TRAINING SUSTAINABLE MANAGERS: A THEORETICAL-PRACTICAL DISCUSSION

Abstract

There is much talk in the media (newspapers, magazines, internet, television) about the intense need for companies to hire managers with sustainable perspectives. The United Nations (UN) established a set of initiatives for the period between 2005 and 2014, aimed at promoting sustainable development. The UN initiatives in this “Decade of Education for Sustainable Development” seek to provide a correct perception of socio-environmental issues, and thus, foster attitudes and behaviors favorable to building a future in which the interests of society – including future generations – are considered. In this same sense, there is a growing number of organizations that have communicated their efforts to become more sustainable, a fact evidenced by the growing number of sustainability reports produced in recent years.

Another indicator of business dynamism is the result of a survey conducted by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) with presidents of the 1,000 largest organizations, which found that 89% of those interviewed believe that sustainability will be an important issue in the next three years, and 87% say that sustainability is important for the company's profits. Young people have also shown great interest in sustainability. The MTV Young Universe Dossier – launched on 09/09/08 – shows that among the main behavioral trends among young people (12 to 30 years old) is an interest in issues related to environmental preservation and sustainable development. Among students and graduates of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), there is also a notable appreciation of the topic. In a survey conducted by the Regional Council of Administration of São Paulo (CRA-SP) in 2002, 86% of young people stated that they were very interested in the topic.

Young people have also shown great interest in sustainability. Among students and graduates of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), there is also a growing appreciation for the topic. In a survey conducted by the Regional Council of Administration of São Paulo (CRA-SP) in 2002, 86% of young people stated that they were very interested in the topic. In the United States, 75% of students in the most prestigious MBA programs stated that they were willing to accept salaries that were 10-20% lower in “greener” companies. This discrepancy is echoed outside the country. One of the demands raised at the meeting was precisely the difficulty that companies have in finding young professionals capable of articulating solutions focused on corporate sustainability. The complexity of training future business administrators is fundamentally based on the inadequacy of the knowledge acquired through the courses taken in the face of the challenges of reality.

There is much talk these days about sustainable development, sustainable growth, economic sustainability, sustainable business, ecological sustainability, sustainable marketing, and so on. However, most of these managers did not receive such training during their undergraduate studies. In this sense, some questions begin to arise about the training of sustainable managers, that is, about how they actually arrived at the concept of sustainable management and what their contact with sustainable aspects was.

Based on the above fact, this work aimed to clarify the means through which an ordinary citizen becomes a manager or leader with a mindset focused on sustainability. Given the clear role of education in the formation of the individual, this work also sought to address the role of education and academic training on the citizen, especially on the citizen responsible for the environment. It was also considered important to address sustainable development, what it is, where it came from and how it is applied in the world and in Brazil, a role that this work also proposed, albeit modestly.

To achieve these objectives, this work drew on the opinions of renowned authors regarding sustainability, sustainable companies and responsible leaders, using extensive bibliographical research, in order to present the points on which these authors converge and the points on which they disagree in relation to the studied topic.

The structure of this monograph consists of this Introduction, three chapters and Final Considerations. Chapter 1 sought to clarify and discuss the concept of Environmental Management. Chapter 2 addressed Environmental Legislation, finally arriving at Chapter 3, which discusses the training of managers. This final chapter necessarily led to a brief discussion of educational legislation, which indicates the rights and duties of students, schools, managers and competent bodies that have the duty to provide dignified conditions for access to education.