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In the fight against climate change, African business schools can play a central role in training leaders to think and act differently about the crisis, writes Jon Foster-Pedley.
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With climate change-related weather phenomena are making headlines almost daily, the global conversation has moved from the possibility of climate change to the reality of climate breakdown and collapse.
And, as the catastrophic Libyan floods show all too clearly, Africa's open wounds of widespread poverty, food insecurity, infrastructure degradation, and ongoing conflict mean it's the continent most vulnerable to the devastating effects of the shifting climate.
Additionally, Africa's generally low adaptive capacity and the questionable strength of its institutions, economies, and governance structures to intervene effectively compound each of these challenges. If the continent wants to not just get through the coming decades but change gears on progress, the time for business-as-usual has passed.
Alongside the global push to decarbonise our economies, we will have to face the hard conversations and build more activist approaches to redressing inequalities and bolstering our continent's capacity to deal with change.
It's a mammoth task, and no one is going to do it for us. We will need really good leaders at all levels to show the way. This means that as the institutions that train and develop managers and leaders - business schools need to be preparing to light their torches.
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Moving from overwhelm to action
Right now, African leaders are being buffeted by an overwhelming range of interconnected social, economic, and environmental concerns. As such, it's maybe not surprising that many, like rabbits in the headlights, are ill-prepared for what's coming.
The International SOS's Risk Outlook 2023 report shows that around 42% of African businesses have not sufficiently accounted for climate change in their health and security plans. Many have no plans at all.
But here's the rub. As part of the broader social ecosystem, businesses cannot hope to enjoy the benefits of operating in a vibrant and thriving economy in the future unless they act to help build that society. Managing the tension between growth and sustainability is likely to become an increasingly delicate balancing act with small margins that will require a nuanced and multifaceted skill set, and an ability to work with partners in the private and not-for-profit sectors to combine resources and harness technology and innovations to meet shared problems.
The good news is that they don't have to do it alone. To support this radical shift, business schools around the world are gearing up to support leaders and managers to think and act differently. And we ourselves are changing the way we think and act in the process, setting aside traditional rivalries to build collaborative frameworks to support climate action rather than focusing only on individual achievements.
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At COP26, several of Europe's best universities grouped together to create an alliance, Business Schools for Climate Leadership (BS4CL), to drive a renewed focus on climate leadership. And with Africa in focus at COP27 in Cairo, the Alliance expanded with a new African chapter to leverage the breadth and depth of African scholarship and business leadership development to target contextually sensitive ways to fight climate change.
A mantle of trust
Aside from our proximity to and influence on the next generation of leaders, there's another reason why business schools and other institutions of learning are in a unique position to mobilise for the fight against climate change; we are trusted to be able to do so.
According to the 2022 Edelman trust barometer special report, 71% of people surveyed want faster action on climate change, but they don't trust governments to be able to do what's right. Universities and research institutions, including business schools, by contrast, possess a noteworthy trust advantage. We cannot, must not, abuse this.
As a bridge between the power players and society, business schools have a duty to advance widespread systems change and influence the adoption of relevant policies to drive action on the continent.
There are four essential components to ensure that this public trust translates into meaningful action that builds sustainable value in Africa.
First, business schools must move out of their "comfort zone," recognising that they have an increasingly practical role to play in society. Academic rigour should remain sacrosanct, but professors, lecturers, and students can also be role models for ideas and action, shaping how African leaders understand their role in the future.
Second, it is no good to change your approach to teaching without interrogating the content you teach. It is time to critically assess business school curricula to weave in relevant case studies and the latest climate science and address the radical shift in leadership required to safeguard sustainability and mitigate the biggest climate concerns.
This will have a butterfly effect: Mark Smith from Stellenbosch Business School believes that if students can "be equipped with the right climate-related skills, their impact will be significant through the organisations in which they work".
Third, centralised monoliths of learning will not spread impact far and wide. Business schools need to find ways to propagate research centres beyond their ivory towers, empowering credible research and action within local communities. In the future, business schools will move from simply educating executives to being hubs of innovation, with spokes extending to robust climate policies and sound execution.
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Finally, and perhaps most importantly, business schools must focus on outputs. Quick wins are crucial for gaining momentum. Collaborating with like-minded African business schools will attract participation in shared webinars, hackathons, modules, and projects and leverage capital-intensive technologies across borders. Live Ubuntu – I am because we are.
In this, I challenge my fellow African deans and directors – who are literally situated in the eye of this climate change storm – to pick up this mantle of trust with serious intent. Let's not sidestep our positions of influence or stay in the world of academic commentary; rather, let's invest in understanding the impact and extent of the problem and sow the seeds for provocation and change – and ultimately, hope – throughout the continent.
We must stare into our fears. It is not an exaggeration to state that our future well-being and the well-being of generations yet unborn depends on our ability to do things differently; we need to act fast and act together. If we truly believe in ourselves and our significance, we will read, we will listen, we will think – and ultimately, we will teach fearlessly and hopefully.
Jon Foster-Pedley is the dean and director of Henley Business School Africa and chair of the African Association of Business Schools. This article is an extract of ideas in a new whitepaper published by Henley Business School in association with BS4CL-Africa: Climate action: an existential priority for African business schools.
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