Johanna Lehner studies in the Bachelor's program in Sustainability in Business and Economics (3rd semester)

Johanna Lehner wants to make not only her daily life but also the economy — and thus society — a little more sustainable. That’s why she’s pursuing a Bachelor's degree program in Sustainability in Business & Economics at the Ingolstadt School of Management (WFI) at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (KU). The program combines elements of business administration, economics, and ethics, with a strong focus on sustainability.

“I decided to pursue the Bachelor's degree program because I’ve become increasingly interested in sustainability over the past few years,” explains Johanna. Her enthusiasm for the subject is so great that she doesn’t want to limit her commitment to her free time. “I want to understand how our society — and above all, our economy — can become more sustainable.”

The degree program helps her achieve this goal: What matters most to Johanna is that the degree program directly combines sustainability and economics rather than treating them separately. “In the ‘Sustainable Entrepreneurship’ course, for example, we developed a sustainable business model and thus saw firsthand how sustainability can be integrated into start-ups from the very beginning. Or we learn about the policy measures available to achieve sustainability goals — such as taxes.”

Johanna is interested in many different disciplines: “The degree program reflects this very well, as we have courses that lean more toward business administration as well as those that lean more toward economics.” The Bachelor's degree program also includes courses in ethics and society. Thanks to this broad education, a wide range of career paths are open to her: “I can work directly in a company, for example in the sustainability department, as well as in political consulting or at non-governmental organizations.”

Johanna further expands her knowledge of sustainable business through her part-time job: “I’m a student assistant for Prof. Langenmayr. She teaches many lectures in our degree program, and through this work at her Chair, I’m already gaining initial insights into research in the fields of sustainability and economics.” In addition, she is active in 'DenkNachhaltig', a sustainability student association. “This allows me to pursue my interests outside the lecture hall as well. For example, we organized a Sustainability Day—there I gained my first experience in organizing small projects.” During the event, the students handed out vegan cookies and the recipes, among other things. “We wanted to show that vegan cookies are just as delicious as non-vegan ones—and on top of that, more sustainable and animal-friendly.”

In this way, Johanna is already advocating for sustainability today while simultaneously gaining important knowledge to help her turn it into a career later on: “I hope we can find a way to do business without exploiting our planet, its resources, and people. So that sustainable developments can be seen as an opportunity and not automatically as something that works against the economy.”

You can find more information on the Bachelor’s degree program in Sustainability in Business & Economics here: https://www.ku.de/studienangebot/sustainability-in-business-economics