Studying in Scandinavia offers a unique learning experience and career opportunities for aspiring sustainability professionals. The region consistently leads the globe in sustainable development. We hear from Copenhagen Business School MBA graduate Catherine Merlo, who currently works as a sustainability strategy consultant at a Danish architecture firm, to learn more.
If you’re thinking about boosting, or even pursuing, your career in sustainability, there’s no better study destination than Scandinavia. Consisting of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark (geographically), as well as Finland and Iceland (culturally), Scandinavian countries consistently demonstrate a strong commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In 2022, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway ranked as the top four countries with the highest SDG Index Scores. Denmark, for example, has achieved SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), as 100% of its population has access to electricity as well as clean fuels and technology for cooking.
You might be familiar with sustainable brands originating from Scandinavia, from plant-based milk company Oatly (Sweden) to sustainable fashion brand Organic Basics (Denmark). The region is also home to lesser-known, yet impactful, startups. This includes Brightplus, a Finnish startup that designs and manufactures biomaterials from renewable resources, and Ecocube, a Norwegian company that offers mobile, eco-friendly housing made of reused shipping containers.
Scandinavia shows its commitment to sustainable development through its official action plan, Vision 2030. Among other points, the plan prioritizes sustainability focus areas such as carbon neutrality, biodiversity, and an inclusive green transition.
Denmark in particular, has three of three out of the top 10 most sustainable companies in the world on its roster which includes Danish wind giant Vestas, leading bioscience company Chr. Hansen, and energy major Ørsted.
For Catherine Merlo, an American MBA graduate from Copenhagen Business School (CBS), studying in Denmark has served as a valuable, eye-opening experience in building her sustainability expertise.
“Denmark is a small country, but they absolutely lead when it comes to sustainability and sustainable innovation and the energy transition,” she tells us. “Denmark is so market-ready that it is the perfect playground. For me, that was really what was most attractive about the CBS MBA, because I knew that the business environment was eager to have necessary and hard conversations about decarbonization.” (10:40)
Furthermore, studying the Full-Time MBA at Copenhagen Business School allows participants to explore other specializations – such as digitalization, entrepreneurship, or finance – while maintaining that focus on sustainability.
Catherine explains, “The thing about the Copenhagen Business School MBA is that you can do a different concentration and you’re not going to be very far from sustainability. … I have classmates that are now at Novo Nordisk working in digitalization, and absolutely it is a part of their work to integrate the digital strategy with zero environmental impact. I have two colleagues at Maersk working in marketing. They both completed the Digitalization specialization, and they partner with the corporate sustainability team.” (08:42)
In short, “You don’t really go through HR, innovation, marketing, finance without also talking about the intersection with sustainability group function,” as Catherine puts it. (09:57)
Establishing a career in sustainability requires a unique set of skills. According to new research, the five most important competencies that sustainability professionals must master are:
The core skill that underlies all these competencies is change management — the ability to support and drive change within an organization. Catherine says, “Change is hard for humans. … So, I think if you have experience in managing this change process and managing your stakeholders and bringing them along authentically, that is a really valuable area of expertise.” (17:52)
“My classmates who are now working in big Danish companies have this skill set that allows them to be change leaders within their organization,” she adds. (10:21)
On a higher level, we can’t achieve sustainability without effective leadership. Catherine declares, “Everyone deserves every day to wake up and go to work and feel like they are contributing towards a sustainable future and to trust that their leadership is working at addressing the complexity of this transition within their business case.” (02:44)
For aspiring sustainability professionals with no prior experience in the field, don’t worry! Sustainable development is a relatively new and evolving field, which presents great opportunities for ambitious MBA students and graduates.
To start, it’s important to consider how your background could align with a career in sustainability. “I think you would be really surprised at how many of the things that you have done, actually, are sustainability job functions,” Catherine shares. (12:35)
If you can showcase your experience utilizing those skills listed above, there’s a good chance you can adapt them to a promising career in sustainability. Catherine says, “When you are looking at your profile. When you’re going through your application checklist. When you’re even just looking at your resume. Really think about how what you do impacts those [sustainability] outcomes. You’ll be really surprised and, I think, inspired to continue that career shift.” (13:42)
Businesses and organizations continue to prioritize the SDGs, and the demand for professionals with a sustainability-focused MBA is only expected to grow. Sustainability’s fast-paced and complex nature requires individuals to have strong skills in stakeholder management, interdisciplinary collaboration, and effective communication. This unique field provides an opportunity to build a successful career and make a meaningful impact on society and the environment.
Are you interested in strengthening your career by studying sustainability in Scandinavia? Reach out directly to a current or past MBA student at Copenhagen Business School to hear about their experience!
