‘Climate adaptation is happening now’

Sap Ghosh has spent his entire career in the banking sector. During his Executive MBA at Nyenrode Business University, he explored the role banks can play in sustainability, with a particular focus on climate adaptation.

“My story started about two and a half years ago,” Sap explains when asked what motivated him to pursue a two-year MBA. “I was 36 years old and asked myself whether I wanted to continue doing the same work for another 32 years. Your work should add value. That is still a long time.” As he considered the direction he wanted his career to take, he chose to pursue an Executive MBA at Nyenrode, with a focus on sustainability.

Experiencing the effects of climate change

“The people I asked for advice all told me: choose a subject that genuinely matters to you and is close to your heart, because you are going to invest a great deal of time in it. That is how I arrived at sustainability. I come from a part of India where you experience the effects of climate change first-hand. People are so busy with their daily lives that they have little time to think about the future.”

Sustainability and net zero were already major topics at the bank where Sap worked. “The conversation was taking place at the strategic level, but it wasn’t translating into action on the ground. André and Nicolaas, my lecturers at Nyenrode, told me: ‘There is more to it than meets the eye.’ That gave me the push I needed.” A great deal was already happening, he explains, particularly in relation to climate litigation. But a conversation with the bank’s then head of sustainability introduced another perspective: climate adaptation. How can we adapt the way we live to changing conditions?

For Sap, this is far from an abstract question. He grew up and lives in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, in the world’s largest river delta – a region once characterised by extensive mangrove forests and rich biodiversity. “Flooding, landslides and prolonged droughts are nothing new. But now they happen every year, and they are much more extreme than they used to be. It has become a succession of extremes: flooding followed by severe drought and extreme temperatures.” Flooding also has a major impact on the quality of agricultural land, resulting in poorer harvests.

Climate adaptation

The MBA gave Sap the opportunity to explore these issues in depth. “Participants come from very different sectors, from banking and the oil industry to education and healthcare. When you have spent a long time inside the bubble of your own sector, that is refreshing. It creates a safe environment to discuss different topics and helps you understand the dynamics and challenges in other people’s worlds.

That can really open your eyes.” The MBA also included international study trips to South Africa, Berkeley in California, and Asia. “You see enormous differences in the challenges these regions face. It teaches you to look at issues from a completely different perspective.” Asked why he specifically chose to investigate the role of banks in climate adaptation, Sap points to two important reasons. “I come from banking. I know the environment and I know the subject is being discussed internally. There is a lot of debate and a certain momentum around the consequences of climate change.

But perhaps the most important reason is that if I want to change things, the best place for me to start is in the environment I know.” Transitions happen because there is a need for them, he stresses. “It is the carrot or the stick. One or the other. Push or pull.” Banks occupy a central position within the financial ecosystem. That gives them the opportunity to help accelerate climate adaptation. They operate within a regulatory framework and provide financing to businesses. According to Sap, this creates an opportunity to encourage companies to move in the right direction: by showing them which measures can make a positive impact and help them adapt to changing circumstances.

A distant future?

Sap’s research into the role of Dutch banks in climate adaptation concludes that a cultural shift is needed: one that increases awareness, removes knowledge barriers and, above all, creates a greater sense of urgency. “Climate litigation is on the agenda, but very little research has been done into climate adaptation. Adapting to climate change is sometimes seen as surrender – as if you are giving up the fight against climate change. That isn’t the case, but the association is still there.” Instead, Sap argues that it makes sense to start considering today what the world may look like in ten or twenty years. Yet many people and businesses are still dealing with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation. “Unfortunately, thinking about the future can therefore become a challenge reserved for the relatively privileged few who have the capacity to do so.”

His supervisor André Nijhof, Professor of Sustainable Business and Stewardship, sees a clear connection between Sap’s personal circumstances and his field of research. “If you work for one of the three major Dutch banks, climate adaptation can feel abstract – something that lies far in the future. Your attention is focused on today’s priorities. Sap experiences the consequences of climate change first-hand at home. For him, it is happening here and now. He therefore experiences what climate adaptation means beyond the abstract level. The personal dimension is part of both his motivation and his research.”

Participants in Nyenrode’s MBA programs come from all over the world, bringing their own experiences into the classroom and creating lively conversations and discussions. “You bring your own experience with you,” André says. “That is incredibly powerful. It helps bring the future into the present and enables people to demonstrate leadership.”

Personal growth

Despite the short-term focus that often dominates decision-making and the growing risks associated with climate change, Sap remains cautiously optimistic about the future. “One of the conclusions of my research is that humanity is capable of remarkable things. Banks or the West cannot solve these problems on their own. We arrived at this situation together, and we will also have to find our way out of it together.” Human beings, he says, have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to adapt to change. “With every revolution, we have adapted remarkably well. My feeling is that we can do the same with climate adaptation. The most important thing is that we start quickly. If we begin in time, it becomes a more manageable process and we can learn along the way. If we do too little now, the consequences will become more severe and more people will feel the effects – particularly those living in poverty.”

Sap also describes the significant personal development he experienced during his MBA, particularly in terms of leadership and self-awareness. “It has been important for me to truly understand what matters to me and what doesn’t, and to discover what gives me energy. It wasn’t an inexpensive program, but it was an extremely rewarding one. Working with André and Diane Zandee was fantastic. We were on the same wavelength. When I received feedback or input, I could discuss it constructively.” André adds: “Sap is a student who really thinks about the feedback you give him. When you receive the next version of his paper, he hasn’t simply incorporated your comments – he is already three steps further. That is what you hope for.”

Asked what comes next after completing his MBA, Sap says: “I hope to publish an article about my research together with Diane. And I want to take my career further in the direction of sustainable finance and spend more of my time working in this field. I am fortunate that people from two different areas within the bank have already approached me about working together.”