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52 BCBUSINESS.CA MARCH/APRIL 2023 U Vic's MBA is now an MBA in sustainable innovation. The school relaunched the degree under its new title in 2020, but it wasn't a pivot. Rather, it was the recognition of an identity Gus- tavson had been building for years. "We have a long history of sustainability," asserts academic director Cheryl Mitchell. Gustav- son has catalyzed multidisciplinary research at its Centre for Social and Sustainable Innovation for more than a decade. "We've got lots of work happening around impact investing and sustainable finance," Mitchell notes as an example. And the school has put its ideas into practice. "We have long offset EDUCATION GUIDE 2 0 2 3 Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria SUCCESSFUL EXECUTION UVic's sustain- ability-focused MBA puts ideas into practice " We have a long history of sustainability...We've got lots of work happening around impact investing and sustainable finance " –Cheryl Mitchell, academic director, Gustavson School of Business all of our carbon, including all of our student and faculty travel," she says. How will this change affect what's taught in UVic's MBA classrooms? Mitchell says students will continue to learn busi- ness fundamentals like accounting, finance and marketing. "But they can also expect to see design thinking, collabora- tion and technology," she explains. Some students will return to traditional industries like accounting and finance after they graduate, but they'll be able to deliver leadership on issues like impact investing. Mitchell anticipates that some students will also switch to non-traditional industries. "A lot of students are coming to us and then moving into consulting firms that are look- ing to deliver unique content in the areas of ESG and SDGs," she notes. In Mitchell's view, all organizations need to change their values and perspective. "There is no option but to think about people, planet and profit. It should be at the absolute core of every business decision that is being made," she says. n