{"id":4258,"date":"2026-04-13T14:09:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T14:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/4258\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T14:09:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T14:09:11","slug":"sustainability-at-esmt-berlin-bees-business-lessons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/4258\/","title":{"rendered":"Sustainability At ESMT Berlin: Bees & Business Lessons"},"content":{"rendered":"

ESMT\u00a0Berlin<\/a> is a place to find both future business leaders and bees. A strange combination, perhaps, but one that encapsulates sustainability at ESMT. Here, faculty prepare students to become changemakers on a global scale. But here too, the school is making change happen at the local level, with initiatives like a bee-friendly campus garden. \u00a0<\/p>\n

This\u00a0commitment to\u00a0positive change is planted\u00a0at the heart of\u00a0ESMT.\u00a0Located in the\u00a0middle\u00a0of Berlin,\u00a0Germany,\u00a0the\u00a0ESMT\u00a0campus was once the\u00a0state council building of the\u00a0former\u00a0German Democratic Republic, then the\u00a0temporary\u00a0Federal Chancellery\u00a0of a united\u00a0Germany\u00a0\u2013\u00a0today,\u00a0it\u00a0is home to a leading, international\u00a0business school\u00a0with a\u00a0global\u00a0mindset.\u00a0And this\u00a0transformative ethos extends\u00a0across\u00a0programs, faculty, students, and\u00a0even the\u00a0campus\u00a0itself.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sustainability At\u00a0ESMT: On Campus Projects\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2023, ESMT installed\u00a0a\u00a0photovoltaic (PV) system on the roof of its historical main building.\u00a0The system, which is\u00a0the largest system of its kind in central Berlin,\u00a0covers up to\u00a025 percent of\u00a0the school\u2019s\u00a0electricity needs.\u00a0It helps ESMT\u00a0reduce an estimated 150 tons of CO2 emissions annually \u2013 a significant step towards the school\u2019s\u00a0sustainability\u00a0goals\u00a0of achieving carbon neutrality in scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0heritage-listed\u00a0campus garden, too, is a\u00a0place where transformative sustainability is at the forefront.\u00a0The garden itself is certified by the Berlin State Animal Welfare Officer\u00a0and\u00a0provides shelter for urban wildlife, including hedgehogs, foxes, squirrels, dormice, and native songbirds.\u00a0Its trees are on a\u00a0tree register and\u00a0receive annual health checks.\u00a0There is an on-campus greenhouse where staff, faculty, and students get involved with annual planting.\u00a0And\u00a0a\u00a0wildflower\u00a0garden\u00a0is sown\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0spring to provide a habitat for\u00a0bees,\u00a0butterflies, and other insects.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A Top-Down Mindset That Extends Off Campus\u00a0<\/p>\n

This idea of merging sustainability and\u00a0corporate responsibility\u00a0is also central to the\u00a0ESMT Institute for Sustainable Transformation\u00a0(IST), founded in 2024 to\u00a0support businesses in accelerating\u00a0their\u00a0own\u00a0sustainable transformations.\u00a0The\u00a0IST\u2019s many initiatives include leading campus decarbonization efforts, helping\u00a0implement sustainability literacy\u00a0amongst corporate partners,\u00a0hosting the on-campus Sustainable Business Roundtable,\u00a0and supporting the\u00a0sustainability\u00a0research of\u00a0ESMT\u00a0faculty.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Additionally, the\u00a0IST is instrumental in\u00a0shaping the future of corporate sustainability\u00a0\u2013\u00a0including\u00a0supporting\u00a0ESMT MBA and\u00a0master\u2019s\u00a0students who\u00a0wish to dive more deeply into the topic\u00a0during their studies.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

MBA and Master\u2019s Degrees Where Sustainability Is Part Of The Curriculum\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sustainability is a\u00a0vital\u00a0part of the\u00a0curriculum\u00a0at ESMT, with\u00a0master\u2019s and MBA\u00a0students\u00a0learning\u00a0key\u00a0elements of business\u00a0sustainability\u00a0during both core and elective classes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In several of the\u00a0degree\u00a0programs, students\u00a0have the chance to take this\u00a0still\u00a0further.\u00a0Master in Innovation and Entrepreneurship students, for instance, get the opportunity to attend the Sustainability Bootcamp. Run in conjunction with Vali Berlin \u2013 ESMT\u2019s entrepreneurship hub\u00a0\u2013\u00a0this\u00a0is\u00a0a\u00a0week-long intensive program.\u00a0Students\u00a0are presented with sustainability challenges experienced by real NGOS and corporate partners, then work with mentors\u00a0to\u00a0pitch\u00a0innovative solutions\u00a0before an\u00a0investor\u00a0jury.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

For\u00a0Master in Global\u00a0Management students, an integral part of the curriculum is the Social Impact Project.\u00a0During this five-week\u00a0fieldwork\u00a0program,\u00a0students team up to serve as a\u00a0management consultant for an organization making a specific social impact, often\u00a0in an\u00a0economically developing country.\u00a0For many students, this is a chance to really see beyond sustainability as a buzzword,\u00a0understand how it affects people\u2019s lives and futures, and begin to make a concrete difference.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The ESMT\u00a0Sustainability In Practice Project\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Full-time MBA students, one of the opportunities to really drill down into sustainability at ESMT comes during the summer elective, with the Sustainability in Practice (SIP) consulting project.\u00a0The SIP sees students work in teams to take on a practice consulting project for a real-life company,\u00a0while addressing\u00a0specific sustainable consulting\u00a0objectives.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

