INSEAD at UN Global Compact 20th Anniversary Leaders Summit and Virtual PRME Global Forum

In line with the opening of the 75^TH session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 75) on Tuesday, 15 September 2020, we look back at INSEAD’s 2020 involvement in driving responsible business education, in hope of empowering a generation of leaders that will strive for solutions to help the world recover from the economic and social crises, while building a sustainable future for all.

The United Nations Global Compact is the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world and an initiative of the UN Secretary-General. To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the UN Global Compact and PRME, or Principles for Responsible Management Education, hosted two major education and business sustainability events. We were fortunate to join this celebration and proud to announce that our Dean Ilian Mihov has been selected to serve as the Chair of UN PRME.

At the first event, the UN Global Compact 20th Anniversary Leaders Summit, thousands of international leaders came together to discuss solutions that make business active in helping societies recover after the global economic and social crisis caused by the global health emergency. Dean Mihov participated in a plenary discussion on ‘Redefining SDG Leadership in a Post-COVID-19 World’ with Lise Kingo, former CEO and Executive Director of UN Global Compact; Clarke Murphy, CEO of Russell Reynolds Associates; and Jim Hagemann Snabe, Chairman of Siemens and Mærsk. Focusing on how to empower a new generation of leaders that embody the right set of values and principles to transform our world, Dean Mihov proposed that the next generations of leaders should be given three things to thrive – knowledge and tools to transform existing models, networks to cooperate and coordinate on global challenges and a new normal defined by inclusivity, sustainability and opportunity.

The next event, the Virtual PRME Global Forum, followed the Leaders Summit and brought together more than 1000 people from all over the world for a two-day virtual conference on responsible business education. The forum explored major themes on the issue, with a special focus this year – resilience and adapting to global health and social and economic crises. Key topics of the conference included:

• The role of business and management education in the Decade of Action
• Future-proofing and adapting business and management education to address global challenges
• The value of sustainability-focused education in building competencies for the future

One big news announced at the Forum was the new PRME Board and Chair. For INSEAD, this was a point of pride, as our Dean was elected to serve as the new Chair of the PRMEBoard. The Forum opened with an introduction of the new Board structure and strategy, as well as the role of business schools in the Decade of Action towards the UN SDGs. Mette Morsing, Head of PRME, mentioned that “the goal of PRME is to nurture responsible leaders and never has this been so important than this time of crisis”.

She then passed the microphone to Ms. Sanda Ojiambo, incoming Executive Director and CEO of UN Global Compact. She echoed what our Dean has been saying even before the COVID-19 crisis – we live in a time of unprecedented challenges but unprecedented opportunities. This crisis offers the chance to train our eyes on the lessons learned and highlights the responsible business management and leadership practices that can shape management education and business leadership. “It is clear to me that we need a massive global movement towards responsible business. We need to engage future leaders of the world and demonstrate that sustainable, inclusive business is a good business”.

Dean Mihov took the opportunity to thank the UN Global Compact, underscoring the need to work with the Board and with Mette Morsing to transform management education. He noted that the goal of developing responsible leaders for today and tomorrow requires involvement by management schools across the globe. He also mentioned that a few more members might join the Board, welcoming more perspectives and fresh ideas as the work of the PRME moves forward. Explore the complete list of Board members here.

He then introduced the Key Strategic Priorities of the PRME Board:

Dean Mihov then gave a short presentation on business as a force for good and the approach to business he brings to the PRME Board. He noted that even though economic growth and job creation have lifted many people out of poverty, this narrow view of business as a force for good will not serve moving forward. Our current economic system has also created extreme inequality, led us into climate crisis and perpetuated racial and gender injustices. In the past 12 months, we have heard from many voices calling to reset capitalism, including notable publications such as in Financial Times and organizations such as the World Economic Forum.

Dean Mihov said, “We need to take a broad view of business as a force for good.Value creation must account for the impacts that the decisions we make as business leaders have on society and the environment. We need to change our mindset and create new norms, and SDGs offer a great framework for this. As academics and business leaders, it is important that our students understand the role of business in securing a sustainable future”.

Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO, continued speaking about the role of education during times of crisis and “the world after”. She highlighted that the long history of collaboration of UNESCO and PRME has established a strong working relationship that can promote a sustainable recovery. “COVID-19 has amplified so many inequalities such as access to the internet, technology and other resources. Education must not only be an integral piece of recovery, it has to set the course for a paradigm shift. We need to build resilience and sustainable business models at a global scale. Business schools and higher education can lead this transformation by developing leaders who put human well-being, environmental sustainability and poverty eradication at the centre of their work.”

The event continued with discussions, a fireside chat featuring INSEAD Hoffmann Global Institute for Business and Society Advisory Board Member Paul Polman and a keynote speech by University of MichiganProfessor of Sustainable Enterprise Andy Hoffman on “Reexamining Management in Anthropocene Society: A Call for Systems Change”. With the new UN PRME Board, strong partnerships with UNESCO and so many leading voices calling for change, this event and the Global Leaders Summit inspire confidence that a sustainable recovery is possible. We just have to work together to make it happen.