9. Developing the Sustainability Mindset and Leadership

While much of the recent management literature supports teaching sustainability, little of it demonstrates the effectiveness of assignments in building a sustainability mindset. This chapter provides an illustration of how three business schools have effectively embedded assignments that encompass practical sustainability issues to act as catalysts in developing a sustainability mindset within students. Gustavson School of Business, Nottingham Business School, and Seattle Pacific University School of Business demonstrate that designing and embedding assignments that incorporate three distinct dimensions of thinking, being, and doing promotes increased emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and intellectual curiosity to students’ personal sustainability orientation. The three business schools utilize three different assignments to promote reflective practices and encourage transformational learning. The longer-term aim of these reflective assignments is to increase student awareness, which will drive behavioural changes into their everyday routines. The combination of increased awareness and behavioural change encourages a more responsible mindset, so that students can be more influential in promoting sustainable actions throughout their careers. The chapter ends with a list of questions that can be used with students by educators and coaches to increase reflective practices within their teaching.