Sustainability Strategies for International Business

About

We see the word “sustainability” everywhere, but what does it really mean? How important are bamboo socks? Will electric cars save the world? There is a strong awareness that fundamental transitions within key societal sectors such as energy, transport, water and food are required to cope with global sustainability challenges. Increasingly, rather than treating environmental initiatives as unavoidable costs due to public pressures, businesses are strategically rethinking their sustainability strategies.

Course leader

BEVERIDGE Ivana, University of Houston, C.T. Bauer College of Business, United States Milton Aldrete, Polar Partners Finland, Education and Consulting, Finland

Target group

Bachelor students

Course aim

The course offers a foundation for understanding the main issues related to ecological sustainability and their influence on global business strategy. Students will become familiar with the main frameworks and current debates such as the climate change, competition for water and other natural resources, the energy transition or greenwashing, which need to be taken into consideration for sustainability goal-setting, measurement and reporting. Because ecological sustainability is inherently an interdisciplinary concept, the course integrates a variety of critical perspectives from different industries, practice areas, fields of research and geographical regions. Given the somewhat ambiguous nature of sustainable efforts expressed through the “triple bottom line” (TBL) idea of balancing economic, environmental and social value of investment yet without major trade-offs or conflicts of interest, it takes into account the needs of multiple stakeholders. The course addresses the issues related to the government, intergovernmental organizations, consumers, non-profits and the public. It also incorporates voices and perspectives from the non-Western world, addressing the growing criticism about sustainability objectives set primarily by the Western countries and according to their standards.

Fee info