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Imperial Business School’s event showcased female leaders driving sustainable investing, ESG innovation and long-term value creation.

Main image: Imperial Business School | Fergus Burnett

3 minute read

Alumni Blog: Ravi Varghese, Head of Sustainable Investing at a global asset management firm

Francesca Hoare — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 09:31:29 +0000

Alumni Blog: Ravi Varghese, Head of Sustainable Investing at a global asset management firm

Francesca Hoare Tue, 04/03/2025 - 09:31

4 March 2026 Alumni

Besnik Mustafa (Weekend MBA 2025)

After beginning his career at Finance Think, Besnik Mustafa went on to advise Members of Parliament in North Macedonia. He later joined Salience Consulting, gaining experience across multiple international markets.

27 February 2026 Alumni

Alumni Careers: Understanding imposter syndrome and career growth

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13 February 2026 Alumni

Alumni Careers: Helping Alumni Stay Visible and Valuable in the Age of Remote Work and AI

As the world of work continues to shift through the rise of remote working and rapid advances in AI, our careers consultants are increasingly supporting professionals who want to stay visible, valued, and strategically positioned.

20 February 2023

Alumni

If investors want businesses to clean up their act, they need a seat at the table. That’s according to Ravi Varghese, Head of Sustainable Investing at global asset management firm Epoch Investment Partners.

After seven years as an investment analyst, Ravi Varghese followed his interest in climate change by taking a role with Ceres, a sustainability organisation based in Boston. But he missed the cut and thrust of investment and went on to complete an MSc in Climate Change, Management & Finance at Imperial Business School in 2018.

“Imperial’s reputation at the intersection of science and technology and management really stood out, and its network has been incredibly helpful.”

Promoted at Epoch in New York after joining as an analyst in 2019, he is now in charge of environmental, social and governance (ESG) and, with his team, helps assess the implications of ESG issues for the firm’s portfolio of around 500 listed companies.

Dealing in controversy

Grappling with ethics is part of the job. Nothing, in his view, is off limits when it comes to applying the tools of ESG investing – from fossil fuels through to defence and Big Tech. “We don’t exclude any sectors; controversial industries are more likely to benefit from a thoughtful ESG approach.”

Investors had grown pessimistic about the prospects of hydrocarbons, he says, but when energy prices soared, many ESG investors found themselves without exposure to these pivotal companies.

“Some sectors have fallen out of favour, but we’ve always said these companies are central to the global economy and energy security and will continue to be so for the next 30 years,” he explains. “Many are making the transition to lower carbon energy, and we want to take part in that.”

It’s perfectly reasonable that the tech giants should be subject to scrutiny

Divesting from fossil fuels doesn’t reduce emissions, it simply shifts the ownership, “and if that ownership becomes opaque, it could make things worse.”

Big Tech, with its vast influence over societies and economies, is fraught with pitfalls for ESG investors, but can’t be ignored. “It’s perfectly reasonable that the tech giants should be subject to scrutiny,” he says. “As investors, we continue to think how we can be effective partners while challenging practices that could ultimately draw a backlash from society or regulators.”

If a client’s reputation is at stake, a company fails to reform or displays weak governance, then it may be time to depart. “One of the interesting things about ESG is that it merges the pragmatic reality of the corporate world with more complex issues around ethics and reputation.”

The growth of ESG

Even in the last three years, ESG has developed apace, says Ravi. “Not every asset manager had an ESG team then, which is very different today. ESG had to overcome a lot of scepticism… It means many things to many people, so definitions are important.”

In his role, Ravi often engages directly with companies to dive deeper into the detail around ESG performance, and he works closely with investment analysts in his company. Investor stewardship is another important pillar in ESG – increasingly, for instance, shareholders are asking businesses for plans to report and cut emissions and meet environmental and social targets. His team is also responsible for explaining the firm’s ESG philosophy to its clients.

