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Sustainability education

At Gustavson, we believe that business can help create a better world and drive meaningful social change. Our business school develops responsible leaders equipped to champion this change and CSSI is there to support that vision in the classroom. 

Collect Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) data in courses

CSSI surveys all faculty each semester to track which sustainable development goals are incorporated in their classes.

SDG content by program area

BCom

89%

MBA

89%

MGB

73%

Top SDGs featured in course content

Decent work and economic growth
Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Reduced inequalities

Host sustainability-focused events

For several years, CSSI has sponsored events and competitions focusing on sustainability and social responsibility. 

MIIISsion Impossible

Every September, teams of 3rd-year BCom students are matched with incoming exchange students and tasked with creating a viable business solution to a sustainability issue in the international student’s country of origin. After spending an evening identifying an issue and coming up with a business solution, the teams present their solution the next day before a panel of judges. These judges, hailing from local businesses and faculties across campus, evaluate student pitches and ultimately select 5 winners from approximately 60 teams, composed of more than 300 students.

Carbon Offset Pitch Competition

In 2017, Gustavson took a big step in taking responsibility for our school’s carbon footprint by offsetting the largest portion of our greenhouse gases—travel and commuting. Each year, our students pick how we offset our Scope 3 emissions through this competition.

Students across Gustavson are encouraged to submit (individually or in teams of up to 5) a portfolio of 1-5 carbon offset projects from a list of 16 pre-approved projects and portfolios. Along with the portfolio, students submit a video describing why they chose the projects they did. The portfolios and videos are evaluated according to four criteria: cost, impact, persuasiveness and fit within Gustavson’s pillars.

2024 winning video

Create sustainability-focused resources

One of CSSI’s roles at Gustavson is to provide faculty with the resources they need to enhance their courses with sustainable content. Over time, we’ve developed amazing resources, such as individual lesson plans for the each of the SDGs and several case studies written in partnership with local businesses. 

A few sample lesson plans:

This lesson provides an introduction to the history of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. The resources cover territorial acknowledgements, the historical background in Canada, terminology, statistics on Indigenous Peoples in Canada, a brief history of Crown-Indigenous relations, and lastly, Indigenization and decolonization.

Sustainability has been traditionally viewed as a trade off between profit and planet, with the only benefit of it being the “right thing to do.” The intention of this lecture is to teach students that doing business with sustainability is not only the right thing to do, but it is a strategic business move. Sustainability can lead to greater profits in the long term, access to new markets and is a key to sustainable, long-term success.

Sustainability and social responsibility in finance have traditionally been viewed as a cause for reduced profits or loss of return in finance. Today, the sentiment has changed, and sustainability has become a significant area in corporate finance. This lesson aims to provide an overview of the areas of sustainable investing, including ESG, SRI and impact investing.

Connect with us

Interested in accessing our lesson plans or learning more about this priority? Reach out to our office:

250-853-3721