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Business and sustainability intersect at several levels. At the societal level, sustainability concerns how economic activities align with environmental and societal goals. These concerns are then directly reflected in the strategic level of companies, and subsequently, in their operational practices. Each level sets distinct requirements for the contents and perspectives to be addressed in courses.

Economics, the Earth’s carrying capacity, and wellbeing

Sustainable business is grounded in the principle of organising all global economic activities within the limits of the Earth’s carrying capacity. This principle draws from the planetary boundaries framework, according to which the Earth’s carrying capacity has nine different thresholds. As of 2024, six of these nine boundaries have already been breached, and most of the remaining ones are on a downward trend. 

Sustainable business is not solely about sustainable operations for the benefit of the environment; it is sustainability for people and communities as well. While several global wellbeing indicators – including access to nutrition, life expectancy, and hygienic living conditions – have shown positive trends in recent decades, a clear conflict remains between adhering to planetary boundaries and safeguarding human wellbeing. Countries with an extensive, high standards of wellbeing exceed the limits of ecological carrying capacity without any exceptions, while countries operating within limits of the Earth’s carrying capacity invariably lag behind average wellbeing indicators. Low-income countries experiencing economic growth portray a trend of increasing wellbeing at the cost of ecological sustainability.

Sustainable business operations and strategic leadership

Strategic leadership of businesses is a core component of both studies and teaching at the School of Business, as business strategy defines overarching goals that guide all internal functions within a company – everything from marketing to finance. However, integrating sustainable development goals into business operations poses complex challenges to strategic leadership. One of the most significant concerns is the traditional focus of private and especially publicly listed companies on generating value for shareholders. However, sustainability-oriented business education should encourage a broader discussion of corporate purpose, as this often elicits diverse viewpoints from students. While economic objectives can sometimes align with sustainable development goals, tensions often arise between economic, environmental, and societal objectives. Addressing these tensions through well-informed and justified compromises is essential. For pedagogical purposes, it is important to introduce students to these complex tensions and to explore possible solutions through real-world examples. Then again, the planetary boundaries and doughnut framework can be applied to emphasise that compromises should not automatically equal the prioritisation of economic targets over environmental and societal objectives.

When discussing the core purpose of a company, additional purposes often emerge alongside shareholder value, such as delivering value to customers or generating employment. This functions as an important pathway to stakeholder engagement, one of the most significant developments responsibility and sustainable development have introduced to traditional strategic leadership. Comprehension of stakeholder engagement is essential, for example, in conducting double materiality assessments in line with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards. Therefore, business students must be introduced to the concept of stakeholders, methods for identifying their needs, and strategies for effective engagement and interaction. The practical management of stakeholder relationships often poses a complex challenge. This can be illustrated through teaching methods, such as case analyses or simulation-based assignments.

Sustainable business operations and operational leadership

Strategies derived from the corporate purpose are realised and implemented on the operational level – which is also the domain that establishes the generated sustainability impacts. Implementation of sustainability must involve all functions and organisational levels of a company. Accordingly, business education should address and analyse how a successful implementation of responsibility materialises in different business functions. What is the specific role of each function in terms of implementing responsibility? What tools and procedures are available, for example, for leading personnel, marketing, accounting, supply chain management, communication, and information management? What are the challenges and barriers that might hinder implementation? Implementation of sustainability demands collaboration. Therefore, it is important for students to comprehend how sustainability manifests in different functions, so that they can promote the necessary collaboration comprehensively within companies.

Another element that further emphasises the importance of operational level and responsibility competencies is the technical development and formalisation that has been gaining popularity in the field. At present, leadership in sustainable business reflects two distinct, opposing approaches. On the one hand, sustainability has entered the agenda of boards and upper management. This process has required broad conceptual skills, strategic insight, the ability to balance conflicting interests, and the ability to identify possibilities. On the other hand, sustainable business has developed into a formalised profession, with its own terminology and tools. This, in turn, has created a need for tailored technical competences (here, ‘technical’ refers to the management of practical methods and processes, not necessarily technology). The EU has played a major role in this proceed through an extensive array of detailed responsibility regulation (such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, and taxonomy regulation) and created an urgent demand for professionals with concrete tools and processes for leading sustainability. Therefore, students aspiring for specialist roles should be offered education in these issues. Furthermore, all students should acquire a basic understanding of related terminology and glossary.

To conclude

No single module can, or should, address all levels discussed here, unless it is explicitly designed around the multi-level interconnections between business and sustainability. Often, the intention is to incorporate a sustainability perspective into an ‘ordinary’ course. In addition to Business School, other schools within Aalto University can offer courses that intersect with business themes. A multidisciplinary approach is essential for promoting sustainability, and therefore, integrating sustainable business into other disciplines is heavily encouraged. In every case, the integration of sustainability should begin by identifying the level the course addresses: societal, strategic, or operational. This, in turn, helps to determine which of the abovementioned perspectives should be included and emphasised during the course.