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Driving sustainable transformation from within: UCL and Leonardo collaborate

UCL School of Management is working with multinational aerospace and defence company Leonardo to train 200 of their top executives in the latest principles in sustainable transformation.

UCL School of Management for Leonardo

21 August 2024

The executive education programme is highly bespoke and tailored for the aerospace industry, drawing on STEM expertise from across UCL, including the Faculty of Engineering.

As part of the hybrid programme – which is delivered in Rome, London and online – participants take modules on topics including circular economy thinking and practice as well as the importance of diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI). There is also an acceleration workshop focused on creating the conditions for driving change.

Reflecting on the programme, its Director, Professor Paolo Taticchi (UCL School of Management), commented:

“One of the advantages of having UCL as a provider is our ability to integrate an interdisciplinary approach in the learning experience.

“I think that made a huge difference, because the reality is that the topic of sustainability is very industry specific and discussing sustainability in aerospace is completely different than it would be for say fashion, for example.”
An opportunity for change

Leonardo is a global industrial group that builds technological capabilities in aerospace, defence and security. The company plays a prominent role in major international strategic programmes and is a trusted technological partner of governments, defence agencies, institutions and enterprises, employing more than 50,000 staff worldwide, and with revenues in excess of €14bn in 2022.

While Leonardo has been committed to sustainability since 2009, the company decisively accelerated its path toward a sustainable transition in 2020. In 2023, Leonardo began to integrate sustainability into its business model fully through the Be Tomorrow – Leonardo 2030 Plan and the Sustainability Masterplan 2030.

Professor Taticchi is Deputy Director of the School (MBA and Global Engagement), and Professor in Strategy and Sustainability. He is a world-leading researcher on corporate sustainability as well as a prolific writer and public speaker.

Leonardo’s management team therefore saw an exciting opportunity to build a new executive education programme for senior staff, working with existing education partner, Milan-based Bocconi University and UCL School of Management (who led on curriculum design). The multifaceted collaboration was facilitated by UCL Consultants. Professor Stefano Pogutz, Professor of Practice of Corporate Sustainability at Bocconi, served as co-Director of the programme alongside Professor Taticchi.

The programme, Sustainable Transformation of Business, was developed in close consultation with Leonardo, and the contents and narrative of each session was validated by the board before delivery, in an iterative fashion. 
The team identified ‘strategic verticals’ in the curriculum – namely, decarbonisation, circular economy, equality, diversity and inclusion – which were seen as core in the sustainable transformation of Leonardo and critical for the future success of the company.

A theoretical framework and practical approach

The programme participants are 200 senior executives from the company working in various functions including R&D, sustainability reporting and finance.

Renata Mele, a Senior Vice President of Sustainability at Leonardo, helped commission the programme whilst also participating in it. She commented: 

“Almost a year ago, we launched a plan to transition the idea and the concept of sustainability into practice within the company. So we decided to launch a course on sustainable transformation of business and initiated a search for leading scholars that could support us in this which led to discussion with Paolo and Stefano and ultimately an agreement to work together. 
“What we’ve seen through the lectures so far is a very interesting mix between a theoretical framework and practical approach, that I hope and believe can be impactful for all our colleagues and for myself for my team in particular.”

Another Leonardo participant who attended the programme was Craig Drysdale, VP Talent & Engagement (UK). He commented: 
“The programme gives you a wider appreciation for everything to do with sustainability, so not just the planet side of things but also people and for me that’s really important. I can now talk to my team about that and help them to have a better understanding of the area. The program’s variety was something that I really enjoyed as well: it was really fast-paced with numerous speakers providing different contributions.”

Reciprocal benefits

As well as bringing a tangible impact to Leonardo, its mission and its senior executives, Professor Taticchi says the programme also has reciprocal benefits to UCL. 
“This collaboration has already led to conversations about future research and potential projects with students and that’s an important outcome of executive education: it’s not just a commercial enterprise; it’s invaluable in developing closer links with industry and creating opportunities for research and for student experience. There is so much to it.”

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