Strathmore launches first centre for sustainability leadership in East Africa

 

Strathmore Business School founding Dean George Njenga. PHOTO | FILE 

By DOREEN WAINAINAH

Strathmore Business School has launched the first Centre for Sustainability Leadership in the region.

The centre is aimed at supporting business leaders in shaping and adopting more environmentally-friendly and socially inclusive business practices.

“It is our responsibility to train and equip our current and future business leaders with a strong understanding of and the solutions to the challenges we face around sustainable development,” said George Njenga, the founding Dean and Deputy Vice- Chancellor of Research at Strathmore Business School.

The institution kicked of the flagship African Sustainability Leadership programme during the launch to offer training to business leaders from fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), banking and manufacturing industries in the region.

The centre will focus on building long-term leadership thinking and provide operational solutions to business challenges in a sustainable way in East Africa.

The programme is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals which came into effect this year following the unveiling by the United Nations in September 2015.

The Global Goals define the need for business leadership and sector-wide collaboration to achieve economic, social and environmental opportunity for all.

SDGs require the involvement of the private sector, civil society and government to facilitate successful adoption over the set target of 15 years.
The SDGs seek to build on the Millennium Development Goals and complete what they did not achieve.

“The world as we know it is changing drastically. We as business leaders need to play a pivotal role in sustainable development and mitigate the challenges affecting us,” said Mr Geoffrey Odundo, Chief Executive Officer of the NSE who officially launched the centre.

The centre will concentrate on research, capacity building, entrepreneurship, policy, governance and stakeholder dialogue on sustainable development.

It is currently running its inaugural African Sustainability Leadership programme developed in partnership with the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and the University of Cape Town.