Sustainability: Moving from Concept to Strategy

What does it take to move sustainability from a concept to action—and turn it into a source of competitive advantage? At INCAE, students explore this question from Costa Rica, one of the world’s most compelling living laboratories for sustainability, while gaining a broader perspective on how businesses operate, grow, and create value in Latin America. The experience goes beyond sustainability as a stand-alone topic. Participants examine its connection with strategy, entrepreneurship, innovation, and family business—from understanding how entrepreneurs build and scale ventures, to exploring how family-owned companies navigate growth, professionalization, and long-term value creation. Costa Rica provides a unique setting to see sustainability in action. Through academic sessions, case discussions, company visits, field experiences, and conversations with entrepreneurs and business leaders, students explore how organizations translate environmental and social challenges into strategic choices, new business models, and opportunities for innovation. The result is a highly experiential week that connects business strategy with real-world impact. Participants leave INCAE with a deeper understanding of how companies can remain competitive while responding to some of today’s most pressing challenges—and, most importantly, how to move from sustainability as a concept to sustainability as strategy.