Nobel Prize-winning Economist Milton Friedman’s philosophy that ‘the social responsibility of business is to make larger profit’ wanes as the absolute view of today’s business model. ‘Companies can still turn a profit while adhering and voluntarily going beyond environmental policies,’ says Laura Franco-García. She conducts research on the environmental activities of those companies that perform in order to approach a balance among business, people, planet and profit within the industrial sector.
Juan Sherwell, 34, dean at EGADE Business School, told how the exchange with Twente took root: ‘I met Laura several years ago in Mexico where we explored different possibilities for student mobility, faculty mobility and joint research programs. Most of the MBA student participants in the short course work at multi-national companies, for example, Coca-Cola, the German company Festo and Sigma. Other MBA students are entrepreneurs and own their own companies.’
Changes in Mexico
In the greater Mexico City metropolitan area, there are 22 million inhabitants coexisting with the environment. According to the Dean, key issues for this area are to lower pollution and for companies to use natural resources and act in a sustainable way.
A few years ago, Sherwell made it a requirement for students enrolled in his business school to take a mandatory course: ‘All students incorporate in their final research project a component of corporate social responsibility.’ One of his MBA graduates, who came in the first group of 18 students to take part in the short course in Twente last year, became director of a bottling plant. In a short time, he was able to implement corporate policy to reduce waste and also lower costs.
Franco-García recognizes the major roadblock to make effective changes is stuck in the implementation phase: ‘I believe when you plant the seeds of awareness, they will grow in the hearts of people to make changes. I want to facilitate change and teach future decision makers in companies how it can be done.’
Dutch model
Sherwell commented after his tour of Twence, a semi-private waste incineration company: ‘When you walk inside the plant and watch the recycling process, you think to yourself: “It’s so clean and efficient.” We think it’s fantastic how almost everything gets recycled in the Netherlands.’ In agreement, Franco-García explained that waste materials can be burned and turned into a source of energy. Captured energy can be in turn sold in the market and most companies are eager to invest in high technology to balance environmental policy and the company’s bottom line.
In 2012, the senior researcher and fellow colleagues plan to explore target campus locations in Guadalajara, Queretaro and Merida, Mexico, in order to create a larger network, increasing short-term exchanges with the university’s Centre for Studies in Technology and Sustainable Development (CSTM). Shortly in the fall, she said, Chinese students from the Xidian University will attend a similar short course to examine the Dutch example and learn how to incorporate ethical and socially responsible components in a business model.
Robbin Engels
The dean of EGADE Business School and 33 MBA students from the Technolόgico de Monterrey University participated in a short four-day course with lectures and tours to Twence, a semi-private waste incineration facility, and the Grolsch beer company. (Foto: Gijs van Ouwerkerk)
