Sustainable Businesses & Positive Impact

Did you know that as a generation we are creating the highest level of carbon footprint on our planet than any generation before? With today’s great comfort and luxuries come high levels of global emissions. The burning of coal, natural gas and oil for electricity and heat is the largest single source of global greenhouse gas emissions at 25% of all global emissions. Emissions from industry come in at 21% [Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data, United States Environmental Protection Agency (2017)]. Surely, as global citizens, we all notice the impact of depleting our world’s resources and slowly we are changing our ways. However, the greatest challenges of our day cannot be solved with old ways of thinking. We must innovate at the core of our systems.

I applied to INSEAD’s MBA programme because I believe in the importance of changing our ways of working, and a good place to start was with myself. I am interested in pursuing a career in the sustainable development space, becoming a changemaker and tackling the gravest of challenges our world faces. I believe the best way to accomplish these goals is to re-examine the way we run our businesses. There is a tremendous amount of work to be done. Even though the public sector and non-profit sector are making great strides in addressing the environmental and social issues we face today, it is essential for the private sector to address these issues with equal intensity, if not more. The burden of responsibility lies on all of us collectively, because we only have one planet; there is no planet B.

In addition to reaching out to alumni, I chose elective courses on social impact, such as Business Sustainability Thinking and Impact Investing. Thanks to these courses, I met faculty members such as Professor Andre Calmon and Professor Jasjit Singh, who are extremely devoted to creating positive impact through innovative business solutions. I also met various guest speakers in these classes like Joost Bilkes from Credit Suisse who established, and is now the head of, the Impact advisory arm for the bank’s Asia-pacific region. Moreover, I joined the leadership team of INDEVOR, INSEAD’s Social Impact Club, and through my role in this club, I have interacted with numerous organizations in this ecosystem, such as UN agencies, donor organisations and non-profits. I also attended sustainable development and social impact start-up events such as the ChangeNOW summit in Paris—a hub for social enterprises.

Furthermore, I have been able to test my mettle and my passion this summer through interning with Dalberg Advisors, a strategic advisory firm in the development sector, where I was able to utilise transferrable skills from my previous roles and assess my commitment to the cause. In addition, more recently, I have taken up an Independent Study Project to work with a senior faculty member, Professor Luk Van Wassenhove who specialises in humanitarian logistics, to address the issue of gender-based violence faced by refugees—the new citizens of the world. All these interactions, projects, courses, and experiences are helping me to craft my own journey in this new career path.

Komal Syed MBA’18D at the Fontainebleau Campaign Launch

I am proud to be part of a business school that is envisioning a better world not just through lip service but also by walking the talk. The recent launch of the Hoffmann Global Institute for Business and Society aims to do exactly this by harnessing the power of Business as a Force for Good—a dictum that I strive to emulate as I pursue my career opportunities. I had the pleasure of attending the launch event which brought together inspiring, like-minded business leaders under one roof. One such example was the keynote speaker at the launch event, Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever—a company that is striving to make its business innovate at its core to decouple their growth from their environmental footprint, while increasing their positive social impact. INSEAD’s Business as a Force for Good campaign is a bold, global initiative that supports INSEAD’s work to develop tomorrow’s leaders who will drive transformative change on a global scale. In the words of our Dean, Ilian Mihov, “If not us, then who? If not now, then when?” Our time is now.