Jesuit Business Schools and Universities as Ethical Consumers: The Catholic Ethical Purchasing Alliance and the Inspirational Paradigm for Jesuit Business Education

The Inspirational Paradigm (IP) project launched in 2020 calls for a renewal of Jesuit business education to form our students to become leaders in creating a just social order in which all can flourish. The new educational paradigm identifies “numerous elements that make it relevant, effective, meaningful, and truly Jesuit” such as renewing business curricula, using the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm, envisioning the essential skills needed for this new kind of leadership, and engaging key stakeholders. An element that appears to be missing is that of modeling some of the changes we desire to create a world where all can flourish. One such change is around ethical consumption. While we might include this topic in business courses such as marketing, it is worth noting that our business schools and universities are also institutional consumers. As institutional consumers we can choose to function in the “business as usual” model or the enlightened model that the IP calls us to. Pope Francis in the encyclical Laudato si’ quotes Pope Benedict from his encyclical Caritas in Veritate (n. 66) that “it is good for people to realize that purchasing is always a moral – and not simply economic – act.” As a moral act it also touches upon one of the hungers that the IP lists, namely, a hunger for a moral compass. The question that arises then is how our institutions use “moral discernment and moral courage” in their purchasing to model for our students some of the yearnings of the IP. While we acknowledge that the entire gamut of institutional purchasing is complex, we propose small steps that demonstrate our commitment to a new model of business. One such small step is partnering with the Catholic Ethical Purchasing Alliance (CEPA). CEPA is a project of the Ignatian Solidarity Network, EthixMerch, Equal Exchange, and COLLECTION. The Alliance provides support to institutions that seek to integrate moral values into their purchasing decisions. In this presentation we will provide a brief overview of the alliance. We will also showcase some existing partnerships with Jesuit universities and list some avenues for further partnership opportunities.