Business students learn to think beyond borders

November 15, 2006

Source: McMaster University
http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/story.cfm?id=4357

by Julia ThomsonNovember 15, 2006

Students at the DeGroote School of Business are taught to think about the triple bottom line--how to be accountable for the financial, environmental and social aspects of every decision they make. When corporations look beyond the dollar signs to this triple bottom line, they become agents for change.

Corporations and people around the world have been encouraged to support the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); eight targets which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by 2015.

Wendy Kohler Boothman, entrepreneur and founder of TalentedWomen.com, and Kirsty Duncan, adjunct professor at the University of Toronto, founded the MDGs Tour to promote awareness and action on the MDGs. The tour is visiting business schools across Ontario and the U.S.

"It is our hope that participation in the Millennium Development Goals Tour will be rewarding and inspiring, and will incite future business leaders to go beyond their legal obligations, compliance issues, and take action on key issues--including education, the environment, human health and poverty--that affect both their local community and the world at large," explains Boothman.

Graduate and undergraduate business students will be empowered to act locally by making a difference to a local charity such as food banks, shelters or other causes, and globally, by taking action on one of the MDGs in support of developing countries.

During each visit, local donations will be collected and delivered, and actions on MDGs announced and updated weekly in order to further empower students around North America and beyond.

"We truly live in a global economy and events such as the Millennium Development Goals Tour exemplify the DeGroote School of Business' commitment to ethics, leadership and innovation," says Milena Head, associate dean, DeGroote School of Business. "The United Nations has made significant efforts to raise the social consciousness of business leaders around the world."

The MDGs Tour will be at the DeGroote School of Business on Friday, Nov. 17 from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in DSB-505. Please RSVP to adeanbus@mcmaster.ca by Wednesday, Nov. 15 if you wish to attend.