Sustainability Management


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COURSE INFORMATION

 

Sustainability Management

 

“When you know your limits, you can begin to unlock the endless possibilities of Sustainability.”


It is rightly said above and so is very true for our planet Earth. The world is growing at a fast pace and so are our demands and requirements. To balance this growth the resources available and the environment are shrinking. For our profits to continue to grow and the impact on the planet to get smaller we need to look forward to a sustainable growth. Voluntary and not only mandatory efforts are required for this. We need to be more and more efficient; more environmentally friendly and innovative technologies are by far the best solution at hand.


Globalization is a strong tool for growth but it also has its weaknesses. With rapid economic growth comes the depletion of environment. If we speak in very crude terms, the warming of the atmosphere (global warming) due to greenhouse gases is perhaps the most serious concerns for humankind. Consumption of non-renewable resources, including fossil fuels, is on-going at an alarming rate, pushing the environment to its limits and jeopardising the survival of our future generations.

 

Economic development on a sustainable basis is a big challenge to us as the standards of living and material well-being have been increasing but there are no signs of the improvements of the quality of life or to the least equal distribution of the well being.


The most prominent misconception among businesses is that there is a trade-off between environmental sustainability and economic progress. There is substantial evidence, however, that greening of economies will not only be a drag to growth but will also generate a new engine of growth. Greening of economies has some obvious advantages like creation of new jobs, making the environment more sustainable, reduction of harmful subsidies, both for environment and businesses.


The main concern for most people is the achievement of the synergy between the sustainable growth and economic progress. This is the question we shall address in our course and try to attain a viewpoint from the management to successfully integrate the concept of sustainability in a company’s’ strategy and its execution. To start with, we shall look into the problems being faced and what is being done wrong. In the due course, we shall come to the point of the developments over the years, strategy creation and execution along with the indicators to assess the over all sustainability as a whole.

COURSE THEME 1

SUSTAINABLE GLOBALISATION

 

Subject Area: Economics, Globalization


Topics covered: Sustainable Development, Sustainable Management, Ethics, Business and Society


Learning outcome: By the end of the course, the participants shall be capable of:

 

  • Understanding the basic aspects of globalization and their consequences, benefits and threats for daily business;
  • Reproducing and operating foundations of social responsibilities for sustainable development, environmental economics as well as corporate social responsibility; and
  • Applying business ethics to business cases

 

Course Content

  • International trade: benefits and further impacts;
  • Migration of labour and capital;
  • Sustainability impacts of FDI;
  • Exchange rates and international financial crises;
  • Low wages, labour rights, sweatshops, etc;
  • Ethics of sustainable development;
  • Global governance and companies as global political actors;
  • Social responsibilities and impacts of companies (human rights, poverty, child labour, integrity and corruption);
  • Corporate stakeholder communication;
  • Foundations of environmental economics;
  • Impacts of environmental challenges on business;
  • Strategic environmental management;
  • Main motives of CSR as a business case;
  • CSR as a part of core business strategy.

 

COURSE THEME 2

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT


Subject areas: Economics, Globalization and Ethics


Learning outcome: By the end of the course, the participants shall be capable of:

 

  • Analyzing the nature of sustainable development and “Human Development’s” dimensions and impacts on the responsibility of companies and societies;
  • Acquiring a clear perception of the social impacts, potentials and limits of companies as a global force in society; and
  • Understanding the decisive role of governments, NGOs and other stakeholders, as main drivers of the global corporate environment.

 

Course content

  • Modern perceptions of economic development;
  • Ethics of Globalization and development;
  • Global poverty and corporate BoP-strategies;
  • FDI impacts on economic and human development;
  • Markets and states in development;
  • “Good Governance”: responsibility of the state;
  • Corporate influence on politics and development;
  • NGOs and civil society as corporate stakeholders;
  • CSR standards: Global Compact, GRI guidelines, etc;
  • Challenges of human rights and corruption.

COURSE THEME 3

ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS


Subject Area: Economics, Globalization


Learning outcome: By the end of the course, the participants shall be capable of:

 

  • Understanding the challenges resulting from environmental problems for business and management;
  • Differentiating environmental responsibilities of state/government (legal and institutional conditions, sustainable policies) and business;
  • Analyzing, explaining and discussing corporate sustainability strategies; and
  • Analyzing and presenting a specific company’s sustainability and reporting performance.


Course Content

  • Externalities and optimal pollution;
  • Evaluating environmental policy instruments;
  • Efficiency and sufficiency strategies for sustainable development;
  • Environmental protection, economic growth and development;
  • Environmental awareness and management: a potential business case;
  • Environmental accounting and controlling;
  • Eco marketing;
  • Stakeholder communication.

COURSE THEME 4

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY


Learning outcome: By the end of the course, the participants shall be capable of:

 

  • Comprehending the necessity of integrating CSR into corporate strategy;
  • Recognizing, discussing and analyzing long-run opportunities, challenges and weaknesses of corporate CSR strategies; and
  • Understanding how to analyze and improve a company’s ability to compete, gain trust and ensure long-run value creation.


Course content

  • CSR and risk management, reputation in the product market (value of brands), reputation in the labour market (employees’ motivation and productivity);
  • Socially responsible investments (SRIs);
  • CSR along the value chain;
  • CSR-reporting and stakeholders;
  • Challenges, problems and limitations of CSR;
  • Fostering sustainable development by CSR: potentials, limitations and risks.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Course Materials


Course resources will be available at the Flowers Online Learning portal, enriched through case studies and practical exercises.


Course Length
Complete between 4.5 − 12 months at your own pace


Teaching Method
Instructor-facilitated


Language of Instruction
English


Award
Candidates must achieve a minimum of 60% to be awarded the Certificate in Sustainability Management.


Assessment/Exercises
Continuous assessment or exercises as you progress.

MODE OF STUDY

Option #1: Instructor-facilitated Online Study


Course Venue: Flowers Online Learning (FOL) portal


Course Fee: TBA


Registration: Rolling (Open Enrolment)


FOL Access Length: TBD

 
Option #2: Blended Learning


Course Venues: TBA


Course Fee: TBA