ABSTRACT
WHY STUDY SUSTAINABILITY IN A BUSINESS SCHOOL? This is a legitimate question for an undergraduate or master’s-level student who has chosen his/her specific discipline within business and is finishing all course requirements in anticipation of graduation and impending employment. The principal answer to this question and the message of this book is fourfold: (1) there is a significant probability that within the next decade or two at most, the national and international business environment will be radically different from today; (2) this may be, in no small part, because of the enormous ecological challenges facing the globe and the feedback effects they have on our economic systems; (3) by necessity, issues of sustainability will be central to the strategic decision making of mid-sized and major corporations; and (4) any middle-level or senior manager unfamiliar with the issues, both theoretical and empirical, will be placing themselves and their firms at a serious competitive disadvantage.
