BI students win competition with essay on efficiency and sustainability

“Winning this competition has motivated us immensely, and we are grateful for the recognition of our efforts,” says the students.

The duo is honored as the winners of the Spring 2025 semester BI Opinion Essay Competition, organized by the BI Centre for Sustainability and Energy as part of the master’s course in Ethics and Sustainability in Organizations.

Both are pursuing a Master's in Business with a Major in Finance.

Real-world questions

“This essay competition is a great example of how to integrate practical communication training in a course. Getting the experience of writing and building strong arguments based on research-based sources, are valuable skills. We need a young generation able to take part in the public debate, taking the responsibility to be the antidote to all the misinformation and fake news today,”  says Linn M. Dybdahl, senior sustainability adviser at NMBU, and project manager of NMBUs Center for sustainability in higher education.

Professor Caroline Dale Ditlev-Simonsen, the co-organizer of the semiannual competition, states that the Opinion Essay competition is  a new and important initiative for fostering and understanding of complex sustainability issues for students.

“Through this competition, students confront real-world questions regarding sustainability and learn to apply their theoretical knowledge in a critical way. It prepares them to navigate the sustainability challenges they will face as future business leaders,” says Ditlev-Simonsen.

The perils of efficiency

The winning essay delves into the potential downsides of businesses prioritizing efficiency, arguing that while efficiency improvements can create an illusion of progress, they often lead to increased consumption and hinder necessary systemic changes.

The authors contend that efficiency-driven climate strategies frequently serve as greenwashing tactics, allowing companies to present themselves as sustainable while failing to make meaningful progress.

"Our aim was to shed light on how businesses often hide their lack of meaningful action behind a facade of efficiency. This greenwashing has serious implications for our climate goals," explains Stølen.

Ekpete adds, “We need to rethink our fundamental approaches to sustainability rather than simply optimizing processes without making real changes."

A call for systemic change

The essay emphasizes that while efficiency has its place, it cannot be relied upon as a silver bullet for climate action. Instead, the authors call for stringent regulations and a shift toward absolute emissions reductions. They assert that sustainable change requires a paradigm shift rather than merely tweaking existing processes.

“Merely focusing on efficiency can distract us from making the transformative changes necessary to combat climate change effectively,” they warn.

This year’s jury for the Opinion Essay Competition consisted of Karen Spens (President of BI), Caroline D. Ditlev-Simonsen (Professor, BI), and Linn Dybdahl (Senior Adviser, NMBU).

Read the essay here: Is efficiency destroying our planet?