WHU Sustainability Management Center
About us
The WHU Sustainability Management Center acts as a platform for bundling and sharing the university’s sustainability-related activities in research and teaching with internal and external stakeholders. It fosters dialogue between research, teaching, and practice by making key actors and initiatives visible, identifying trends and areas of overlap, and actively connecting stakeholders. At its core is a dynamic knowledge cycle that generates new approaches and solutions to the most pressing challenges of our time.
The Center's work focuses on three core areas:
- We promote interdisciplinary sustainability research that meets high academic standards and addresses issues of societal relevance.
- We systematically integrate sustainability into teaching and empower students to act responsibly and help shape entrepreneurial transformation.
- We strengthen knowledge transfer between research and practice and create spaces for exchange, collaboration, and co-creation.
Advancing the sustainable transformation of business and society
Promoting practice-oriented sustainability research
Building competencies in sustainability management
Facilitating knowledge transfer between research and practice
Interdisciplinary perspectives on sustainability
Sustainable management is relevant across all areas of business and requires diverse ways of thinking. The WHU Sustainability Management Center is therefore anchored in all WHU faculty groups and brings together a broad range of perspectives from research, teaching, and practice. Sustainability-related content is addressed across the following areas:
- Economics
- Entrepreneurship & Innovation
- Finance & Accounting
- Management
- Marketing & Sales
- Supply Chain Management
Our team
Institute of Family Business and Mittelstand
Our activities
2 | Connecting stakeholders
Sustainable transformation is built on continuous exchange among all relevant stakeholders. The WHU Sustainability Management Center actively connects internal and external actors, from professors, students, and alumni to companies of all sizes, the public sector, non-governmental organizations, and individual thought leaders and change makers. It promotes the flow of information, builds relationships, and supports the exchange of resources, knowledge, and experiences – both within WHU and far beyond.
News of the WHU Sustainability Management Centers
Faculty, staff, students, and alumni are deeply committed to sustainability and contribute through a wide variety of projects and initiatives. The WHU Sustainability Management Center showcases this engagement to promote exchange with both internal and external stakeholders. Below, you will find insights into the WHU community’s sustainability efforts. For further updates, please visit our LinkedIn page.
Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME)
WHU is a member of the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), a United Nations-supported initiative established in 2007 to promote sustainability in business and management education. Through its membership, WHU supports PRME’s mission to equip students with the skills and values to lead responsibly, prepare the next generation of leaders to address global challenges, and contribute to more sustainable business practices worldwide.
As part of its commitment to PRME, WHU regularly prepares a Sharing Information on Progress (SIP) Report, which outlines the ongoing efforts to integrate the PRME Principles across research and teaching. The 2025 report can be downloaded here.
Our offer
The WHU Sustainability Management Center serves as a platform for active, cross-sector dialogue and offers companies a wide range of opportunities for collaboration. These include joint research projects, content-driven partnerships such as guest lectures, and support for doctoral positions or innovative event formats. Feel free to contact us if you would like to get involved.
Strong network
Engage in active exchange with experts from academia, education, and practice to gain fresh insights and connect with motivated talent for your sustainable business development.
Practice-oriented research
Gain access to academically grounded sustainability research and collaborate with us on research projects addressing current sustainability challenges.
Exclusive formats
Experience dialogue, inspiration, and knowledge impulses through selected events and networking formats focused on sustainable transformation.
Sustainable positioning
Position your company as a responsible and forward-thinking organization with a clear focus on sustainability.
Expert and networking events
The WHU community regularly organizes events that foster exchange between academia and practice. The goal is to build knowledge, open up new perspectives, and promote learning in the field of sustainable business management.
WHU Sustainability Management Conference
With the WHU Sustainability Management Conference, the WHU Sustainability Management Center provides a platform for exchange, inspiration, and collaboration on sustainability. The event brings together thought leaders and decision-makers to share ideas and drive forward-thinking business practices.
Our next event:
WHU Sustainability Management Conference 2026
Save the date: May 7, 2026
Agenda and tickets available soon!
follow us on LinkedIn.
Feel free to contact us
