As the seconds tick toward 9:55 on a Tuesday morning, students file into Marrs McLean 233. First a business major, then a political science major, and after, an environmental studies major.
Despite their varying interests, they all find a seat in the class called “Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility.” Instructed by Accounting Professor Amy Foshee Holmes, Ph.D., the students will investigate the concepts of corporate social responsibility, sustainability, natural capital, and human capital within the global business environment.
Holmes developed this course from a preexisting sustainable business class that offered students one credit hour. Students now earn three credit hours as well as an Oral and Visual Communication credit for Pathways, a requirement of Trinity University’s general education curriculum.
Holmes intentionally designed the course without prerequisites, wanting it to be accessible to anyone curious about sustainable business practices. She values interdisciplinary collaboration and creating opportunities for students from various disciplines to engage in meaningful conversations.
The class, Holmes says, is “a space where students who are getting experience in different areas and are interested in very different things come together and talk about big issues.”
Environmental studies major and education minor Andrea Rodriguez ’27 appreciates this collaborative environment.
“I’ve really enjoyed hearing from individuals whom I otherwise would not have class with,” Rodriguez says. “It’s a unique space to share knowledge with people who developed their brains in diverse ways over the past few years, and I’ve noticed myself thinking through classwork in different ways as a result.”
Through discussions with one another, students wrestle with big issues that Holmes feels are often missing from other business classes, where the emphasis is on economic returns and productivity: What is the cheapest, the most efficient, or the most profitable choice?
While she acknowledges these questions are necessary for business, Holmes strives to add other questions to the conversation, ones that focus more on the “how” of business. For her, that means considering the process in which companies make both financially sound and ethically responsible decisions.
“Should you spend a little more money to make sure that you're treating people correctly and that the environment is not harmed in the process?” she says. “That's not a typical thing you see in the business textbooks, but it is so important.”
Students get a chance to explore business decision-making first-hand through a conscious capitalism marketplace simulation game. Divided into teams, the students take on roles using their educational experiences to develop and run a bicycle manufacturing company for six quarters.
“Students don't realize all of the decisions that are going on within a business,” Holmes says. “It's good for business students because they (can) see the whole picture, and non-business students get a glimpse of all that is involved in managing business operations.”
Students even gain real-world, international business experience when they collaborate with a consulting firm based in Canada to create a framework for sustainability practices in primary and secondary schools.
As an aspiring teacher, Rodriguez is excited to better understand what sustainability looks like in education. “We are still in the early stages of the research, but I’m thrilled to get in contact with faculty and administrators across campuses to help create a helpful tool for schools,” she says.
Holmes recognizes how essential it is for her students to engage with businesses on a global scale.
“Sustainability is a global issue, and we're really behind in the U.S.,” she says. Reporting on sustainability issues is becoming mandatory in other countries, Holmes says, while the U.S. is falling behind on environmental protection and social justice in favor of economic gains.
Even within the United States, there is variability in sustainability practices. To illustrate this, Holmes brings in guest speakers who share their expertise from a variety of perspectives: for-profit versus not-for-profit and governmental organizations, manufacturing, textiles, renewable energy, standard setting, and change management consulting.
Rodriguez enjoyed hearing from two librarians from Trinity, Anne Graf, MLIS, and Dennis Donathan, who led the class in a case study on Domino’s Pizza. Rodriguez learned that, according to the case study, Domino’s and other pizza producers often claim their boxes are recyclable, but because they aren’t properly processed to remove the grease and cheese residue, they often end up in landfills anyway. Rodriguez now understands that “recyclable” does not necessarily mean “recycled,” and she is more aware that consuming products labeled as such is not a landfill-free guarantee.
As students listen to each speaker, Holmes encourages them to ask: “Why do they think the way they think?” She acknowledges that often the speakers’ points of view are different and influenced by their backgrounds and work experiences, and she invites students to be curious and ask questions.
“That’s the way we’re going to find solutions,” Holmes says. “Listening to a broad range of stakeholders and differing perspectives, then making decisions that may not be perfect, but ones that do the most good for the most people.”
Editor's Notes: In the image at the top of the story, Rodriguez shares her thoughts during a class discussion.