The Sustainable Future: Making a Positive Impact

• POLIMI GSoM has earned a high Positive Impact Rating in part by becoming a B Corp and a Benefit Company—and in part by revamping courses and programs.
• Two of the school’s initiatives focus on social good: Leave Your Mark, in which alumni provide pro bono services to nonprofits; and Shaping Purposeful Leaders, in which students provide actionable plans for improving the community.
• INNOVA Europe, a competition that POLIMI organizes with nine other European schools, enables students to show how entrepreneurship can tackle some of society’s greatest challenges.

 
Today’s corporate leaders increasingly recognize the role they can play in promoting sustainable economic and social development. They have a higher awareness of and more positive attitudes toward the world’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) challenges.

Similarly, more business schools are focused on educating future leaders about how to make a positive impact on society. Schools are conducting sustainability research, collaborating with other institutions on social responsibility projects, and offering sustainability-themed courses that will enable managers to make a difference in the business world.

At POLIMI Graduate School of Management (GSoM) in Milan, we are taking our sustainability efforts one step further by participating in the Positive Impact Rating (PIR) system. Students answer 20 questions designed to measure how well their schools create societal impact by energizing their communities, educating responsible leaders, and engaging with the public. Schools receive overall PIR scores that indicate which level they have achieved in pursuing sustainability goals: beginning, emerging, progressing, transforming, or pioneering. They then receive feedback and tools that can help them institute changes.

In 2024, POLIMI was one of 88 schools from 30 countries that took part in the ratings. We were named a level 4 school—a transforming institution—which we view as confirmation of our commitment to societal impact issues. We intend to enhance that commitment by introducing new projects, improving the way we communicate, and continuing our involvement in internal and external activities devoted to sustainability.

Our Journey to This Point

We decided to participate in the PIR for two reasons: We wanted to obtain external recognition for our sustainability efforts, and we hoped to receive feedback on ways we could improve. But we had already taken several steps to implement and evaluate our commitment to sustainability.

We had previously completed the Business School Impact System (BSIS) assessment process to gauge what role we could play locally and internationally in social and academic arenas. This process enables us to certify and measure our contributions to society through our research, our academic offerings, and our collaborations with organizations in our geographic region.

In 2020, we received certification as a B Corp business school, which means we demonstrate high social and environmental performance, have committed to a governance structure that is accountable to all stakeholders, and exhibit transparency about our performance. In 2022, we published our first Sustainability Plan, and in 2023, we transformed our school into a Benefit Company—an organization that strives to improve society and the world.

Additionally, over the past few years, we have made extensive changes to the way we teach. Currently, almost 35 percent of the core hours in our MBA and EMBA programs cover sustainability topics such as climate change, responsible consumption and production, and social inequalities. Many courses address specific objectives highlighted in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

We incorporate a sustainability focus into some of our master’s-level courses on finance, luxury goods management, production processes, and supply chain management. This ensures that students in our junior and executive master’s programs encounter a minimum set of sustainability topics.

Almost 35 percent of the core hours in our MBA and EMBA programs cover sustainability topics such as climate change, responsible consumption, and social inequalities.

We know that if we want faculty to integrate sustainability topics into their courses—and be advocates for our sustainable values—we must give them encouragement and support. Therefore, we provide guidelines that help faculty include the SDGs in their coursework through curricular content, teaching methodologies, and training objectives.

We also offer workshops and training sessions where we discuss experiential learning methods such as field research and consultancy projects, case studies, self-learning activities, problem-based learning, and collaborative learning. Using these methods, faculty can enable students to explore sustainability issues in real contexts and devise creative solutions for complex problems.

A Revamped Program

In 2022, we made another major commitment to sustainability: We extensively revised our International Full-Time MBA to reflect society’s current needs and concerns. In addition to taking traditional MBA courses, students in our New Generation MBA program attend seminars and workshops that prepare them to be purposeful leaders who drive impactful change.

For instance, in the Purpose Gym, students participate in group coaching sessions where they apply course knowledge to real-world situations. In these sessions, they have opportunities to align their actions with consciously chosen goals while they’re collaborating with peers.

Students also work with the Career Development Programme to build career strategies rooted in purpose and built on three pillars:

• Design Your Purposeful Career. Students first gain self-awareness through psychometric tests, then analyze job market trends and create professional action plans.
• Get Ready for a Purposeful Career. Students develop key career management skills and optimize their curriculum vitae and LinkedIn profiles. They prepare for business cases and competency-based interviews through AI platforms and tools such as Case Coach.
• Go to Job Market. Students expand their professional networks at career fairs and recruitment events, connect with employers, and apply for internships or jobs across diverse industries.

Through this holistic program, students in the New Generation MBA prepare to lead with purpose and craft meaningful careers that will have positive societal impact.

Co-Curricular Activities

As a way to promote social good, we also organize activities outside of the classroom through initiatives and collaborations with third-sector and nonprofit organizations. As much as possible, we involve all of our stakeholders—alumni, students, faculty, staff, and the community at large. Two initiatives have been particularly impactful:

Leave Your Mark. This project enables managers and professionals to make their skills available pro bono to nonprofit organizations dedicated to building a more inclusive society. POLIMI’s Sustainability Team selects nonprofit partners and matches them with alumni who have the skills the organizations need. Each project team receives methodological support from faculty and guidance from an academic tutor who coordinates activities and ensures smooth project execution. As participants channel their expertise into meaningful change, they also strengthen the ties between the school community and society.

