In a conversation about the challenges facing business schools in educating a new generation of leaders and SMEs in the world of sustainability and innovation, Filipe Santos, Dean of the Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics, offered some important tips.

"We have a new generation that is very motivated by sustainability issues and finding a career with purpose. The ingredients are there. What's missing is some guidance for this new world," he said in conversation with Nuno Moreira da Cruz, Executive Director of the Centre for Responsible Business and Leadership (CRB) at Universidade Católica Portuguesa, responsible for the initiative.

And to help leaders and companies, Filipe Santos points the way: "The first challenge is to do the exercise of 'where can you contribute most' and 'what are the focus areas'".

Although he recognises that the global dimension of the agenda can "sometimes be paralysing", the Dean of CATÓLICA LISBON lights the way: "It's essential to find the purpose that guides and signals to the company the path to follow and the priority areas."

For Filipe Santos, in the case of SMEs, "proximity to the value chain is even more important": "The focus must also be on creating value, on impact and not just on profit and direct financial results," he said.

Launched in 2023 by the CRB of the Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics, CEO Carpool shares real conversations with company CEOs on topics such as Purpose, Sustainability and Responsible Leadership.

Carpooling in an electric car, the episodes aim to explore what it takes to lead in today's world and raise awareness of sustainability issues, highlighting CEOs whose companies and actions are aligned with the 2030 Agenda.

Recognizing the crucial importance of integrating sustainable practices into business, the SDG Observatory, as a project of the Centre for Responsible Business and Leadership of the Católica-Lisbon School of Business & Economics, has developed a program to enable organizations to implement Sustainability in Strategy in a practical way, in line with the SDG Agenda, the new CSRD reporting legislation and the ESG criteria.

On January 29 and 30, the following training course will take place: BEYOND ESG: SHAPING THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS.

This is a training course with a strong strategic component, as many companies, including the most advanced in these matters, still don't treat sustainability issues as truly strategic. However, it also covers a strong practical component in which all participating teams will be able to "take home" a "tailor-made" sustainability strategy implementation plan.

In this program, companies will be able to: 1) Identify the critical success factors in implementing sustainable development objectives and sustainability at the core of their business strategy; 2) acquire the knowledge and tools needed to turn sustainability into a competitive advantage; 3) develop a tailor-made strategic implementation plan for their company.

Beyond ESG: Shaping Business Future is based on the research study carried out by the Observatory of the SDGs in Portuguese companies, recently distinguished by the UN as one of the 25 best practices in the world developed by academic institutions, and was meticulously created in response to the needs identified by companies. It is a program developed by the Center for Responsible Business & Leadership, a research center of the Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics, specializing in the areas of strategy and sustainability.