30 September 2021 - Our new Course Director for CISL’s Master’s in Sustainability Leadership, Emre Usenmez, reflects on how the programme is preparing future leaders to tackle global challenges in a post-covid world.
We, as the current custodians of our planet, are at a crossroads where we can change our grim trajectory. On 9 August 2021 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published the first part of its 6th Assessment Report with clear evidence of unprecedented warming of climate due to human influence, and a dire warning that without “deep reductions” in greenhouse gases we are on course to exceed “global warming of 1.5°C and 2°C” sometime in this century. A contributing factor to this is the human-induced biodiversity and species loss, rapidly approaching what has been dubbed by biologists as the “Anthropocene extinction” or the “sixth mass extinction”. Of course, both of these problems also contribute to poverty, exclusion and inequality. Shocks due to floods, droughts or heat waves disproportionately impact the poor, or drag those that are vulnerable into poverty, as they can lead to destruction of crops, increased exposure to diseases or pests, and volatility in food prices. The problem of natural habitat loss is acute since approximately one sixth of our species heavily depend on “protected areas” for their livelihoods.
We can and must tackle these challenges together but not at this timid pace. It’s vital and urgent that we make this a true ‘decade of action’. It is still possible to deeply cut greenhouse gas emissions, reverse the losses of biodiversity, natural habitat and species, and reduce poverty and inequality.
There is no silver bullet that will get us there but our creative approaches and innovative solutions in aggregate will. This is why the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership’s (CISL) position is so unique. For three decades, long before the concept of sustainability gained its current momentum, CISL established itself as a platform to develop leadership in addressing these challenges. Over the years, it brought thought leaders from businesses, academia and governments together in seeking solutions to these problems. One of the key approaches has been the recognition that lasting solutions will also have business cases, and businesses that rewire and incorporate these considerations are likely to last.
Of course, these initiatives directly inform teaching, and this is one of the strengths of CISL – the teaching and curriculum successfully marries academic rigour with real-world dynamics. The MSt in Sustainability Leadership takes its platform role seriously, allowing the participants to develop and devise their own approaches and sustainability solutions within their institutions while exchanging ideas on other sectors and business segments.
The part-time nature of the MSt and wider postgraduate programmes allow participants the opportunity to immediately impact their institution and work, and also bring to the programme the live feedback of the issues faced in the real world. The teaching team guides the participants with the latest research coming out of the CISL and allows for the environment for innovative approaches to flourish.
The success of the part-time, flexible programmes has become more pronounced during the Covid-19 pandemic. The format has allowed us to rapidly adapt to the global Covid-19 responses. By readjusting our in-person workshops for virtual delivery and now into a hybrid approach, CISL has ensured those staff and students who cannot be physically present are not disadvantaged. Since the beginning of the pandemic the participants, irrespective of their physical location, have been experiencing the classroom together with the help of the state-of-the-art audio-visual and technical support.
As we begin to explore what the post-pandemic world may look like, the need to overcome climate, nature and social challenges becomes more immediate. As we welcome our latest cohort to the programme, I sincerely hope that at the end of their journey the participants will be well equipped to tackle the sustainability challenges and in doing so help to secure a legacy we can all be proud of.
