Sustainability in Education Gifford Pinchot President
Bainbridge Graduate Institute The Challenge of Sustainability www.bgiedu.org
Sustainability Meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Brundtland Commission – 1987
Topics • A story of effective sustainability education • Sustainability in business: progress report • BGI: a case history of sustainability in business education
Reflections on Sustainability Education • Without it our society may be doomed • Begin with loving nature - Curiosity • Environment may replace bombs as a reason to study science
• Embed sustainability in every course • Integrate environmental and social responsibility • The Sustainability wave is an opportunity for us all – Get rid of old beliefs about what is possible
The Town of Port Alberni, B.C. Simultaneous collapse of timber and fishing industry
Community Futures Organize community to support new entrepreneurs Bankers
The School for Entrepreneurs
Lawyers
Accountants
Idea Fair 50 would be entrepreneurs with ideas
Objectives Bringing out ideas and entrepreneurs Cross fertilizing ideas Building teams Mixing potential sponsors with entrepreneurs
The School for Entrepreneurs A 9-day workshop
From employee
Entrepreneur
From group
High performance team
From concept
Business plan
Unemployed Logger Son’s smokehouse
5 fishers
Junk trees in clearcuts
Refrigerator Refurbish Cannery
Guitar top makers
Indigenous Artists
Bloody sawdust and guts to restore streams
Fancy Boxed Salmon
Sustainability Lessons • • • • • • • •
Profitable for all involved Doing more with less Living within ecological limits Whole system viewpoint Aesthetics and quality matter Waste = food Cooperation and community The role of the entrepreneur
Some Port Alberni Successes • • • • • • • • •
The smoked salmon businesses Aerosmith: ISP services Fiber Options: clothing store “The Cluck Stops Here” A french fry cart ($100K/year) A mini brewery A greeting card business A pet store 4 more businesses
Frontier Forests 8,000 Years Ago
Frontier Forests Today
Is Sustainability Feasible? • There are many opportunities for profitable sustainability
• Some sustainable changes would be highly unprofitable
• The changes our society needs are too huge for anyone to be totally sustainable Anita Roddick
Venture Capital Industry
Ecomagination 2010 Targets Double spending on green-related research Double revenue from green machines
Some Sustainability Progress
Making Progress • • • •
Solar growing at 41% China: Hot water 80% solar Denmark: Electricity is 20% wind Renewables are 13% Worldwide
Happiness and Sustainability
The Happo/Dammo Ratio
Happiness _______ Damage
Happiness • • •
It’s about food It’s about warmth It’s about health ============== • It’s about relationships • It’s about meaning • It’s about respect • It’s about beauty
Sustainable Business Education Case Bainbridge Graduate Institute -----Preparing leaders from diverse backgrounds to succeed in building businesses that are – economically successful, – socially responsible, and – environmentally sustainable.
Our Courses • Introduction to Sustainable Business
• • • • • • • •
Systems Thinking Finance & Triple Bottom Line I Sustainable Operations Classical Economics People and Teams
• Sustainability, Community and Social Justice
• Finance and the Triple Bottom Line II
• Creativity and Right Livelihood • Entrepreneurship and Intrapreneurship I
• Topics in Sustainable Business • Organizational Systems • Entrepreneurship and
Ecological Economics
Intrapreneurship II
Marketing and Sales
• Organizational Change • Strategy and Strategic
Research and Quantitative Methods
Management
October 2007
Business Week Rates BGI one of Top 60 “D-Schools” (Design and Innovation schools) • For teaching innovation, creativity and design as a tool for strategic advantage
• “It is incumbent upon us to reinvent the MBA for the Creative Economy.”
Richard Florida, Author, The Rise of the Creative Class & The Flight of the Creative Class
Jobs: Sustainability & CSR Leaders: Some BGI Graduates • Head of CSR @ REI • Heads of Sustainability – Columbia Forest Products – City of Corvallis – HP Ink Jet Line – Major architecture firm
• Head of environmental engineering major oil company
Net Impact Survey 2007
Net Impact Survey 2007
BGIedu.org
Growth of BGI
Demand for Sustainable Education
Education can make a big difference • As it did in Port Alberni • Children teach their parents – Even corporate CEOs don’t want their children to look down on them
