OADD 2270 - Corporate Sustainability: Theory and Case Studies

The topic of the course “Corporate Sustainability: Theory & Case Studies” is how to make companies more sustainable. Students first learn about key concepts in corporate sustainability and then develop skills to implement them in the real world. In an immersive company case study in the retail sector, students collaborate in sustainability teams to analyze sustainability challenges of the case company such as climate change, biodiversity, or plastic waste and develop solutions for the company to address them. The climax of the course is a mock board session in which each student acts as a board member of the case company and presents his/her sustainability proposal. Together students then come to a decision which proposals to implement, given budget constraints, sustainability impacts and trade-offs.

Learning Outcomes:
1. Recognize and realize opportunities for corporate sustainability in a real-world business environment
2. Assess the limits and the potential of companies to sustainable development
3. Critically evaluate and formulate statements, decisions, and arguments in the context of corporate sustainability
4. Gain awareness of how environmental policies shape decision making on the corporate level
5. Effectively pitch complex sustainability-related ideas

Professional Skills:
- Leadership & management
- Change management
- Negotiation
- Problem solving
- Critical thinking
- Entrepreneurial spirit

Volker HOFFMANN,Vivian GRUDDE

Séminaire

English

Course Workload:
- In Class Presence: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
- Online learning activities: 6 hours a semester
- Reading and Preparation for Class: 20 hours a semester
- Research and Preparation for Group Work: 90 hours a semester
- Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 10 hours a semester

Autumn 2022-2023

Assessment will be according to five deliverables, D1 – D5:
- D1: written description and oral presentation of one sustainability challenge, group work, 30%
- D2: written description of several sustainability solutions, group work, 30%
- D3: written description and oral presentation of one board proposal, group work, 40%
- D4: assessment of several board proposals, individual work, 0% (mandatory, ungraded)
- D5: written reflection on decisions and learnings, individual work, 0% (mandatory, ungraded)

Pedagogical and feedback format:
Detailed feedback will be given in written form in the week after an assessment has taken place.