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Strategic Sustainable Development Planning Training for Chinese Business Executives

UNDP China is having advanced discussions with some potential partners from the business sector on initiatives that aim to bridge the knowledge gap of sustainable environmental management and assist better enforcement of environmental legislation in China through providing training for Chinese business executives. On August 2001, a roundtable was held by the China Chapter of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). A Total of 17 Chinese and international enterprise representatives, China Enterprise Confederation (CEC), the government and academic institutions attended the meeting. Suggestions resulting from the meeting include using real life examples targeting small and medium sized Chinese companies, establishing a foundation to reward good practices and an advisory board bringing together different stakeholders. Some companies expressed preliminary commitments to share experience, help establish the network, provide personnel and curriculum and case studies.

Background
In the past, China's government efforts to protect the environment mostly concentrated on regulation and infrastructure projects. In line with the overall reform process, recent efforts are increasingly focusing on harnessing market forces for sustainable development and on placing much responsibility for environmental protection on enterprises and individuals. However, financial, informational, institutional and economic barriers to sustainable practices continue to exist. Some of these barriers are a vestige of the centrally planned economy; others are due to pragmatic challenges in implementing the economic reforms.

In 1999, UNDP supported the project "Strengthened Role of Enterprise Managers in Environmental Protection through Cleaner Manufacturing". The project surveyed the needs of Chinese Business Executives in 22 provinces and municipalities covering 20 industrial sub-sectors in terms of complying with existing environmental legislation and regulations in China.

Issues to be Addressed
The survey indicates that there are many shortfalls in the implementation of Chinese environmental laws and regulations. One of the key impediments relates to gaps in the knowledge of risks and opportunities for Cleaner Production and environmentally-sound products. "Win-win" solutions through technological innovation and environmental management systems, and the potential to reconcile the economic, ecological and social dimension of management for the more sustainable development of enterprises are mostly unknown. In particular small and medium sized companies that are mostly privately owned are least informed and hence vulnerable to "punitive" action by environmental agencies.

The research concludes that it is crucial to develop environmental awareness, an understanding of legislation and integration of sustainability principles within strategic planning activities among Chinese Business Executives.

Project Objectives - Capacity building ("Train the trainers") - A systematic approach to develop awareness and ability among professors in the MBA program, providing tools and research materials as well as visiting lectures from leaders of thought in related fields.

Developing tailored executive training for China's CEOs which integrate with MBA sustainability modules.
Incorporating "sustainable development modules and thinking" into China's MBA curriculum.
Generating links between industry and academia that allow practical tools to be used and taught. This means benchmarking, auditing, modeling and scenario planning for various member companies as a part of the curriculum.
Teaching frameworks - adjusting paradigms of business thinking and education to include and take advantage of recent management technologies such as systems thinking and sustainable development.
Resource development - links with industry will allow the business school opportunities to benefit from and indeed generate their own case studies. Companies, in turn will benefit from the findings of such case studies. Members of the academic staff in the MBA program will also benefit from exposure to up to date and real examples of management, etc.
Network creation and opening dialogues - improving communications and long term, meaningful exchanges between: government, industry and academia. This may be achieved through websites, seminars, newsletters, conferences, alumni clubs, and so forth.

Strategy
The exact format of the executive training and MBA modules has yet to be formulated. However detailed discussions have been undertaken between industry representatives, academia, UNDP and consultants in this regard.

Briefly the format will be through the creation of a dual track program the first serving as executive training and awareness building for executives and the second an MBA degree that will have the strong support of industry and will integrate sustainability approaches in all traditional courses as well as an additional sustainability module. Based on discussions with various industries it can be assumed that these programs will have the support of individual industry leaders and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) as well as the supervision of a selected panel of Chinese and International CEO‚s or high level company officials. This panel will perform an advisory role as well as guarantee a contingent of students to the program in its first two years.

The executive training program module will involve weekend training courses for high level managers whose senior facility managers will be trained in the MBA program. The purpose of the executive courses is to allow managers and CEOs to appreciate the basics of the latest techniques that their employees are learning and to enable the managers to fully take advantage of the new abilities being taught to their staff.

On a practical level, there will be a benchmarking project for every student and accompanying CEO (or senior manager). This project will allow students to apply some of the tools that they have learned to real companies and in turn, companies will benefit from the findings of such projects.

Results to be Achieved
A curriculum for workshops on sustainable industrial practices will be developed and integrated into executive courses. The curriculum will be tested in pilot training at selected business schools and then revised based on feedback and evaluation.

Workshops will stress the strategic dimension of environmental management, organizational design, technological innovation options and the involvement of employees and other stakeholders.

Public-private partnerships will have been enhanced for sustainable development in China through capacity of Chinese Business Executives by incorporating sustainable development principles in their strategic planning.

A better understanding among CEOs of the environmental situation, repercussions on businesses, environmental legislation and its impact on corporate investment decisions, environmental management systems, and information and reporting needs, with stronger attention to the operational implementation and the legal framework under which Chinese enterprises operate.