A recent\u00a0project saw\u00a0a team of Full-time MBA\u00a0Class of\u00a02026 students\u00a0partner with Nespresso<\/a> to help design a biodiversity index for the coffee industry. Participants Gloria Mopotu and Olga Melekhina explained that, while none of their team had prior sustainability consulting experience, their diversity of backgrounds \u2013 and support from Nespresso and ESMT \u2013 helped them create a successful presentation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gloria\u00a0said that\u00a0the\u00a0experience helped open her eyes to new ways of thinking about success. \u201cAs\u00a0an MBA student, one of my biggest takeaways was learning to think beyond the usual business lens and to appreciate that some of the most important decisions cannot be measured by short-term returns alone. It also reminded me how valuable diverse teams are, because solving real sustainability challenges requires different perspectives and a lot of openness.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Building A Sustainable Future\u00a0<\/p>\n

The benefits of a project like this extend long after the consulting stage is\u00a0finished.\u00a0For Olga\u00a0\u201cthe SIP project provided valuable, first-hand experience in sustainability consulting and showed us how\u00a0business education can be applied to environmental challenges. On a personal level, I gained a good understanding of the biodiversity landscape and its current challenges\u00a0\u2013\u00a0a\u00a0topic I am interested in exploring further.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The project also inspired Gloria to think about\u00a0the\u00a0future. \u201cI absolutely believe sustainability is an important part of\u00a0business,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u201cToday, it is not something companies can afford to treat as\u00a0secondary. It plays\u00a0a big role\u00a0in how businesses build resilience, respond to stakeholder expectations, and prepare for the future. To me, sustainability is\u00a0really about\u00a0long-term thinking, and I believe the strongest businesses will be the ones that know how to combine profitability with responsibility.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Olga added\u00a0\u201cthe SIP project exemplifies what makes ESMT\u2019s Full-time MBA experience\u00a0unique: the opportunity to work on meaningful projects with real impact while building\u00a0expertise\u00a0in\u00a0areas\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0passionate about.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Students As Sustainability Leaders\u00a0<\/p>\n

As well as the formal curriculum,\u00a0ESMT students\u00a0also\u00a0have multiple opportunities to explore the topic of sustainability as\u00a0an extracurricular activity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many\u00a0actively\u00a0engage\u00a0with\u00a0student clubs\u00a0to create\u00a0their own\u00a0student-driven\u00a0sustainability\u00a0initiatives. A\u00a0recent example comes from\u00a0the ESMT Net Impact Club, who\u00a0teamed up with the Tech & Innovation Club to launch the\u00a0Climate Hackathon. Working under the topic\u00a0Code Green: Hacking the Future of Sustainable Impact,\u00a0ESMT\u00a0students and external\u00a0guests\u00a0used data and\u00a0tech to\u00a0come up with\u00a0practical, green\u00a0suggestions for solving\u00a0Berlin\u2019s housing\u00a0renovation\u00a0crisis.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

As ESMT Full-time MBA student,\u00a0Student Services Community Coordinator,\u00a0and hackathon\u00a0attendee\u00a0Punit Thakkar\u00a0put it<\/a> \u201cI felt an amazing energy of collaboration and cross-pollination in this event as it brought together people from such diverse backgrounds and interests.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe solutions presented by the teams were practical and implementable, and the most impressive outcome of the event was that everyone who\u00a0participated\u00a0ended up\u00a0submitting\u00a0a solution, making this the only hackathon\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0been to with a 100% completion rate.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Future Of Sustainability At ESMT \u00a0<\/p>\n

From the thought-leadership demonstrated by faculty,\u00a0to on- and off-campus initiatives, to the opportunities given to students, ESMT is a place where sustainability and business not only coexist \u2013 they can make each other stronger.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

For\u00a0prospective\u00a0MBA and\u00a0master\u2019s\u00a0students interested in the more sustainable side of the business world,\u00a0this means\u00a0ESMT is\u00a0a\u00a0strong\u00a0option.\u00a0After all \u2013 as the wildflower bee\u00a0garden\u00a0demonstrates\u00a0\u2013 sustainability\u00a0at ESMT\u00a0is quite literally growing every day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

ABOUT ESMT <\/p>\n

\"Sustainability<\/p>\n

Sustainability at ESMT Berlin Logo<\/p>\n

ESMT Berlin <\/a>\u00a0is a leading global business school with its campus in the heart of Berlin. Founded by 25 global companies, ESMT offers master, MBA, and PhD programs, as well as executive education on its campus in Berlin, in locations around the world, online, and in online blended format. Focusing on leadership, innovation, and analytics, its diverse faculty publishes outstanding research in top academic journals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The post Sustainability At ESMT Berlin: Bees & Business Lessons<\/a> appeared first on Poets&Quants<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ESMT\u00a0Berlin is a place to find both future business leaders and bees. A strange combination, perhaps, but one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4259,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[18,4251,4253,4250,348,4252,4254],"class_list":{"0":"post-4258","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-berlin","8":"tag-berlin","9":"tag-corporate-sustainability","10":"tag-esmt","11":"tag-esmt-berlin","12":"tag-sustainability","13":"tag-sustainability-goals","14":"tag-wildflower-garden"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4258\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}