Controversial industries are more likely to benefit from a thoughtful ESG approach

While formal qualifications aren’t a prerequisite for entering the ESG field, he’s grateful for the solid grounding delivered by his time at Imperial Business School.

“It gave me a foundation in climate science and the political, economic and technological tools for mitigating emissions. I think it really accelerated my ability to pursue this career. ESG is now being applied to so many different industries and asset classes, and it promises to be a really interesting journey.”

Ravi Varghese in brief

Completed the MSc in Climate Change, Management & Finance at Imperial Business School
Head of Sustainable Investing at global asset management firm
Worked as a senior associate at a non-profit organisation advocating for sustainability
Completed his undergraduate degree at Yale University

MSc Climate Change, Management & Finance

Programme

3 minute read

Alumni blog: Sales and Climate Change: towards a new ‘Green Commercial Way’

Francesca Hoare — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 09:31:29 +0000

Alumni blog: Sales and Climate Change: towards a new ‘Green Commercial Way’

Francesca Hoare Tue, 04/03/2025 - 09:31

4 March 2026 Alumni

Besnik Mustafa (Weekend MBA 2025)

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7 October 2021

Alumni

Multiple studies show that 97% or more of actively publishing climate scientists agree that: ‘Climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activities’.

There is no doubt that there are many initiatives at institutional and corporate level to increase awareness and actionable engagement in order to reverse this trend. The Paris Agreement, Katowice deal, many corporate reforms and announcements - these are positive actions towards this direction. However, for impact to happen, we need to reform the whole supply chain, from the way we produce, sell and serve, to the way we consume.

Apart from the institutional and corporate activation at central/global level, actionable engagement is needed at micro-level too. Whether it concerns individual responsibility, social groups and populations, operational functions etc. In relation to this, I will focus on Sales/Commercial:

Sales operations engage daily millions of employees, customers and consumers. This means that they significantly affect the environmental footprint, through their physical activation, operation and communication.
Sales act as an intermediary among businesses, customers and consumers. Which means that they communicate, influence and mobilise hundreds of millions of actions and decisions on a daily basis.

So, if businesses wish to mobilise a green commercial attitude fast and at a large scale, over and above their own social responsibility commitments and processes, they have a powerful weapon in their hands to do so: the Sales team and the greater Commercial organisation.

Here are a few examples of how I believe we can transform towards greener commercial ways:

Consumers and Shopper Insights

Learn about your consumers’ potential new green needs, and share with them the actions you have to taken towards a strong positive green impact. Soon, the world is going to be driven by circular economy and probably next to it we will see a new model in the demand side/consumption developing along the lines of consume ‘less, better, simpler and in a responsible way’. If so, then we will have to incorporate it within our consumer and shopper insights.

Coverage

This is key, because it is simple and instant. The daily coverage of the market, with millions of employees out in the field, affects the amount of greenhouse gases released by human activities (e.g. transportation, etc.).

This has to be changed and it can be done. By optimising the efficiency of the coverage plan towards new ecological measures, which can be added within the set of sales KPIs. The ‘coverage plan’ may have to change and/or the way we travel as well. AI, digital transformation and technology can act as powerful levers towards this end, as well as the revolution in the car industry which is changing the potential options for car and vehicle fleets.

IT tools

There are very strong developments in AI, digital, sales automation, big data, business analytics and other relevant topics being driven by technological revolution. This gives companies the opportunity to better understand their market. But also, to communicate with their customers and consumers in different and more direct ways than ever before.

The adoption of these technological developments by the Sales community at a large scale, can positively influence their ecological impact in relation to coverage, travelling, materials usage, promotion and communication.

Change Management

Due to the rapid technological developments, as well as the development of circular economy and its needs, a new model of ‘Sales Leader’ is required. In the future a successful Sales Leader will be someone who is able to see, not only the benefits of new technology and circular economy, but also to visualise and understand how these revolutions can redefine the way they conduct business and approach to route-to-market, market development, brand portfolio, organisational structures, consumer relations, innovation etc.

