Tilling the Ethical Soil of Management Learning

As management educators living in an age of climate change and biodiversity loss, we are urged to engage business students head, heart, and hands to address the wicked problems of our time. Rightly, there have been increasing calls for a social-ecological approach to management learning and education (MLE) that recognizes the interdependence between environment, society, and business (Colombo et al., 2024). Edwards and Küpers (2024, p. 1) state there is scarcity “of both conceptual and applied tools for supporting MLE pedagogy regarding emotions toward nature, especially at the planetary scale.” To address this gap, Copenhagen Business School (CBS) educators, have taken a hands-on approach, literally getting their hands dirty in a permaculture garden. The location of CBS’ ‘Permahaven’ in the city center was intentionally designed to engage business people, CBS students and staff, as well as members of the community who are unemployed or elderly, demographics which students do not usually connect with. The following review considers Permahaven’s garden, with a focus on its accompanying online resources, to provide management educators and practitioners with content to connect business decision-making with biosphere outcomes. The free-to-access website https://permahaven.cbs.dk/ features PowerPoint slides, podcasts, journal reference lists, seminar invites, as well as links to their social media and videos.