Business, Sustainability and Innovation

Course goals

• problematise the role of business in society and explain the business case for sustainability;
• discuss and apply a range of methods and tools available to companies to become more circular/sustainable;
• analyse and evaluate how companies innovate their products, processes, organisational and marketing approaches to deliver environmental, social and economic value;
• provide advice to companies on how to move forward in their efforts to integrate circularity/sustainability in their business practices;
• work collaboratively and collegially with peers.

Content

Recently, firms have become a key focus in the sustainability debate. In this course, we will discuss the role of business in society and the fundamentals of corporate sustainability. In the lectures and tutorials you will learn more about the evolution of corporate sustainability from purely ‘end-of-pipe’ solutions to whole-system approaches aimed at changing processes, products, organisational and marketing practices so that waste is minimised and resources are used more efficiently and effectively, in almost closed-loop systems (i.e. a circular economy).

During the course, you will also work in a group to analyse the corporate sustainability initiatives implemented by a company of your choice and assess its level of circularity. Afterwards, you will advise the company on how to move forward in the integration of sustainability/circularity by redesigning its business model, (supply chain) processes and/or products, and developing an effective marketing and communication strategy to promote your circular innovations.