This text is part of the special section Higher Education
The Canadian Youth Council for Sustainable Development in Business is campaigning for management schools to better educate future managers about the scope of their decisions, particularly in the context of the climate crisis.
All of society must mobilize to deal with climate change, including the business community. The social and environmental repercussions of the choices made and actions taken by the various professionals in this sector have a definite influence on the greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. That the Caisse de depot et placement, which manages Quebecers’ woolen socks, publishes an annual report on sustainable investment is a sign of the times that does not lie.
However, students from management schools in Quebec and Canada are not very aware of these concepts as part of their training. Maxime Lakat knows something about this, he who completed a bachelor’s degree in business administration last year at McGill University’s Desautels Faculty of Management. Despite his specialization in sustainable development management, he feels that he was not exposed to certain key concepts during his university career.
The notions of sustainable development must be recurring themes in marketing, accounting, finance, not just a sideline
“Two years ago, there was no course in sustainable finance, whereas the investment world has been interested in this question for more than fifteen years. However, schools are supposed to train the next generation of visionary leaders who think about how to build the society of tomorrow,” notes Maxime Lakat. As a result, the majority of young graduates and those in the process of graduating are somewhat helpless when they enter the labor market, where these challenges are nevertheless becoming increasingly important.
To end the status quo
With colleagues whose profile is similar to his as well as with 65 organizations, such as student management associations, Maxime Lakat set up the Canadian Youth Council for Sustainable Development in Business. It was two years ago. Since then, this driving force of more than a thousand students aged 18 to 35 has produced a twenty-word manifesto that addresses issues such as sustainable supply chains, opportunities for a low-carbon economy and even the need to reform the global tax system.
The demands of these young leaders of tomorrow, very numerous, all converge towards a single and unique goal: to transform the ways of doing and teaching business. “Notions of sustainable development must be recurring themes in marketing, accounting and finance, not just a side issue,” says Maxime Lakat, now full-time executive director of the Council he founded. Currently, students have no choice but to specialize through programs, such as the Master of Science in Management, Social and Environmental Responsibility Profile, from the School of Management Science from the University of Quebec in Montreal.
Launched in 2020, the manifesto Our future, our business is supported by more than 100 civil society organizations as well as 130 business leaders. Among them: Chantal Thiéblin Goffoz and Guy Gervais, who are both attached to the impact unit of Anges Québec, one of the heavyweights of investment in the province. Thanks to the 230 financial angels of this network, some $113 million have been invested in more than 150 Quebec companies with strong growth potential since 2008.
“The Council’s approach is credible; his manifesto is not one among many others. I was particularly impressed by the ninth statement, which pleads for a more responsible allocation of capital by investors”, underlines Chantal Thiéblin Goffoz, who is also co-founder of the investment fund Divergent Capital and director of impact and sustainable development at Evol. “This is the kind of initiative that paves the way for real change in management faculties,” says Guy Gervais, who actively participated in the creation of Anges Québec. Her wildest dream? Seeing people being put more at the center of business courses, which he finds “too analytical” in their current form.
Already, changes are taking place in this direction. “We sent our manifesto to more than 200 university professors across the country. Among them, some were inspired by it to improve their courses,” says Maxime Lakat. Like what the approach does touch a sensitive chord.
A first version of this text was published on June 28, 2021 on Onepointfive.ca