Business and society - corporate sustainability

HEC-500 / 6 credits

Teacher(s): Gallay Olivier, Profs divers *

Language: English

Remark: Courses given on UNIL Campus, only available to SMT students

Summary

This course focuses on corporate sustainability (CS), that is, how organizations can be managed in a way that meets societal needs while not exceeding the environmental boundaries of the planet.

Content

At the end of the course, you should be able to:

  • Understand the current debates concerning CS and form an opinion about these debates
  • Recognize the main sustainability challenges facing organizations today and identify means to overcome them
  • Use analytical frameworks and methodological tools to evaluate the CS performance of organizations
  • Develop your critical thinking on corporate sustainability

Week 1                FOUNDATION: Introduction to course and CS

Week 2                FOUNDATION: The different approaches to CS

Week 3                DRIVERS/BARRIERS TO CS: Individual and organizational

Week 4                DRIVERS/BARRIERS TO CS: Institutional

Week 5                DRIVERS/BARRIERS TO CS: Communication

Week 6                GROUP PROJECT: No class, work on group project

Week 7                IMPLEMENTING CS: Sustainable sourcing and management of supply-chains

Week 8                GROUP PROJECT: Group coaching

Week 9                IMPLEMENTING CS: Managing stakeholders

Week 10              IMPLEMENTING CS: Quantifying, measuring, and tracking impact

Week 11              IN-CLASS EXAM

Week 12              GROUP PROJECT: Final presentations

Week 13              GROUP PROJECT: Final presentations

 

Keywords

Corporate sustainability ; systems-thinking ; business and society; corporate strategy; stakeholders

Learning Prerequisites

Required courses

Please note that for pedagogical reasons, registration for this course will be limited. Students who are interested can apply by sending a CV and motivation letter to the course assistant (see specific instructions listed on the detailed syllabus available on the course Moodle). You can apply until 4 September at 18h00.

No late applications will be accepted.

Teaching methods

Class sessions will be a mixture of applications (cases and other material), lectures, guest speakers' interventions, and students' presentations, which will help you to develop your ability at 1) identifying the challenges and opportunities of CS and 2) evaluating the factors that need to be considered by corporate strategists in developing business and corporate strategies that include CS

Assessment methods

Your final grades will be calculated based on the following elements:
A. Individual hand out on a case study 15%
B. In-class exam 35%
C. Group project 50%
FINAL GRADE 100%

In the programs

  • Semester: Fall
  • Exam form: During the semester (winter session)
  • Subject examined: Business and society - corporate sustainability
  • Courses: 4 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Type: optional

Reference week

Tuesday, 8h - 12h: Lecture

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