Developing Competencies for Sustainability of Future Managers: What, How and Why

Dear Colleagues,

The new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development clearly reflects the urgency to embed the principles of education for sustainable development (ESD) into all levels of education. There seems to be a consensus that economic, social and environmental concerns can no longer be treated as separate and independent. Sustainability thus becomes a concept that appears not only in the agenda of public institutions, but also in those of organizations and companies, as well as in the citizens’ minds. It also seems clear that educational institutions and, specifically higher education ones, are called to play a fundamental role in the effort to achieve sustainability. International and national organizations have recognized the role of education in building societies based on values of equity, social justice and sustainability, and have elaborated strategies and action plans to achieve it. In other words, universities are considered to play an essential role in providing future professionals with the necessary attributes to respond to the sustainability challenges of the 21st century in increasingly complex and global contexts. If we refer to the field of companies, we see that people assuming the role of direction and management, can play an important role in the transformation of society. The decisions they make will have an impact on the organization's activity, strategy and values, and therefore on the effect it has on society and on the relationship with the different stakeholders. That is why this special issue focuses on the training of future managers, in different types of organizations and fields of knowledge (engineering, medicine, education, service companies, non-profit organizations...). We need management teams that take into account not only the economic benefit, but also the development of the well-being of the different stakeholders and of society in general. Likewise, new business models are required that are in line with this conception of the company. This is the challenge that literature refers to as "humanistic management" and to which we believe higher education institutions, and business schools in particular, can contribute through a particular way of educating their graduates. It is important that future managers and management teams have relevant competencies for sustainability, to truly contribute to SDG and work for a more just and supportive society. To address the challenge described above, we make this call on topics such as the following:

• What are the key competencies to be addressed in higher education institutions in order to train managers who work for sustainability and/or to build more humanistic companies and societies.
• Challenges facing today's societies and those we face in higher education institutions to help train managers with strong competencies for sustainability and humanism.
• How to approach  the  development  of  competencies  for  sustainability  and  humanism  in management training (business school, faculties of engineering, law, tourism, etc.).
• The development of competencies for sustainability and humanism of teachers, management and support staff in higher education institutions that contribute to training managers.
• The role of different methodologies and interventions (extracurricular activities, learning and service, coaching and mentoring...) in the development of managers with solid competencies for sustainability and humanism.
• Case studies on  how  institutions  that  train  21st  century  managers  are  contributing  to  the development of the objectives of the 2030 agenda.
• The role of the different stakeholders of a university that trains managers in the development of competencies for sustainability and humanism.
• Systematic reviews related  to  the  development  of  competencies  for  sustainability  and  the training of future managers for the construction of more humane companies and societies.

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Dr. Almudena Eizaguirre
Dr. Maria Garcia Feijoo
Dr. Jon Paul Laka
Guest Editors

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