Transforming Changemaker Education in Business Through B Impact Teams

Abstract

Over the past several years, social impact and sustainability-related education has become increasingly important for developing the next generation of business leaders equipped to understand and address the myriads of social, environmental, and economic challenges with which our world grapples. This requires faculty to move away from traditional classroom-based teaching to creating engaging and immersive environments for students to gain practical skills through experiential learning, as well as fostering a transformation in the students’ cognitive frameworks, competencies, and behaviors regarding business not merely as a tool of profit maximization, but as a vehicle for making positive social, ecological, and financial impacts. Our work elucidates the critical role of student sustainability consulting, where student teams work with actual companies to help implement more socially and environmentally responsible practices, in cultivating ecological literacy and promoting the competencies of societal impact leaders (as defined by AACSB) instrumental in transforming the economic system to benefit people, the planet, and prosperity. Specifically, we elaborate on how faculty can create, manage, and evaluate B Impact Teams in business schools that empower students to consult with local businesses using B Lab’s B Impact Assessment to benchmark and improve their positive impacts on both the UN Sustainable Development Goals as well as the five impact areas, representing key stakeholders, (governance, workers, community, environment, and customers) central to the B Impact Assessment.