IMD business school for management and leadership courses
Center for Sustainable and Inclusive Business
The Center for Sustainable and Inclusive Business combines research, innovation, and learning to drive sustainable business transformation. It is financially supported by the Adolf H. Lundin Charitable Foundation, Rio Tinto, and IMD.
Through our academic papers, case studies, and frameworks, we share actionable insights on sustainable business, social innovation, and philanthropy to support business leaders in managing sustainability successfully.
In 2023, the dentsu Group joined the consortium of funding partners and Goutam Challagalla was appointed dentsu Group Chair in Sustainable Strategy and Marketing. His primary research objective is to formulate comprehensive indicators that effectively measure the sustainability transformation of companies.
We also welcomed new research fellow Esther Salvi and two new senior research writers, Adrian Dellecker and Bryony Jansen.
Julia Binder, Director of the Center and Professor of Sustainable Innovation and Business Transformation was shortlisted for the 2023 Thinkers50 Strategy Award in recognition of her work on sustainable innovation.
The strengthening of our team will allow us to accelerate our commitment to academic research and thought leadership, particularly in areas such as circular business models, managing and measuring sustainability success, business and biodiversity, inclusive growth, sustainability strategy, stakeholder engagement, and civic wealth creation.
IMD’s overall research output on the topic of sustainability flourished in 2023. Three of our I by IMD magazines focused on sustainable and inclusive business as well as social innovation as core themes. We also launched the Sustainability Toolkit, a series of practical guides developed to help leaders and organizations navigate shifting sustainability trends and priorities.
FT50 articles
I by IMD articles
Conference papers
Original cases
Other practitioner articles
The Sustainability Transformation issue of I by IMD
No organization can escape the need to transform to become more sustainable. The need to act is urgent. It calls for strong leadership, difficult decisions, and deep cultural change.
Developed in collaboration with the Center for Sustainable and Inclusive Business, in issue XI of I by IMD, we explored how to build sustainable organizations to succeed in turbulent times.
A winning case
Julia Binder, Professor of Sustainable Innovation and Business Transformation, and Heather Cairns-Lee, Affiliate Professor of Leadership, received the EFMD Case Writing Competition Award in the category Responsible Leadership for their case study “Carbon is the new calorie: Logitech’s carbon impact label to drive transparency in sustainability.”
Focusing on Logitech, a leading tech company that demonstrates a commitment to responsible leadership and sustainability, the case follows the journey of Prakash Arunkundrum, Head of Global Operations and Sustainability, and his team as they embark on an ambitious carbon-labeling initiative to support Logitech’s aspiration to become climate positive. The case highlights the multifaceted nature of realizing ambitious sustainability goals involving multiple stakeholders and the difficulties in building strong partnerships.
A ‘Highly Commended’ award
In 2023, IMD was recognized by the FT Responsible Business Education Awards. The awards celebrate ESG-minded schools with sustainability-focused curricula and low-carbon campuses, schools that have shown a willingness to address society’s and the environment’s pressing needs.
IMD was placed in the ‘Highly Commended’ category in recognition of how we integrate sustainability into all our activities. The MBA class COP simulation was also recognized for its unique approach to sustainability pedagogy.