The spring break trip to Malaysia shows students examples of sustainability in practice in different businesses (Photo courtesy of Leslie Arreguin).
Students visited the 1 Utama Mall's recycling center to understand the mall's sustainability efforts (Photo courtesy of Leslie Arreguin).
Students visited the Mari Mari Cultural Village to learn about cultural heritage in Sabah, Malaysia (Photo courtesy of Leslie Arreguin).
As the season turns to spring, minds are shifting towards protecting our planet. In the Driehaus and Kellstadt Schools of Business, students are exploring how companies around the world can contribute to environmental preservation efforts. Recently, a group traveled to Malaysia to learn about sustainable development and sustainability reporting.
“In a textbook sense, we can learn about what companies can do to be sustainable. But visiting them lets us see it in practice. Students can see how it is implemented on the ground in a way that is sustainable, but also makes business sense," says Associate Professor Jeff Ng, who taught the class in the winter.
Balancing sustainability and business sense has become a more prominent topic in business school, according to graduate student Leslie Arreguin, who is studying audit and advisory services. Rather than focusing solely on the bottom line, business students are encouraged to consider the impact of business on the physical and social environment in classes such as BUS 103: Business for Social Good.
“Something that Professor Ng ingrained in us that I appreciate is that the culmination of the little actions that we do will make a large impact." Arreguin explains. “We're the next generation and we need to keep that in mind for when we are in positions of power." In the international business seminar, students learned about both eco-tourism and how companies report their Environmental, Social and Governance related activities.
Sustainability in practice
For the study abroad trip, the itinerary included visiting two cities on the island of Borneo and one on the peninsula that make up Malaysia. The trip started in Kota Kinabalu, where students participated in walking tours and visited outdoor markets of local vendors selling fruit and handmade items. Next, they visited Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center and the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre in Sabah, Malaysia.
“Rehabilitation centers, as opposed to a zoo, are just an open jungle. You might see these animals, you might not, but they're there to be rehabilitated from experiences where people try to cage and domesticate the animals until they can slowly be exposed to the wilderness," says Arreguin says.
Along the way, the group visited a real estate company that helps people find eco-friendly housing.
“They put out a lot of information on their eco-friendly housing, like having solar panels on rooftops and water filtration systems in the sink," says second-year management student Tiana Evans.
The next stop was 1 Utama Mall, which integrates green living as part of its business practice. The mall houses a recycling center in the basement and processes food waste from the restaurants to create compost onsite. The food and beverage outlets are not charged for using the service and the resulting fertilizer is used to foster the greenery within the mall.
Exploring Malaysia
A highlight for Ng included visiting the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia. One of the leading institutions in tropical forestry research, the FRIM is located on former mines and industrial sites that were completely deforested a century ago. The government decided to convert the barren land to a research site to attempt to reforest the area.
“By the time we visited, you couldn't distinguish it from a natural rainforest," Ng says. “Listening to the people at FRIM talk about both the potentially devastating effects humans can have on the natural environment, but also that it's not too late, really struck me. You can undo a lot of the damage we've done and return nature to its best form."
The Mari Mari cultural village was a favorite experience for Arreguin. During their visit to the village, they learned about the heritage of the cultures in Sabah. “They walked us through the different tribes, what they did to sustain themselves, how they used to find their forever partner and what they used to do in their day to day. We also got to see their cultural dances, which were very cool," Arreguin says.
To view upcoming study abroad courses, visit the study abroad website.