Sustainability at IESE

What does sustainability mean for IESE? Sustainability for IESE involves the full arc of business activity, from how companies treat the world around them, to how they treat each employee. It implies a commitment to respecting the environment and contributing to the communities where companies operate. It means creating purpose-driven businesses that generate value shared by all stakeholders. And it revolves around the fundamental importance of people: that companies must improve the lives of the people within their reach.

Here, a few highlights of recent research, teaching and tools for executives from IESE:

IESE Business School has been measuring its carbon emissions footprint for several years now. The first external carbon emissions audit was run for the 18-19 academic year and we have achieved an 80% reduction in CO2 emissions per square meter from that year to 2021-22. We aim to reduce our carbon emissions even further.

This audit includes Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions following the UNE-EN ISO 14064-3:2019 standard and the GHG Protocol criteria. It conforms with the internationally recognized standards of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard from the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

Students & alumni

Since 1958, IESE's mission has been to develop leaders who strive to have a deep, positive and lasting impact on people, companies and society through professional excellence, integrity and spirit of service. With this in mind, business ethics, including sustainability, are a core value for the institution and all programs and activities align with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Our participants are taught ethical practices as a central focus at IESE, reflecting a human-centered approach to business. Ethical practices consider decisions and actions that impact the environment, society and the economy, meaning in sustainability. At IESE, we expect our students to be able to define sustainability and identify major sustainability challenges and to reflect on the impact that their business decisions have on sustainability on a personal and professional level. These decisions affect many aspects of sustainability: the environment, the economy and society including peers, employees, suppliers, clients and other stakeholders.

By taking the mandatory course Business Ethics, all students in our degree programs achieve the following IESE institutional learning outcomes:

• Understanding the mutual relationship between business and ethics in managerial decision-making
• Mastering the tools and procedures to prevent, identify and resolve corporate crises with a holistic stakeholder approach
• Analyzing the impact that organizational policies have on the behaviors of individuals and corporate culture
• Comprehending the relationship between businesses and their stakeholders to establish lasting and constructive dialogues
• Identifying the opportunities associated with responsible management and integrating them into organizational and strategic planning
• Understanding the ethical and social challenges of technological disruption and the related opportunities for innovation in business

We measure the success of our sustainability commitment not only by what we do as an institution, but also by what our students and participants do as individuals. The clubs they create while at IESE. The activities they participate in. And, ultimately, the work they do once they leave IESE and begin making their mark.

The institutional responsibilities for sustainability at IESE are entrusted to the Sustainability Committee. The Committee is composed of four people: Jaume Armengou (secretary general) and Jaume Vidal (finance and administration director) of the Executive Committee, Mercè Jorba and Caroline Tomás.