Sustainability

Some of our recent sustainability work includes:

Teaching

• A Social and Environmental Sustainability specialism is available on each of our MBA programmes to provide our students with the necessary skills to manage sustainably and support an organisation to achieve social and environmental goals, whether they take on a sustainability-specific role or work in a different function.
• A range of sustainability related elective modules are available across our offering. Examples include Global Business Strategy and Sustainability (Undergraduate); Succeeding in a Sustainable Future (Master’s); Profit, Impact and Purpose (Master’s); Creating Sustainable Organisations (MBA).
• A new MSc course in Accounting & Sustainability has been launched for 2025 entry, to equip students with the skills, knowledge and practical experience to give themselves an edge in a  rapidly developing job market as the world of business works to confront the grand challenges of sustainable development.
• The launch of a Carbon Modelling Power BI dashboard and subsequent analysis by our in-house Data Team has led to important curriculum changes to reduce carbon emissions, such as choosing EU trips over international travel.

Research

• A total of £2.73 million has been awarded in research grants, for ESG and sustainability research since 2020. This includes a grant of £1,129,377 to Dr Katharina Dittrich, Associate Professor of Organisation Studies, awarded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) for her project titled ‘Management insights for tackling grand challenges: the case of climate-related financial risks in the financial investment industry’.
• Our academics have published more than 60 sustainability research papers since 2020/21. These include ‘Real effects of climate policy: financial constraints and spillovers’ (Professor Söhnke Bartram, Journal of Financial Economics), ‘The geopolitics of energy system transformation: a review’ (Dr Mathieu Blondeel and Professor Michael Bradshaw, Geography Compass), and ‘”How do I carry all this now?": understanding consumer resistance to sustainability interventions’ (Professor Jorgen Sandberg, Journal of Marketing).
• A staff Sustainability Research Forum was launched to aid the development of sustainability-oriented research at WBS. This aids the sharing of best practice, knowledge, and resources across the faculty groups at the School. The Forum also invites guest speakers from other institutions and industry bodies to showcase their research, with previous speakers from the Bank of England, the University of Bologna, and Saïd Business School.

Operations

• Energy usage in the main WBS building has been reduced, with circa 12.4kgCO2e saved in 2022/23, equating to circa 60,000kWh. This was achieved through a change in operational hours (from 24 hours a day, to 6am - midnight), temperature controls, and an enhanced energy tracking system.
• We have continued to operate in a hybrid manner and several annual meetings which were previously conducted face-to-face have remained virtual, including the Board of Examiners meetings. This has reduced transport to campus and has also reduced unnecessary printing of documents.
• Catering for the School’s London base at The Shard is ordered through Eden Catering, who are committed to environmental responsibility. 70% of their food is vegan or vegetarian, none of their waste goes to landfill, and they use local suppliers. For every fifth qualifying order, Eden plants a native broadleaf tree to reduce their carbon footprint. For WBS catering orders placed between August 2023 and August 2024, 25 trees were planted at Chilton Manor Farm in Hampshire. Food in the main WBS café is managed by Warwick Food Group. Sustainability initiatives include the removal of all single-use plastic, with discounts for those who bring their own re-usable cups, composting of coffee grounds, and mystery food bags - where staff and students can buy and collect unsold food, at a discounted price - to help reduce food waste.