The idea that anyone can make a difference is an inspiring thought and one that has been etched into the minds of the participants. 

Besides altering her current consumption habits, Mariana Possari Goncalves, a GMBA participant, has committed to following the new sustainability developments and “adopt them as much as possible.” Her coursemate, Catherine Aliana Villarosa, “will be looking for companies that value sustainability practices and make efforts to being more responsible.” 

The knowledge has also inspired Benish Aslam, another GMBA participant, to take steps to reduce the environmental footprint on the job. While working in the healthcare sector pre-MBA, she saw technology as a solution to alleviate the repercussions of climate change on health. The feeling was that the resulting e-waste was an inevitable consequence of the new approach.

Now, she’s begun to see how technology like telemedicine can also target the root of the problem and is aware of initiatives to reduce the sector’s overall environmental footprint. 

It’s an uphill battle… but he strongly feels that “even if we cannot solve everything, we need to start somewhere and make a change at our own scale.”

“With the impact of COVID, the inertia for change has been overcome in some way, and now we just need to propel the healthcare sector further in this direction,” she shares. 

“In the world of sustainability, we are not powerless. Everything is in our hands,” Stephane Andriasolo, Benish’s coursemate, chimes in, adding that he feels it is his “duty” to raise awareness for the planet, no matter where his career takes him. 

He acknowledges that it may be a huge, uphill battle and that there will be many challenges to be overcome, but he strongly feels that “even if we cannot solve everything, we need to start somewhere and make a change at our own scale.” 

Chatterjee adds, “We reflected not only on the managerial but also on the structural aspects of doing business: the building blocks of the listed corporation and newer forms of organizations.” 

He is hopeful that the course is just one of the many steps in the right direction. “It is too early to say how this will impact our students’ careers. We should compare notes a few years later.” 

The Responsible Leadership and Sustainability is an eight-session course exclusively available to the Global Master of Business Administration (GMBA) and a five-session course for Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) participants at ESSEC’s Asia-Pacific campus in Singapore.