SUSTAINABILITY IMPACT THROUGH LEARNING
We encourage our community to “take the leap”. These are leaps in understanding, leaps in progress, leaps in their careers and leaps in the impact they have. We give them the platform they need to leap from.
Because when our students, participants and alumni move forward and create impact, they inspire others to take that leap too.
This means we have a responsibility to place sustainable business practice at the heart of our teaching. Some of our programmes and courses have been designed specifically to address sustainability topics. Many others have a golden thread of sustainability running through them.
Measuring the impact of teaching sustainability
We systematically quantify the long-term effect our sustainability teaching has. We track the number of participant days spent learning about sustainability – across all of our programmes.
Promoting sustainability through our degree programmes
We want our Masters students and MBA participants to be empowered to create positive impact. So we’ve created courses and assignments to support this. Some of our programmes have a very specific sustainability focus. Our Masters in International Management & Strategy and our European Executive MBA are great examples of this.
All our Masters and MBA programmes contain dedicated ESG courses – and sustainability is embedded in other courses. All programmes have a course on sustainability – either in a broad sense, or tailored to a specialism.
All full-time students complete a course on diversity and inclusion. This includes an action project which involves putting forward a concrete idea to foster diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
MASTERS IN INNOVATION & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Course: Intrapreneurship and responsible innovation
Most companies want to become sustainable. But how do they get there? Innovation can be an answer – but it can also create products that will eventually end up as landfill. So how do you innovate sustainably?
This course is part of our Masters in Innovation & Entrepreneurship – and through simulations and interactions with certified B Corp directors and start-up CEOs – it inspires students to approach R&D sustainably.
Course: Leading in a diverse world (Full-time MBA)
Course: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion track (Masters)
In this self-paced course, we encourage students to open their minds, reflect on their own beliefs and behaviours – and respect and work across difference.
Students learn DEI concepts and put them into practice through team discussions and individual assignments. The course ends with a project which challenges students to create approaches that improve diversity and inclusion in their own groups.
MASTERS IN INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT & STRATEGY
Course: Strategic Management of Sustainability
Once upon a time, sustainability was a nice to have. Now it’s a must for the long-term survival of businesses – which places it at the heart of strategy.
This course discusses, explores and clarifies the different dimensions of strategic corporate sustainability. And it does it through the lens of global reporting initiatives.
It equips students with the knowledge and approaches to become a responsible manager – with in-depth understanding of the role of ESG in strategy, finance, rewards and ethics.
EUROPEAN EXECUTIVE MBA
In 2023 we launched the European Executive MBA.
The MBA is taught in a mixture of online, classroom and visits. The MBA includes trips to six hubs of sustainability innovation, where participants learn on site about best European practice. For example, the module on Sustainable Finance explores the valuation of sustainability, sustainable investments, carbon markets and accounting – and sustainable macro strategies.
All participants can take part in a Global Social Project, where they consult on a real business challenge for an NGO. And throughout the programme, there is a focus on sustainable options for travel and accommodation.
Assignments with positive impact
Several of our courses include company assignments that are directly or indirectly linked to ESG topics. For example, on a strategy course, there is a three-day challenge that tackles water scarcity. Students can also do in-company projects with NGOs and social profit organisations.
VLERICK STUDENTS CREATE STRATEGY TO TURN WASTE PLASTIC INTO SUSTAINABLE GOODS
River Cleanup is a charity set up by Vlerick alumnus Thomas de Groote. He now welcomes our degree students into his organisation so they can take their own leap.
Our students lead projects for the charity – such as consulting on transforming discarded plastics into useful, sustainable products.
Thomas says: “I found Vlerick to be ahead of the curve when it came to teaching sustainability. Balancing profit with sustainability was an important lesson for me – and keep in mind this was long before it was cool to be green!”
“Now I welcome motivated, smart and dedicated students who get really involved in our mission. Their work has proved to be very helpful in terms of the future growth of our non-profit.”
Promoting sustainability through our executive programmes
We’re delighted to welcome professionals from a wide range of sectors and disciplines to our executive education programmes. And we’re proud to offer customised programmes for some of Europe’s most inspirational companies.
Sustainability-focused open programmes
We currently have three open programmes that focus entirely on sustainability. These are:
TAKE THE LEAD IN SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT
- Helps participants embed ESG into strategies that build purpose
- Provides a roadmap to drive colleague engagement, innovation and change
TRANSFORMING TO SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS
- Helps business leaders set priorities and make sustainability transformation a reality
- Provides ways to deal with global ESG challenges - and leap into smart, sustainable business models
“
The programme not only deepened my understanding of sustainability but also equipped me with invaluable insights into the principles and practices necessary to cultivate a sustainable mindset.
The programme delivered on its promise by providing participants, particularly professionals like me specialising in strategy and transformation, with practical frameworks, models, and tools to integrate sustainability into an organisation's strategy.
The well-structured modules proved to be instrumental, simplifying the complexities of sustainability and facilitating its application in an organisation's strategic planning.”
— David Blazquez Vila, Head of Business Strategy and Project Management
DIRECTOR CLIMATE JOURNEY, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CHAPTER ZERO BRUSSELS
- Offers climate training and networking for directors and boards of not-for-profit and for-profit organisations
- Provides knowledge and tools to understand climate risks and opportunities
“
I wanted to understand what ESG and related legislation implies for boards – their composition, long-term vision, risks and opportunities and responsibilities.
The Director climate journey resulted in a very specific, useful toolbox. As a board member, you understand why a climate policy makes sense.”
— Pierre-Henri D’haene, Head of Strategy, Transformation and Sustainability at Elia | Board member of GUBERNA and Watt4Ever
“
I learned two major things: the confirmation and accompanying recognition that climate and environment are legitimate focuses for a board. And the levers to take this on: knowledge, a network of board members pursuing the same objective, and a network of experts to help you achieve that objective.”
— Valentine Deprez, Board member of Greenyard
Open programmes with sustainability content
Sustainability is also a key theme in many of our other open programmes.
We’re continuously developing new programmes and content to make sure our students and participants can have maximum impact.
We’ve also piloted a sustainable delivery programme that focused on campus travel, catering and resources.
Sustainability-focused customised programmes
We’re proud of our relationships with corporations and organisations who ask us to create bespoke learning journeys for their teams. In these international companies, diversity, internationalisation and inclusion are often core topics.
We have recently delivered sustainability-focused management development programmes to these companies.
“
In our customised programme with Vlerick Business School… we’re now focusing on how we, with innovation, can help our customers to reduce their environmental footprint and make our planet a better place to live.”
— Sam Strijckmans, President and CEO, EMEA Nitto