Aims

The aims of the course are to:

• The role of corporations as participants in the systemic view of planetary boundaries and the ‘Doughnut Economy’.
• The motivation of corporations to transcend the mantra of ‘The business of business is business’ and the implications of Sustainable Engineering.
• The dimensions of ‘Environment-Social-Governance’ (ESG) and methods for selecting, measuring, and monitoring respective sustainability goals.
• The tools and strategies that corporations can employ to develop sustainable business practices and processes, such as the circular economy.
• The practical challenges and opportunities businesses encounter when integrating sus-tainability into their operations and value chains.
• The policies that governments and the regulatory environment can implement to pro-mote more sustainable business practices.

Objectives

As specific objectives, by the end of the course students should be able to:

• know and apply different approaches to measure ecological footprint and handprint,
• understand and evaluate tools of ESG management,
• assess critically sustainability metrics, business reporting and information, and the sus-tainability strategies of corporations; detect Greenwashing,
• apply a ‘behavioural lens’ to promote behaviour change in organisations,
• learn how to use scientific literature and write academic essays.

Content

To benefit fully from this course, you should come prepared for each lecture by reading the man-datory reading assignments and (if provided) completing the short prep assignments, as indicated in this document. Active participation in class discussions makes the course more interesting for everyone. You are encouraged to use the readings and in-class activities to develop the analytical and essay-writing skills required for the exam.