oikos Hamburg Publishes its University’s Sustainability Report!

A process that took more than two years comes to an end. The project team and all of oikos Hamburg presents “Sustainability Report 2.0”, the new sustainability report on the University of Hamburg from 2011 to 2014.

Read it in German here.

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oikos International

posted August 5, 2016

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What Are oikos Learning Circles Up To? Economics and Participatory Learning

Out of the six oikos Learning Circles we today present two updates on the Economics and Participatory Learning’s plans.

The oikos Economics Learnings Circle wants to increase the participant’s awareness of different topics in the field of (sustainable) economics. After a general critic about common economics at the last meeting we now want to continue with alternative ideas of economics. The idea is to have a look at approaches of feminist economics as well as ‘common good economy’ (Gemeinwohlökonomie). In particular, we’d like to deal with growth criticism, the measurement of the society’s performance (including unpaid work) and cultural aspects like lifestyle. If you are interested in these topics, we (Hannah and Frank) are happy to welcome you to the Economics LC. So, if you are fast you have the chance to co-design the LC. Furthermore, we would like to strengthen the exchange between members of the LC to guarantee the LC’s continuity. Therefore, we are looking for people who like to revive discussion in the facebook group.

The Participatory Learning Circle aims at letting students and faculty members experience another kind of education. At the 2014 FutureLab the initiative COMMIT (Change of Management-education and Methods in Teaching) was born out of this Learning Circle. COMMIT works towards following vision: institutions that provide the space and learning environment to enable students to follow their passion, develop their own ideas. Currently the COMMIT-team is working on the oikos Summer School in Tbilisi on the topic “Education for a Better World”.
The sessions at the FL are designed to be bottom-up. The goal is to prove that students are able to facilitate learning sessions and thus the relationship between faculty members and students need to change. So most of the action will be done by the participants and the managers will just give some guidance and feedback. We look forward to find out what we’re capable of by ourself and in a team! You can find out more about here: http://www.commitnow.org.

https://oikos-international.org/programmes/action-learning/learning-circles/

Photo retrieved from http://www.learningcircles.eu/en/

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oikos International

posted August 4, 2016

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We Welcome Our New oikos Associate Working on Sustainability and the Digital Economy

Hello everybody!

I am Christoph the new oikos Associate and I am working on the topic of Digital Economy (DE). First of all I want to thank oikos and Engagement Migros for giving me this opportunity to work on this very interesting topic.

The most important task to understand, if you are working in this field, is that you have to FOCUS in certain areas, because there are so many different directions you can take. If you are not doing this, first of all you will lose yourself in too many topics and secondly you absolutely gain no deep knowledge in this areas.
So I think the most interesting topics are Internet of Things (IoT), Sustainability + Rebound Effect, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Retailing + Mobility and I will focus my research in these areas (but they could change over the next 6 months). I will also organize a workshop at the FutureLab 2016 on the topic DE and Education: What changes are needed?
If you have any interesting papers, articles, etc. about DE and/or on of the above topics, I am very happy if you can share them with me (christoph.rappitsch@oikos-international.org).

To keep you all updated about my work I will include my progress in the monthly newsletter and you can also follow me on Twitter (@rappitsch11), where I tweet interesting facts and articles about DE.

Cheers,

Christoph

Photo retrieved from https://www.jitterbit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/digital-economy-1.jpg

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oikos International

posted August 3, 2016

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UN PRME and oikos Survey For Students Shows First Results

The United Nations Supported Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) and Associate Professor Debbie Haski-Leventhal from Macquarie Graduate School of Management (MGSM), with the contribution of oikos, have collaborated for the third time in conducting an international study on business students around the world and their attitudes towards responsible management education and corporate social responsibility (CSR). The previous studies, conducted in 2012 and 2014 revealed a growing interest and support among students towards these issues, but the current study demonstrates an even higher demand among students towards responsible management education.

Nearly 1800 students responded to the online survey, mainly from Brazil, India, the US, Spain, Canada, Mexico and Australia. 46% of the respondents were females and the average age was 27. For the first time, this round included undergraduate students (31%) and 37% were doing their MBA. About 1 in 4 students were already working in a managerial position.

In general, the students were satisfied with the level of education they received in the area of CSR and ethics. 59% reported to have been educated about business ethics to good/excellent degrees (with 55% saying the same thing about CSR, and 43% on sustainability). 38% were educated on social entrepreneurship, 42% on responsible marketing, 36% on human rights and 35% on the Sustainable Development Goals. While it is not the majority of the students, these results are on the rise. 40% of the students felt well equipped to apply the above knowledge in real life. However, 45% of the students felt their schools are not doing enough in this area and 28% wanted their school to teach them more about these topics, particularly around ethics and environmental sustainability.

