SBUS45660 Business Sustainability Grads

Academic Year 2021/2022

The aim of this module is to provide students with a deep foundational knowledge of the theories and practice of business sustainability.

The world is changing. Environmental and social issues, from the climate crisis to changing demographics to social inequality, are rising up the global agenda. We have just ten years to halve global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and keep global warming to 1.5°C. Four industries — electricity and heating, transportation, agriculture and forestry, and manufacturing and construction — remain responsible for the majority of global GHG emissions.

While once a ‘nice to have,’ sustainability has now become a core requirement for organisations across all industries and sectors. Sustainability isn’t just about recycling or fair-trade practices, it touches every part of a company, from its supply chain operations, to its talent practices, to the physical workspace itself.

As we enter the ‘decade of action’ as defined by the UN Sustainable Development Goals, companies need to be more ambitious and courageous than ever, with huge opportunities ahead for those who fully integrate sustainability. Whether it’s through innovating and designing systems change at the scale we need, engaging millions of employees to become ambassadors for positive action, or finding new ways to collaborate, business has a unique position to lead on climate action. Companies that strategically innovate and integrate sustainability into core operations create competitive advantage, reduce risk, build investors' confidence, attract and retain employees, and drive innovation.

Through this module, we will look at the drivers of the sustainable business movement, who are the key stakeholders, and how sustainability is now expanding into every core function. We will look at examples of the new sustainable business models now emerging using practical examples and case studies to bring this topic to life. We will gain an understanding of how businesses embed sustainability throughout their value chain and how they engage their stakeholders. We will study the evolution and direction of travel of sustainability policies, regulations and stakeholder expectations.