Leave Your Mark enables professionals to make their skills available pro bono to nonprofit organizations dedicated to building a more inclusive society.

In the first three editions of this program, more than 50 alumni supported 21 local and international institutions by helping them improve business models, develop apps, analyze markets, manage catalogs, organize volunteers, and fine-tune fundraising and crowdfunding strategies. The projects show how individuals can amplify societal impact when they employ their professional skills as they come together with peers in pursuit of a shared purpose.

One example of an inspiring project comes from Liberi Dentro, a nonprofit organization that uses educational and social initiatives to reintegrate prisoners into society. Initially a volunteer-driven organization, Liberi Dentro was transformed into a structured nonprofit with the support of POLIMI GSoM alumni, including Francesca Vender, an adjunct professor at the school, and Paolo Maresca. The alumni team helped the organization establish a clear mission, governance model, and operational framework.

Shaping Purposeful Futures. During this annual daylong workshop, students first hear from keynote speakers, then challenge each other to produce concrete and scalable ideas that could generate a positive impact for the community. They propose ideas for collaborating with nonprofit organizations, serving fragile communities, and sparking continuous innovation at the school. In this way, they become “protagonists of purpose” who benefit society by coming up with practical solutions to real-world problems.

But they also reap benefits themselves: They enhance their skills, develop their networks, and have opportunities to collaborate with faculty and alumni who assess their projects’ feasibility and potential impact.

Recent student ideas illustrate the three main objectives of the workshop:

• Doing social good. One project promoted female empowerment and leadership through an association that organizes events and initiatives to foster a network of professional women.
• Protecting the planet. Another proposal introduced reusable lunch boxes to reduce waste and minimize the environmental impact of disposable takeaway containers.
• Encouraging sustainable economic development. A third proposal described a bicycle rental service designed to incentivize sustainable and healthy behaviors through a points-based rewards system. It also promoted the reuse of bicycles through repairs and refurbishments.

Students become “protagonists of purpose” who benefit society by coming up with practical solutions to real-world problems.

Students with winning ideas receive prizes that match the competition theme. For instance, in 2023, when the theme was raising awareness on social issues, the prize was a dinner at In Galera, the restaurant of the Bollate Prison.

To raise the visibility of the student projects, POLIMI GSoM showcases them at events, provides updates to stakeholders, and shares press releases with the media. By drawing attention to the projects, the school supports its broader mission of inspiring purpose-driven innovation and leadership.

A Collaborative Competition

Another impactful initiative is INNOVA Europe, which POLIMI launched in 2023 in cooperation with EDHEC Business School in France and ESMT Berlin. This challenge fosters competition between business students and alumni while demonstrating how entrepreneurship can tackle some of the world’s biggest concerns. Students in undergraduate and master’s programs submit proposals that address one of the 17 SDGs, such as providing clean and affordable energy, promoting responsible consumption, ensuring gender equality, reducing global poverty, and advancing a holistic approach to well-being and health.

Winners receive up to 20,000 EUR (20,555 USD) in prize money and free services from an academic incubator at one of the partner schools. In 2023, the grand finale winner was Dooda, a student startup from EDHEC that produces insect-based animal food ingredients.

The first INNOVA Europe was so successful that the event returned in 2024 with seven additional partners—ETH Zurich, University College Dublin, Aalto University in Finland, IE Business School in Spain, Kyiv School of Economics Graduate Business School in Ukraine, Rotterdam School of Management in the Netherlands, and Akademia Leona Koźmińskiego in Poland. The international collaboration among business schools is crucial because it enables the exchange of ideas and expertise that help shape solutions with global impact.

More than 120 students, alumni, professors, and professionals participated in the 2024 edition. During the daylong event, which was held on EDHEC’s Paris campus, participants attended a workshop on Responsible Entrepreneurship by Design, networked, shared innovative business plans, and pitched their startup ideas to experts.

The 2024 event offered two startup categories: Young Hopes (ideation stage) and Rising Stars (startup stage). Those in the first category were judged on their clarity of vision, their ability to solve specific sustainability challenges, and the singularity of their value propositions. Those in the second category were evaluated on progress, lessons learned, next steps, and team members’ ability to illustrate the viability and market readiness of their products.

The 2024 competition received generous support from BNP Paribas Company Engagement; BNP Paribas Wealth Management France; and BivwAk!, BNP Paribas’ hub where the company develops new services and business models. Additional backing came from Ring Capital and STATION F, the largest startup campus in the world.

A Reflection of Commitment

We believe that POLIMI GSoM achieved its high PIR rating in large part because of all these internal and external activities dedicated to sustainability. Ultimately, this rating reflects the ways that our culture of positive impact has been deeply embedded in our governance and systems.

We also believe that, by participating in the PIR, we are demonstrating how much weight we give to student feedback and student voices. We must put the members of the younger generation first, because they have the potential to change the world for the better.