Sustainable Business in the Twenty-First Century

This course explores the basics of how corporations assess and prioritize the key elements of their sustainability strategies, execute on those strategies, and adapt to a fast-changing business, social and regulatory landscape. Through regular guest speakers, real world case studies, and in-depth discussions, students analyze examples from companies in a variety of industries to show how sustainability is integrated into their business models and to explore what opportunities still exist for companies to improve. The course uses case studies from publicly traded companies, augmented by links to various forms of information for students to compare and contrast throughout the semester. Information is presented from academic research, white papers published by respected scholars and experts, and the actual disclosures of major multinational companies. The case method is used to provide a participative and realistic forum that enables students to learn about sustainability while also developing the skills to use the information. In addition to participating in weekly discussion forums, students will also complete a research project, where they perform an in-depth analysis of an actual company across a range of sustainability relevant topics and provide recommendations for how this company can better align its strategy and operations in order to create value for its stakeholders. While this course covers a variety of topics in depth, it is best suited as a foundational course for students looking to break into the corporate sustainability field.