life the challenges of sustainability issues in today’s complex business environment. We are also seeing an increase in the number of MBA students who decide to make CSR their careers, or who use their CSR qualification to give them a cutting edge in the job market.”

Certainly Cranfield’s CSR credentials are valued by the Carbon Trust, where five of the business school’s graduates have joined the staff. Cranfield alumna Clare Hierons sees sustainability as a key element in the MBA of the future: “Business schools must embrace the concept of sustainability so that it becomes part of managers’ natural decision-making processes.”

Students sustain high level of interest

Most MBA students are interested in sustainability, says Peter Hall, who recently graduated from Cranfield with an MBA: “It struck me how high up the agenda it was for my colleagues, yet there was confusion about what it means and where business’s responsibility lay.”

Hall organised a two-day Capstone Conference last September, which was hosted by current MBA students to showcase their year’s work: “We chose responsible leadership as the theme, looking at what sustainability would mean as we progress through our careers, and what globalisation has done for the environment.

“The level of enthusiasm for the topic is demonstrated by the fact that 120 students from all over the world attended, when they could have gone home at the end of term. It was surprising how much CSR people were doing in their project work.

“I got a huge sense of people wanting to do something to make a difference, and they were surprisingly challenging to companies who were not responsible or were claiming to be but not doing anything. Everyone at the conference got a strong feeling that we were going to be the generation of MBAs who won’t behave like that.”

Responsibility rewarded with reputation

The course module on Reputation and Relationships at Henley Management College has a strong focus on sustainability, says Andrew Harburn, a current MBA student.

“We see how, when companies behave in a responsible fashion, they are rewarded with good reputation,” he says.

As part of the module, a group of students visited South Africa to undertake a consultancy project with a not-for-profit organisation that rehabilitates criminals. The organisation had previously been government funded but was now seeking corporate sponsors.

The group produced an outline business plan for the organisation, including proposals for a business to train key social workers. For Harburn, it was a mind-broadening time: “I had no experience of charity organisations, but saw how easily my skills would transfer and how I could help. I also learnt how you can run a business along ethical lines without damaging your bottom line; but you do have to put in time and effort.”

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