These leaders will be the ‘Angels of Change’ who will be able to lead from the front and influence the rest of commercial organisations towards these reforms. This means that particular focus has to be paid to change management training programs, processes and initiatives.

The adoption of these technological developments by the Sales community at a large scale, can positively influence their ecological impact in relation to coverage, travelling, materials usage, promotion and communication.

KPIs and Scorecard

Based on the above, along with the classic performance measures (quantitative and qualitative) the time has come to incorporate a set of green key performance indicators, with results reported on within the formal routine (month/quarter/annual) sales performance scorecards. Keep it simple. Make a green set of sales KPIs that makes sense, can be monitored and measured (SMART).

Sales Incentives, Trading Terms and Commercial Decisions

In order to mobilise the whole of your salesforce further and adopt enthusiastically the new ‘Green Commercial Way’, it is important to incorporate the above green KPIs within the salesforce bonus system. And also, in relation to the Value/Volume KPI scale of our salesforce bonus system and put more emphasis (financial remuneration) on green brands.

Of course, the same applies to special green incentives provided to customers, consumers and trade partners through trading terms and promotions. Finally, it would be very interesting to see this new green commercial attitude extended to important business decisions that Sales/Commercial leaders take. For example, they could begin to integrate relevant green commercial standards within their own decision-making process when selecting distributors in the market. This would mobilise the whole system even further and to a greater reach.

We should encourage Sales/Commercial organisations to become advocates, communicating to the rest of the market the power of our brands, unique selling proposals, promotions, best practices, advocacy programs and many others. They provide us with a powerful tool to communicate our environmental concerns and care to our customers, consumers and trade partners.

Key Takeaway

The latest U.N. report warns that: ‘The world has just over a decade to get climate change under control.’

Action at micro-level is key. And this has to be done fast and include the operational functions of businesses too. The time has come to embrace and adopt a new ‘Green Commercial Way’, which integrates the ecological dimension within the Objectives/Goals/Strategies/Measures set of the commercial organisation.

The companies that adopt this approach, will be the ones who will gain the respect of consumers and win at the point of purchase.

Programme

MSc in Management (MiM)

5 minute read

Alumni case study: Making sustainability accessible

Francesca Hoare — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 09:31:29 +0000

Alumni case study: Making sustainability accessible

Francesca Hoare Tue, 04/03/2025 - 09:31

4 March 2026 Alumni

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29 June 2021

Alumni

Ecofye is a climate action advisory that specialises in helping companies minimise their environmental impact and drive long-term competitive advantage. It was set up by Daniela Arroyo-Olson and Tiago Fachada, two entrepreneurs dedicated to saving the planet. They met while studying MSc Climate Change, Management & Finance at the Business School. Find out what they are doing to support SMEs with their sustainable goals, the launch of their new platform Ecofye+ and how you can join the green revolution today!

Our story

Our journey began back in 2019 when we saw there was a widespread awareness among businesses to take action against climate change, but not enough was being done to reduce environmental impacts and truly integrate sustainability into everyday business decisions.

There is still a great market pressure and demand for companies to become more sustainable and reduce their environmental impact. But it can be overwhelming to examine and analyse this effectively. And what does sustainability really mean? How can you measure it? To answer these questions requires the right expertise, and time to implement the required sustainable changes.

Given their limited resources, this problem is especially acute among SMEs. This discourages them from taking meaningful sustainability measures. But given SMEs make up 90% of the business landscape in the UK, there is great potential to deliver a shift in circularity, decarbonisation and social impact. We are passionate about supporting people to join the green revolution, so we decided to combine our expertise to help companies tackle their climate challenges and make a difference.

By improving our environmental impact can have real effect on our planet. That is why we are inviting everyone to join the race to net-zero as global leaders, governments and societies take important steps towards fighting climate change.

