1.0 Module overview and an introduction to Sustainability
1.1 Introduction
There is growing
recognition across business that the reductionist ‘mind set’ founded on
unlimited economic growth impervious to the social and environmental impacts of
commercial activities will not resolve the converging environmental, social and
economic crises now faced by the global community. Ever greater numbers of
Boards and CEOs are grappling with a notion of sustainability and attempting to
define precisely what it means for their business.
The primary aim of this
unit is to capture this transition and define what businesses are doing to
adopt a more sustainable approach. Looking at a number of case studies, the
unit will attempt to demonstrate how individual businesses are attempting to
align their activities to address global sustainability challenges such as
climate change and carbon reduction, energy and water scarcity and poverty
reduction.
The module is divided into
ten sessions. After an initial introduction to sustainability and sustainable
development and an investigation into the changing role of business in the 21st
century, the module attempts to analyse corporate sustainability from the
perspective of a variety of stakeholders – customers, suppliers, investors,
employees, the natural environment and the broader community and civil society.
Session 8 investigates how business measures and communicates sustainability
activities to these stakeholders, whilst session 9 looks at number of case
studies from across the broad corporate spectrum. The final session reviews the
module and provides an activity to assess learning.
The module structure is as
follows:
Session 1 –
Module overview and an introduction to Sustainability
Session 2 –
Sustainability and the Evolving Role of Business
Session 3 –
Sustainability in the Marketplace I (Customers & Products)
Session 4 –
Sustainability in the Marketplace II (Suppliers & Investors)
Session 5 -
Sustainability in the Workplace
Session 6
–Sustainability and the Natural Environment
Session 7
–Sustainability and Society
Session 8 –
Measuring & Communicating Sustainability
Session 9 –
Case studies in Sustainability
Session 10 –
Module Review and Assessment