Businesses are a responsible lot – at least, they are supposed to be. The current age of troublesome progress, if it may be called so, has only underlined the sort of behavior expected out of businesses. That businesses hold a fair share of social responsibility can not be denied, for the simple reason that businesses are powerful – and with great power comes great responsibility.

It is this trend that is also reflecting on those institutes that make business managers and leaders out of aspirants – the Business Schools. The initial voices of concerns around ethical management and business ethics were brought to the fore with the notorious Enron Scandal that rocked corporate America. The voices have, since then, only grown louder with every passing day and with every new incident that has shook the belief systems that were kept intact hitherto. While problems like the dot com bubble may not be attributed to business ethics or the lack of it and these are reflections of the intrinsic risks of business, the current economic recession and the burning issue of global warming are stark reminders of what is expected out of businesses in way of contributions to the society and efforts to alleviate social problems. Further, industry is said to be one of the chief contributors of global warming and climate change, as far as what science knows of the phenomenon is concerned.

B-Schools and CSR: Hence, it is only apt that Business Schools get into the picture to set things right. Increasingly, subjects that are in line with the issues of business ethics and social problems are being introduced into Business Schools to attune the attitude of future business managers to be sensitive towards them. Advances in science and technology in dealing with climate change apart, students need to be sensitised towards the need for having a clean environment and green businesses that do not exploit the earth’s resources for business needs and greed. This renewed focus on “Sustainability” is catching up with Business Schools around the globe, as businesses emphasise on being responsible, yet successful. And these programmes are being run in association with the corporate sector, which would make the students realise the practicalities of good corporate citizenship.

Businesses would stand to gain a lot with this new approach where Business Schools do not just teach corporate social responsibility through text book commentaries but also engage the students with the realities in business world. Leaders born out of this environment are more likely to make responsible decisions that would give due care to social expectations being met, along with business objectives being achieved.