Ecofye maps out a company’s climate-related risks and opportunities to offer tailored and time efficient solutions, with the use of machine learning. We help companies find solutions that address the underlying causes of climate change. Our sustainability framework not only analyses SMEs sustainability performance but also to provide accurate solutions to accelerate climate action.

Future-proofing for sustainable business

We believe there's never been a more important time than now for companies to take action. And that wherever a company is on its journey, it is possible to achieve sustainability goals. Our mission at Ecofye is to support companies with this and help drive a long-term competitive advantage.

We recently launched the Ecofye + platform, with the aim of making sustainability accessible and affordable for all SMEs. It allows you to measure your sustainability performance for free via the platform and receive your sustainability score based on circular economy, emissions and social impact. You can also set sustainable target for your company, set a target road map, track your emission reduction and offset with real, trackable and certified carbon credits.

What's next for Ecofye

Although we are a young company we were delighted to be nominated as a top sustainability company in London 2021. Best Startup UK highlights small and medium enterprises from the UK to help them be recognised internationally. We can now look forward to offering environmentally impactful solutions to companies from all over the world.

Ecofye are currently being supported by Imperial’s Enterprise Lab, inspiring the next generation of student innovators and entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship

MSc Climate Change, Management & Finance

Programme

2 minute read

How climate change is making our health worse: Yahoo News quotes Professor Marisa Miraldo

Evie Burrows-Taylor — Mon, 20 Jan 2025 09:56:32 +0000

How climate change is making our health worse: Yahoo News quotes Professor Marisa Miraldo Evie Burrows-Taylor Mon, 20/01/2025 - 09:56

16 January 2025

Health

Finance and institutional resilience

Balancing climate ambition and energy security: The case for renewable acceleration in Indonesia

Milica Fomicov — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 12:14:02 +0000

Balancing climate ambition and energy security: The case for renewable acceleration in Indonesia

Milica Fomicov Wed, 15/01/2025 - 12:14

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21 July 2025

For a nation rich in natural sources for renewable power generation and with aggressive targets to decarbonise, Indonesia currently exploits just a fraction of its potential renewable power – could it accelerate the transition?

Indonesia harnesses just 0.3 per cent of an estimated 3.7 TW of potential renewable electricity. Yet the Southeast Asian nation has ambitions to slash its use of coal by 2040 – well ahead of a previous 2056 target. By then, the government aims to generate 75 GW of renewable energy, reaching climate neutrality by 2050 – a decade earlier than previously pledged.

These are highly ambitious targets for a nation reliant on coal for 67 per cent of power generation, compared to 12 per cent from renewables. Indonesia is the world’s fifth largest operator of coal fuelled electricity and seventh largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

But if the region’s largest economy can overcome barriers to adopting clean energy, could it become a trailblazer for other emerging economies in balancing energy security, economic growth and climate action?

Today, Indonesia’s energy sector requires not only hefty investment, but also radical reform.

These climate targets require an estimated 1.2 trillion USD by 2050 for clean energy generation, storage and transmission as per the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

But despite its vast potential, investment in renewables in Southeast Asia has been scant to date. Funds have poured into Vietnam, with Indonesia lagging, despite its huge potential. For every USD invested in Southeast Asian renewables, another goes into fossil fuels – well above levels of Latin America at 0.2 USD and China at 0.3 USD.

Huge investment is also required to modernise distribution grids and energy storage across the islands to meet growing demand. Many islands and remote communities would benefit from the creation of local microgrids

What are the barriers to renewable investment?

Spread across a huge archipelago of some 17,000 islands, Indonesia faces logistical and political hurdles as well as financial. Renewable energy is often far from where it’s most required by industry.

State owned energy utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) holds a monopoly over energy generation, transmission and distribution. While the grid – currently designed around central coal fired stations - needs to modernise, private investment is hampered by PLN’s control of licences even in locations where it doesn’t currently operate, but might do so in the future.

