Cor­por­ate Sustain­ability and Risk-Based Due Di­li­gence

About

This course aims to equip current or future managers from companies, including SMEs, with knowledge to understand, work with, apply and comply with corporate sustainability and risk-based due diligence demands in their own organisations and in relations to business relationships.
An important aspect of responsible business conduct, risk-based due diligence related to corporate sustainability is a common element in guidelines, national legal requirements in various countries, and in EU sustainability legislation. Several countries, such as France, Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom and Australia, have adopted laws requiring business organisations to undertake and/or report on risk-based due diligence policies and practices on corporate sustainability. Similar demands exist or are emergent in countries in Asia, the Americas and Africa. EU sustainability policies and laws make knowledge of risk-based due diligence relevant for several operational business functions (including non-financial corporate sustainability reporting, value chain management, sustainable finance and taxonomy, ESG, etc) and sectors (including minerals, plant products and other raw materials).

While most of these demands directly mainly apply to larger companies, they trickle on to the value chain, including SMEs, in Europe as well as in other countries.

A basic awareness of corporate sustainability and risk-based due diligence is therefore be an asset for many organizations, even if they are not subject to direct requirements. Moreover, many organisations of all sizes, around the world, apply due diligence for corporate sustainability issued based on leading international soft-law guidance, in particular the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct, and the United Nations Global Compact.

Learning objectives
After following the course, students are expected to:

Be familiar with the normative, management and policy background to corporate sustainability and risk-based due diligence

Explain key aspects of corporate sustainability and risk-based due diligence as a management process and its direction to identification and management of risks

Explain differences between risk-based due diligence for corporate sustainability and transactional (financial or legal liability) due diligence

Be able to analyze demands on corporate sustainability and due diligence and reflect upon their application in various business contexts

Be able to reflect upon the managerial implications of due diligence demands in regard to corporate sustainability reporting, value chain management and sustainable finance

Be able to explain the implications for functional managerial tasks of the soft and hard law on corporate sustainability and risk-based due diligence that has been covered in the course

Be aware of the course schedule:
Week 1: in-class lectures each week day at CBS, for which students must be present in Copenhagen. Week 2: one on-line class towards the end of the week. Thus, students only need to be physically present in Copenhagen during the first week of the course (Monday-Friday)

Course leader

Karin Buhmann - Department of Management, Society and Communication (MSC)

Target group

This is a graduate level course. CBS Summer University courses at Copenhagen Business School is open to all and welcomes domestic and international students as well as professionals

Fee info