Closing Graduates’ Sustainability Skills Gaps by Using the University as a Live Sustainability Case Study

Despite the adoption of specialised sustainability programmes and incorporation of some sustainability content into business curricula, Business Education for Sustainability for business management students still fails to meet needs of graduates in the workplace, creating a sustainability skills gap.
In order to address this sustainability skills gap, the Level 5 business sustainability curriculum engages students in practical methodologies for business sustainability learning, teaching and assessment using the university as a live sustainability case study. This introduces students to real-world sustainability challenges and opportunities through a known organisation in the safe environment of the classroom.
This paper presents qualitative evidence from research conducted to investigate the effectiveness of using the university as a live sustainability case study for business sustainability learning, teaching and assessment. Findings suggest using the university as a live sustainability case study provides a real world, experiential learning environment that encourages students to engage with the key principles of business sustainability and develop sustainability literacy and employment skills.
This study will assist members of the sustainability community seeking to engage students in generative sustainability through real-world experiential learning. It builds on existing pedagogic discourse on innovative approaches for business sustainability learning, teaching and assessment and contributes to research into participatory Business Education for Sustainability.