Leading Sustainable Enterprises

Description

As human society progressively exceeds the earth’s carrying capacity, companies are under increasing pressure from consumers, investors, governments and other stakeholders to incorporate social and environmental considerations into business objectives. Companies which fail to adequately do this are at risk of losing market share or worse. Witness the major sell-off of BP assets to cover its more than US$54 billion costs for damages to the environment, and impacted communities following the Deep Water Horizon oil spill, or Volkswagen stock plummeting a third of its value in less than a week, and estimated costs associated with recalls as well as likely penalties being reported at USD$ 35 billion following the scandal involving emissions rigging of vehicles. In contrast, companies at the forefront of change are steadily building company value along with the loyalty of staff, customers and investors, as they find profitable new opportunities emerging for innovation and strategy that leverage a sustainable approach to doing business.

This course contains comprehensive insights on the conceptual and empirical issues linking sustainability with business practice. The course is interdisciplinary in its nature drawing on insights from socio-economic, political, environmental and business management studies. The lectures and workshops will introduce students to the roles that business, globalization, consumerism and environmentalism play in the global system we find ourselves a part of.

The course covers different theoretical frameworks, ethical dilemmas, as well as adopted practices by businesses striving for pro-environmental and social performance. Questions such as, What are the limits to Corporate Social Responsibility/Sustainability? What are the risks and benefits inherent to setting value-based targets? What are the aspirations inside a public company? How to build a value driven organization? How to manage sustainability-oriented trade-offs? What are the campaigns and strategies NGOs use to engage with businesses? What are the roles and processes of stakeholder engagement? will be asked.

The course addresses these questions in the context of corporate decision-making, linking political economy, environmental and ecological justice, and innovation targeted at alternatives, namely ISO standards, MSC, Cradle to Cradle and other alternative frameworks.