When asked about how their business schools should do so, the following percentages of students agreed or strongly agreed with the following items:

All business students should study business ethics 79%
All business students should study environmental sustainability 76%
My business school should teach us more about the Sustainable Development Goals and the role of business in achieving them 75%
My school should encourage students to have a critical analysis of all teaching they receive 71%
My business school should bring in ethics and corporate responsibility experts and leaders as guest speakers 70%
My business school should integrate ethical, social and environmental themes into the core curriculum 68%
My School should “walk the talk” and demonstrate responsible management, sustainable campus, social inclusion etc. 68%
All business students should study CSR 68%
My teachers should introduce more applicable case studies on social responsibility, sustainability and ethics 67%
My school should collaborate more with businesses to achieve responsible management education 65%
My business school should provide students with internships related to corporate responsibility / sustainability 62%
No changes are required in the area of responsible management education 27%
There is too much emphasis on responsible management in my business education 26%
My business school should only teach us how to maximise shareholder value 24%

As can be seen from the above table, most students agree that all business students should study business ethics whereas only 24% would agree with Milton Friedman that the only responsibility of a business is to maximise profit and therefore their business education should only focus on this.

In addition, the students had strong attitudes towards CSR . 80% agreed that ‘social responsibility and profitability can be compatible’. 77% agreed and strongly agreed that ‘Companies should do a lot more for society and the environment’ and that ‘The overall effectiveness of a business can be determined to a great extent by the degree to which it is ethical and socially responsible’. On the other hand, 67% disagreed and strongly disagreed that ‘The most important concern for a firm is making a profit, even if it means bending or breaking the rules’.

Thinking about their future, it was important for most students (92% with 16% saying it was absolutely essential) to work for an employer that is socially and environmentally responsible. Students were willing to sacrifice high levels of their future salaries to work for employers who care about their employees, the community, the environment and ethics. When asked about working for employers who exhibit all four aspects, 19.2% of business students were willing to sacrifice more than 40% of their future salary to work for such an employer.

Associate Professor Debbie Haski-Leventhal says that the findings of the third MGSM-PRME study demonstrate very strongly the growing demand for responsible management education. Many businesses are shifting their focus towards responsibility and sustainability and it is time that business schools would do the same. This would not only meet the expectations of business students and future business leaders, but would also assure that business schools walk the talk and contribute to a better society. One of the most important findings are that students show a strong desire to work for genuinely responsible and sustainable companies, to a point where they are willing to sacrifice high amounts of money to do so. Companies that want to attract educated, responsible and purpose-driven staff, should assure high levels of responsibility and communicate this to prospective employees.

Written by Debbie Haski-Leventhal

Photo retrieved from http://careerbuilder.com.sg/press-releases/articles/2014-jobscentral-learning-rankings-survey

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oikos International

posted August 3, 2016

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Increase your imp!act and take a LEAP before the oikos FutureLab

Great news for all FutureLab enthusiasts who want to prolong their stay in beautiful St. Gallen! There are several ways in which you can spend the days leading up to the oikos FutureLab in November:

    • All active oikos members may apply to participate in the LEAP Advanced track. The Advanced Meeting will be held in Speicher (close to St. Gallen) on November 2nd to 4th.  It is the beginning of an intensive year-long journey, during which you will be continuously challenged as a leader. Webinars, coaching sessions, written reflections and another meeting prior to the Spring Meeting 2017 will be awaiting you. Find more information on the Advanced Track and on how to apply here.
    • All oikos Chapters may send one representative (generally the Chapter President) to the LEAP Intermediate Meeting on the 4th – 6th of November in Speicher (close to St. Gallen). This Meeting will be the kick-off  a 9-months learning journey, allowing participants to challenge and reflect on themselves and their values, and enabling them to practice their leadership skills in their Chapters. More information here: www.oikos-international.org/leap
    • Parallel to the oikos LEAP intermediate Meeting, oikees who do not attend LEAP Intermediate Meeting are invited to take part in an euforia Training Program, held exclusively for them in St Gallen. This eTP (click for info, fees and registration details), designed by the Swiss organisation Euforia, is an interactive 2.5 days workshop that supplying participants with the skills and knowledge to launch an imp!act event in their home town. The eTP will take place from 4th to 6th of November  in St. Gallen. This event is organised by oikos Vienna members.

To close off the oikos week it will of course be time for the FutureLab on November 7th and 8th. The FutureLab this year is entitled #WalkTheTalk and we are all eager to learn more about how others walk their talk and share our own journeys towards integrating sustainability in economics and management. Do not miss out! All the information can be found here: www.oikos-international.org/futurelab

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oikos International

posted August 2, 2016

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