There is also a shortage of renewable procurement possibilities. Industrial consumers could potentially generate their own green power from localised renewables rather than relying upon the centralised grid. But such projects might be dispersed far across the archipelago, and investors are often deterred by small scale, distant projects.

While renewable energy technology has improved and prices have fallen, the cost of financing remains high, partly down to uncertainty over energy policy. This reluctance will continue as long as Indonesia’s existing subsidies on coal and gas continue to influence energy prices.

Huge investment is also required to modernise distribution grids and energy storage across the islands to meet growing demand. Many islands and remote communities would benefit from the creation of local microgrids, but again this is constrained by PLN’s control of operations.

Progress has also been slow from Indonesia’s Just Energy Transition Plan (JETP), unveiled in 2022, which targets 20 billion USD to help Indonesia cut emissions. Although the US has withdrawn as a partner, the remaining nine international partners maintain this won’t hinder commitment, although only a fraction of funds pledged have been disbursed to date.

Policy priorities – how to unlock Indonesia’s renewable energy

Indonesia’s existing subsidies for fossil fuels should be addressed to create a level playing field for renewable energy. Contracts with fossil fuel power plants are too inflexible and could be renegotiated to accelerate the move away from coal.

More efficient and transparent costing for renewables, assisted by improved clean energy auctions would benefit the market. New feasibility studies and the acquisition of land would help improve the pipeline of new renewables projects.

Better mechanisms for international finance and a healthy domestic finance market would help drive investment.

State utility PLN could press ahead with ‘power wheeling’ – allowing private companies to sell renewable electricity directly to corporate customers using state-owned transmission and distribution infrastructure. This could unlock private investment for renewables and accelerate their development, as well as generating income for PLN – access to renewable energy can help attract investment from major global firms.

Positive steps towards innovation

An innovative ‘de-dieselisation’ (or diesel replacement) programme is underway to help Indonesia’s islands shift to renewables - some 2,000 islands currently rely upon diesel or have no energy supply. Since 2022, PLN has begun replacing more than 5,000 diesel power plants with renewable energy with the aim of bringing reliable cheap and clean power to communities. A first wave saw solar power installed in 94 locations, enabled by private investment, and future sites will also use biomass and mini-hydro generation. Ultimately the project aims to deliver 265 MW of renewable energy and provide 1.1 million new and improved connections, as well as creating some 350,000 jobs.

Further positive steps have been identified in our Imperial Business School and IEA ASEAN renewables report, including a JETP supported pledge to accelerate the closure of coal power plants and the announced early closure of a plant in West Java scheduled for this year. New policy initiatives in motion such as the New and Renewable Energy Bill could pave the way for more private investment.

Collaboration among international investors, the Indonesian government and the private sector is critical – but this can’t happen without policies to open Indonesia’s energy sector to competition and level the playing field for renewables, ultimately creating a more diversified energy market.

Explore key findings

Access the paper by Milica Fomicov

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With vast untapped resources and bold climate goals, Indonesia stands at a crossroads in its clean energy transition

Main image: PCH-Vector / iStock via Getty Images Plus

4 minute read

Adapting to a changing climate: how businesses can mitigate physical environmental risks

Michael Wilkins — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 12:14:02 +0000

Adapting to a changing climate: how businesses can mitigate physical environmental risks

Michael Wilkins Wed, 15/01/2025 - 12:14

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23 June 2025

Global warming is causing sea levels to rise, heatwaves to increase in severity, and floods and storms to be more common. Rural areas are often perceived to bear the brunt of these physical impacts, but urban areas are not immune. Cities are likely to face major climate-related physical disruption in the near future. Impacts such as heatwaves and heavy rainfall may cost the UK, for example, as much as 1.5 per cent of GDP by 2045, according to estimates.

Planning and investment in adaptation is key in preparing for and mitigating this toll, including flood protection, nature restoration and green infrastructure. However, research shows that businesses could be underestimating investor losses from physical climate risks by as much as 70 per cent, rising to 82 per cent when extreme risks such as cyclones and floods are also taken into account.

