Centre for Sustainability Management honored for sustainability education
2023-11-14 National award - Education for Sustainable Development presented by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the German UNESCO Commission
Lüneburg/Schwerin. The Centre for Sustainability Management (CSM) at Leuphana University Lüneburg has now been recognized as a role model for sustainability education by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the German Commission for UNESCO. The award ceremony took place on November 8th in Schwerin. A total of 29 initiatives were honored for their innovative educational programs, content and ideas that enable learners to actively and responsibly participate in shaping a sustainable future.
The CSM impressed the jury with its exemplary commitment and special dedication to the United Nations' Global Sustainability Goals. "The Centre for Sustainability Management at Leuphana University supports the world's first Master of Business Administration (MBA) course in Sustainability Management. Students are given the tools they need to change companies sustainably. The center is exemplary in showing how science, education and entrepreneurship can work together to develop a sustainable society," said the jury in recognition of the commitment.
In 2003, sustainability expert Professor Dr. Stefan Schaltegger launched the first MBA course in sustainability management, which was new at the time, and started a success story: Since then, more than 500 graduates have successfully completed the programme and are actively contributing to sustainability change in companies, the public sector and non-profit organizations.
"It was clear to us that environmental science graduates rarely get into management positions due to a lack of sufficiently broad management knowledge and that business graduates cannot build up enough sustainability expertise as part of an elective subject. We had to rethink and combine everything," says Schaltegger, describing the beginnings of the program.
Background
The Centre for Sustainability Management (CSM) is an internationally oriented research hub for sustainable entrepreneurship and a competence centre for sustainability management. Founded in 2004 as a pioneering institution, it has been part of the first European Faculty of Sustainability Sciences since 2011. An interdisciplinary team researches how companies and organizations can implement sustainability more effectively. The CSM offers the part-time MBA and various certificate programs in sustainability management as part of the continuing education model of the Leuphana Professional School.
The "National Award - Education for Sustainable Development" recognizes organizations, networks and municipalities that are committed to shaping a sustainable society worth living in as part of the UNESCO ESD 2030 programme.
ESD 2030 stands for "Education for Sustainable Development: Realizing the Global Sustainable Development Goals". Sustainable development means ensuring human dignity and equal opportunities for all in an intact environment. Education is central to this. It enables people to make decisions for the future and to assess how their own actions will affect future generations or life in other regions of the world.