Singapore, 24 January 2022 (Monday) – The Singapore Management University’s (SMU) teaching case on sustainability scored a win at the Financial Times (FT) Responsible Business Education Awards 2022. SMU is the only Singaporean university to be acknowledged at this category of the Awards, which recognises the best teaching cases published in the past three years with sustainability and climate change as key learning objectives.

SMU’s winning case, titled “Growing a Global Forest: Ant Financial, Alipay, and the Ant Forest”, which explores sustainability and climate change through a pragmatic analysis of Alipay’s green initiatives, won in the award category of “Teaching Cases on Sustainability”. Penned by faculty members and a student from SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB), Ryan Merrill, Hannah H. Chang, Liang Hao, and Lan Yang, in collaboration with case writer Adina Wong from SMU Centre for Management Practice, the case promoted interdisciplinary learning and flexibility in discussions that students enjoyed.

Another team from SMU, comprising Professor Emeritus of Finance (Practice) Annie Koh, Flocy Joseph, Head of Commercial at SMU Executive Development and Cheah Sin Mei, Senior Case Writer of the SMU Centre for Management Practice, was awarded runner-up in the same award category for their entry, “Bold and Responsible Leadership in Uncharted Waters: The Future of BW Tankers”.

“We are delighted that we have two SMU case studies featured in this prestigious award. It speaks to the dedication and hard work that our faculty and CMP writers put into developing teaching cases for educators worldwide. It also recognises SMU’s commitment to sustainability in our teaching,” said Dr Havovi Joshi, Director, SMU Centre for Management Practice.

“We are also heartened that our efforts to focus on uncovering Asia-centric cases are paying off. It tells us that the educators are looking for compelling teaching materials that can speak about the need to understand the unique contexts in which businesses and organisations grapple with pressing issues, such as nurturing sustainability and resolving eco-dilemmas.”

SMU’s runner-up case on BW Tankers delved into the diverse complexities faced by the maritime sector, with issues such as stringent regulatory standards, an evolving business environment, and the rise of disruptive technologies. Like the winning case on Alipay, both underscore SMU’s strategic priority area of Sustainable Living. Through this area of focus, the University seeks to drive solutions in managing climate change and sustainable city living, enhancing quality of life.

Dr Flocy Joseph commented, “Our LKCSB undergraduates in the Maritime track, as well as maritime officials from across the world in our Executive Development Programmes, leveraged on this case to discuss the strategy of BW’s growth and the vision of the BW leader. On a few occasions, we had the protagonist of the case join us during the discussions, which brought the case alive and gave our learners a better idea of the kind of bold and responsible leadership that led to BW’s ongoing success.”

The FT’s Responsible Business Education Awards 2022 recognises the outstanding work by researchers, teachers and alumni of business schools in making an impact around sustainability and social purpose. The Awards comprise three categories with a common theme of identifying strong examples of work by business schools, seeking to focus on people and planet alongside profit.