Financing change

To address this issue, businesses need to be able to attract the requisite investment to fund climate adaptation projects. Blended finance mechanisms can help with this, combining public and private resources to reduce investor risk. Specific market instruments such as catastrophe bonds, environmental impact bonds and insurance premium incentives can also mitigate risk.

Similarly, grant funding can help to cover project development costs and protect against initial losses, while government guarantees can help to reduce perceived risks for investors. More radically, a switch to results-based financing may help to shift industry focus away from tokenistic actions and towards achieving specific adaptation outcomes.

Recent research from Imperial’s Centre for Climate Finance and Investment explores some of these approaches in detail. The research focuses on how climate adaptation and resilience measures can be financed to protect London and the UK from physical climate threats, including lessons from Copenhagen and Singapore.

Firms should be looking to integrate physical climate adaptation into their net-zero strategies, making it a shared responsibility across the C-suite.

First steps in adaptation

Currently, firms frequently rely on commercial risk assessments using corporate-level scoring systems. These lack transparency and are difficult to reproduce, and they tend to miss the crucial location-specific vulnerabilities that climate change is rapidly exacerbating.

Compounding the issue, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often lack the tools and information to effectively carry out more accurate assessments, or lack the management will to address an issue that sits beyond the typical risk management horizon of 3-10 years. Climate adaptation projects are also tricky to fund, being highly site-specific and resource-intensive.

Culturally too, there is an issue with how firms view adaptation. World Economic Forum research found that while 60 per cent of businesses see climate mitigation as a very high priority, only 27 per cent felt the same about climate adaptation. This suggests many view climate risk as a general social responsibility or business opportunity, rather than an immediate threat necessitating practical action.

Taking steps

As an initial step, switching from corporate risk scoring to asset-level damage assessments would help provide businesses a more accurate picture in terms of climate risk pricing, particularly when it comes to highlighting vulnerabilities specific to a particular site or area. The findings can then inform continuity, crisis and recovery plans for climate-related physical events, from water supply stresses to natural disasters.

More broadly, firms should be looking to integrate physical climate adaptation into their net-zero strategies, making it a shared responsibility across the C-suite. Businesses can support this approach by conducting capability audits to measure how well climate resilience is embedded throughout different parts of the organisation.

Following this process, single points of failure can be addressed through such actions as diversifying supply chains and delivery routes. At the same time, businesses can create contingency plans to support the safety, health and productivity of their workforces in case of specific failures or risks occurring, and look to partner with stakeholders to develop system-wide responses.

Policy support

Realistically, these steps are unlikely to take place at the required pace and scale without adequate policy support. Governments need to build on existing reporting requirements from the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, mandating the type of comprehensive climate risk assessments and plans discussed above.

The International Sustainability Standards Board provides a framework for this, but policymakers still have a key role to play in terms of ensuring that businesses substantively engage with adaptation planning, rather than treating it as an inconvenient compliance exercise.

To help with this, governments can stipulate penalties for non-cooperation and provide financial incentives, including targeted financial support for climate adaptation project development at the same level that already exists for climate mitigation work.

Policymakers can also help to scale projects by coordinating stakeholders to encourage collaboration, and by streamlining regulatory processes to support investment. The establishment of dedicated offices, such as the UK’s Regulatory Innovation Office, can help to reduce regulatory barriers to climate adaptation technologies.

Future outlook

Looking long-term, adaptation policies can be explicitly linked to economic growth objectives, highlighting how climate resilience supports economic development. This includes incorporating adaptation into industrial strategies and innovation policies, ensuring that climate resilience becomes a cornerstone of economic competitiveness rather than an additional burden.

This is crucial, given the urgent need for businesses, investors and policymakers to start viewing physical climate adaptation not just as a social responsibility or an investment opportunity, but as an existential threat.

