Press Release
Sustainability thought leaders Peter Bakker and Kate Raworth awarded an Honorary Doctorate at Business School Lausanne
Lausanne, Switzerland, 30 July 2017 – The President of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Peter Bakker and leading economist Kate Raworth received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Business School Lausanne at the School’s Annual Graduation Ceremony that was held at Palais de Beaulieu in Lausanne on Saturday, 29 July.
“As a school focused on educating responsible leaders for a more sustainable world and now celebrating our 30th Anniversary, we wanted to recognize the contributions of remarkable individuals who are actively engaged in creating meaningful change in society, business, and the economy. Both Peter Bakker and Kate Raworth are outstanding examples of visionary leadership with global impact – we are proud to have them receive BSL’s Doctorate Honoris Causa and serve as role models for our students,” said BSL’s thought leader Dr. Katrin Muff.
President of WBCSD Peter Bakker was recognized for his leadership in the corporate sector and demonstrated impact in encouraging the global business community to work towards solving the grand challenges of our time. Mr. Bakker is a distinguished business leader who was the CEO of Netherlands-based company TNT. Under his leadership, TNT became a leader in Corporate Responsibility with a ground-breaking partnership with the UN World Food Program, ambitious CO2 reduction targets from its Planet Me initiative and multiple year leading positions in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Mr. Bakker is the recipient of the Clinton Global Citizen Award in 2009 and the SAM Sustainability Leadership Award in 2010.
Kate Raworth was awarded the BSL Honorary Degree in recognition of her contribution to sustainable development through her new economic model, dubbed the Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries. The Doughnut represents a breakthrough alternative to growth economics that aims to address the 21st century’s social and ecological challenges. Kate Raworth’s internationally praised idea of Doughnut Economics has been vastly influential amongst sustainable development thought leaders, progressive businesses and political activists. Ms. Raworth is a Senior Visiting Research Associate at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute and a Senior Associate at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.
Both award recipients addressed the BSL Graduating Class of 2017 and their families, as well as faculty, staff, and guests of the School. In their commencement speeches, Peter Bakker and Kate Raworth emphasized the possibilities lying ahead of the new generation of young leaders and entrepreneurs to make a lasting positive impact on business and the world through meaningful action and commitment to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
For further information, please contact:
Denitsa Marinova, Marketing Coordinator, Business School Lausanne, +41 21 619 06 06, denitsa.marinova@bsl-lausanne.ch
About Business School Lausanne
Business School Lausanne (BSL) is an innovative business school, located in Switzerland. Our mission is to provide a learning platform that enables individuals and organizations to thrive by co-creating viable business solutions for our planet and its people. BSL ranks #3 in Switzerland and among the Top 20 business schools in Western Europe in the QS Global 250 Business Schools Report 2017. Our ACBSP-accredited degree programs include BBA, Masters, MBA, Executive MBA, and DBA programs. BSL also provides Executive Training in General Management, Corporate Finance (with preparation for the CFA Level I examination), and Sustainable Business (in collaboration with the University of St Gallen). We go beyond traditional education and organize teaching and learning around societal, environmental, and economic issues. At BSL, students of sixty nationalities and diverse backgrounds join our experienced faculty in a collaborative exploration of business as a force for good. Established in 1987, BSL is the co-founder of the 50+20 initiative on Management Education for the World (www.50plus20.org) in partnership with the Global Responsible Leadership Initiative (www.grli.org) and the Principles of Responsible Management Education (U.N. backed PRME).
