The 50+20 project is a collaborative initiative between three organisations: the World Business School Council of Sustainable Business (WBSCSB), the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI) and the Principles of Responsible Management Education (UN-backed PRME).

 

According to a statement by 50+20, the time has come for critical reflection on the role that business and management education plays in society. Management education for the world should provide education and research that is relevant and applied, holistic and integrative, responsible and sustainable, interdisciplinary and learning-oriented.

 

The initiative seeks transformation by asking critical questions about the state of the world, emerging societal issues, the dominant economic logic, the purpose of business, the role of leadership, and the challenges facing management education.

 

Furthermore, it will achieve its goals through:

In order to create a world where all citizens live well and within the limits of the planet, 50+20 urges action toward a different kind of society with a revised economic framework that is celebrated for its contribution to society and the world. Equally, businesses will need to become intimately involved in this transformation by accepting challenges and responsibilities beyond short-term economic performance.

 

The world needs global responsible leadership: individuals and groups who can guide organisations through a transformation supported by their ethical moral authority, through which renewed values and goals are disseminated throughout an organisation in favour of the sustainability.

 

Providing responsible leadership for a sustainable world involves creating and holding a space for the incarnation of three fundamental roles in management education, namely:

1. educating and developing globally responsible leaders;

2. enabling business organisations to serve the common good, and

3. engaging in the transformation of business and the economy.

 

The unifying element of the 50+20 vision is the collaboratory: a circular space created around an issue of global relevance, attended by members of a community (stakeholders, elders, students, researchers, parents, and thought leaders across disciplines) who meet on equal terms in order to develop viable solutions for our current global challenges. The collaboratory helps unite the three proposed roles into a concrete research and learning approach that can be created anywhere.

 

The 50+20 project is a collaborative initiative between three organisations: the World Business School Council of Sustainable Business (WBSCSB), the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI) and the Principles of Responsible Management Education (UN-backed PRME).

 

The following institutions are recognised as official co-authors of the 50+20 Agenda: Business School Lausanne, CENTRUM Católica, Concordia University: John Molson School of Business, Copenhagen Business School, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, ESADE Law & Business School, ESSEC Business School, ICN Business School Nancy-Metz, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Queensland University of Technology, Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management, Swinburne University of Technology, University of Pretoria: Albert Luthuli Centre for Responsible Leadership, University of St Gallen, Vienna University of Economics and Business, and Zermatt Summit.

 

Together, the project draws on the expertise of sustainability scholars, business school deans and thought leaders across society, all of whom are collaborating to determine how business and management education can help implement a fundamental shift in society to help ensure a credible, sustainable future for our descendants.