Edited 23 June 2025: This article’s strapline was changed for accuracy and to better reflect the findings of the research.

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As physical climate risks intensify, new research from Imperial’s Centre for Climate Finance and Investment reveals how climate adaptation and resilience measures can be financed to protect businesses in London and the UK from these threats

Main image: Korakrich Suntornnites / iStock via Getty Images Plus

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How AI can guide educators in embedding sustainability into curriculum

Esther Canonico-Martin — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 12:14:02 +0000

How AI can guide educators in embedding sustainability into curriculum

Esther Canonic… Wed, 15/01/2025 - 12:14

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9 June 2025

As educators and as a university, we have an overarching responsibility to equip ��ý to become responsible members of society, who can contribute to a healthier, more inclusive world. Achieving this requires us to embed sustainability meaningfully into our learning and teaching.

However, academics often face significant barriers to achieving this, including time pressures, limited guidance on how to go about it, uncertainty about how sustainability relates to their discipline, or a narrow understanding of what sustainability entails.

And it’s important to note, in relation to this last point, that the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) make it clear that sustainability is a broad and interconnected concept. It extends beyond climate and biodiversity to include quality education, gender equality, reduction of inequalities, and more.

Beyond box-ticking: creating ‘aha’ moments

So, how can we truly integrate sustainability into learning and teaching at Imperial Business School? One starting point is through direct messaging – at student inductions or in programme introductions, for example – positioning sustainability as a core university value.

While useful, however, this approach can fall flat in a world saturated with sustainability messaging, where ��ý may experience ‘sustainability fatigue’. For this reason, instead of focusing on overt principles, we may actually be able to achieve greater impact by guiding ��ý towards making their own realisations – those ‘aha’ moments where a deeper understanding of sustainability clicks into place through the learning experience itself.

For example, in my own teaching, I ask management ��ý to complete personality tests and explore different conflict management styles. These activities expose ��ý to a range of valid approaches to work, helping them appreciate perspectives different from their own.

This kind of experiential learning fosters a deeper understanding of the value of individual differences in the workplace, highlighting how inclusion can enhance performance. It is an essential step towards reducing inequalities and promoting inclusion, which is directly related to sustainability.

To help educators to work in this way, however, we need to link sustainability with our learning outcomes. UNESCO offers a framework that maps the UN SDGs to learning outcomes, suggesting how to integrate them across programmes. But, even with this support, embedding a holistic approach to sustainability takes time and effort, particularly at the outset.

A framework for deeper integration

This is where generative AI tools can be useful, enabling academics to map and audit programme content for alignment with the UN SDGs. That said, generative AI has its limits. It can only interpret what's explicitly stated in the content, often missing subtler connections.

In the teaching situation I discussed earlier, for example, activities such as completing personality assessments and exploring different conflict management styles can help ��ý develop awareness of individual differences, which is a crucial step towards inclusion and reducing inequalities. However, AI platforms would likely not flag them as sustainability-related, in spite of the fact that they absolutely are, aligning directly with UN SDGs focused on equality and inclusion.

To address this, as the UNESCO framework suggests, we should consider learning outcomes at three levels: cognitive, socio-emotional and behavioural. In other words, ��ý must first understand sustainability concepts, then connect with them personally, and ultimately apply them in practice.

In my own practice, I still use generative AI platforms as a support tool. I begin by identifying key areas of my module with shared learning goals. Then, I ask the AI to suggest relevant UN SDGs and map them to learning outcomes across the cognitive, emotional and behavioural domains. This produces a more accurate, nuanced audit of sustainability in my teaching, helping to reinforce a broader, more integrated view of what sustainability really means.

This approach is, hopefully, a first step toward a future where sustainability is an intrinsic part of all teaching at Imperial Business School, supported by technology and grounded in deeper understanding. It may require incentives, such as recognition for good practice, but momentum is already growing towards making sustainability a natural part of how we teach and learn.

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