Sustainability: A question of perspective?
On this World Environment Day, we're examining sustainability beyond the typical talking points. From personal experiences with water scarcity to scientific frameworks and clear societal stances, our students and faculty demonstrate why real change starts with systems, not individuals. The Earth isn't a single-use object. It's time we treat it like home.
One Planet. Perspectives That Matter.
When we think about sustainability, we usually connect it to one of the following topics: Why it is important, how to reduce one’s personal carbon footprint, and its effect on the climate and global economics. We focus on the individual, while most emissions are caused by industries and big companies.
Of course, the topic of sustainability is also deeply personal. As humans, we are shaped by our surroundings: The people we meet, the place we live in, and the memories we collect. So, on this World Environment Day, we would like to look at sustainability from a few different perspectives. Because, even though we might not have the same exact experiences, we all still live on the same planet.
Our student,
Piyush Bhandarkar, for example, has a very long personal history that connects him to the topic. He grew up in rural India, where he experienced water scarcity firsthand and witnessed its impact the entire community and area he lived in. When he started studying, he knew he wanted to make an impact, leading him to an internship where he developed an algae-based approach to water purification. Thanks to a fellowship, he was able to found a tech start up, that focused on how data-driven water management could help rural and semi-urban areas to fight water shortages. It was then that he decided to pursue a master’s degree that could deepen his knowledge while combining both theory and practice in real-life projects: His reason to start studying sustainability management at RWTH Business School.
Along with offering a unique blend of theory and practice,
our curriculum challenges students to think beyond their existing knowledge of sustainability. Not only do we offer a unique mix of theory and practice: Our curriculum challenges students to think beyond what they already know about sustainability. Professor Leuchner encourages this throughout his module “Earth System Science”, where he focuses on the interconnection between all different factors driving forward climate change and the loss of biodiversity. On the one hand, there is an undeniable scientific relation between atmosphere, biosphere, and geosphere, on the other hand, there are human factors: Environmental, social, and governance. This trifecta has become the standard of responsible corporate management with the aim of being as sustainable as possible, while also taking societal and demographic changes into account. Of course, human and scientific factors interfere with one another, resulting in a complex web of interaction, which we call our ecosystem. As with any system, you can only improve what you understand. So, studying all the different factors to be able to measure, analyze, adapt, and predict their changes is the key to taking actual steps toward sustainability. Which, as of now, can only be achieved through systemic change that lasts.
When you combine personal and scientific perspectives, you are also faced with another perspective: A philosophical one.
Since we all live on the same planet, we share the responsibility of keeping this planet alive and well. Not only do we need to protect ourselves from whatever weather nature throws at us, we also must do our part in conserving nature. This means examining our personal habits and their carbon footprint, but more importantly, we need to question how we consume as society. The world will not be saved by one person wearing vintage clothes, or one person being vegan. It is saved by companies acknowledging their (over-)use of Earth’s resources and taking measures to reduce and control their emissions and waste. Sustainability is a practice, not a buzzword.
This sentiment also lies at the core of our M.Sc. Sustainability Management: Technology, Analytics & Transformation. The program provides our students with all the tools necessary to effect change in the corporate world, from assessing and measuring climate factors to developing and implementing sustainability strategies.
Earth isn’t a single use object. So let’s care about it the way we are supposed to: Like home.
