The Innovative Business School

The sustainability initiative at IMD  77 businesses and business leaders to inspire others and to set the tone for the future. As part of this effort, in 2019, IMD and Pictet joined forces to create the IMD-Pictet Sustainability in Family Business Award (SIFBA). “This special Award has been created to recognize family businesses that have a positive impact on society,” explained Sameh Abadir, SIFBA Award Director and Professor of Leadership and Negotiation at IMD. “It was designed to enable, foster, increase, promote and re- ward sustainable actions and goals” (refer to Figure 8.2). IMD has a long history of more than 30 years of engagement with family businesses. It was the birthplace of family business education in 1988, when – as one of the first business schools in the world – it started to offer family business programs with the backing of three leaders in the field of family business studies – professors John Davis, Ivan Lansberg and John Ward. In 1989 IMD was one of the founding organizations of the Family Business Network (FBN) and is based in IMD’s campus in Lausanne. IMD introduced its flagship Global Fam- ily Business Award in 1996 to recognize excellence in family business. IMD was also the first business school to introduce an open program for family offices in 2013. Family businesses have a unique opportunity to outperform their counterparts in sustainability metrics. “Family businesses understand the importance of long-term thinking, and the impact of what they do or don’t do both locally and further afield,” stressed IMD President Copyright Material – Provided by Taylor & Francis Not for Redistribution

Enable

Alignment among business and society

Economic exchange and sustainable incentives for progress and performance

Foster

Awareness of the role of family business in contributing to sustainable practices

Increase

Doing well by doing good through collective responsibility

Promote

Resource reallocation and innovation in sustainability

Reward

Figure 8.2  IMD-Pictet Sustainability in Family Business Award.