Course directory

OADD 2295 - All artisans of sustainable development (sd): hands on approach of the sd journey

OADD 2295 · Fall semester 2026-2027

Language of tuition
English
Course type
Cours séminaire
Number of hours
24
Credits
6

Information

Description

The course offers an overview of major issues related to sustainable development, as seen and explained by a business practitioner.

It aims at placing the students in situations where they will have to understand the complexity and systemic aspects of these issues, the importance of a multi-stakeholder vision, and present solutions through group works and individual contributions.

These will need to combine rigorous analysis of the subject matters and strong creativity to present them in an effective manner.

Learning Outcomes

  • Understand the key concepts of sustainability
  • Develop a more systemic thinking, including the opinion of stakeholders
  • Assume personal opinions solidified by fair and balanced analysis
  • Improve communication skills, creativity to improve the buy-in of those sensitive matters

Professional Skills :

  • Ability to analyze complex issues
  • Group work as an accelerator on complex matters
  • Ability to agree to disagree and to manage consensus

Prerequisites

General readings about sustainability issues (from previous courses or through own research on the web ) are essential to assure a minimum level of understanding in the class.

In addition, it is requested to watch at least 3 films in the following list, films available on international platforms:

  • Our Planet (Alastair Fothergill, with Sir David Attenborough)
  • An inconvenient truth (Davis Guggenheim, with Al Gore)
  • Don’t look up (Adam Mc Kay)
  • Demain (in French with English subtitles, Cyril Dion)
  • Kiss the ground (Joshua Tickell)
  • The Upside (Jon Hartmere)

For the screened film, prepare half a page with bullet points, on the main strategic challenges highlighted by the authors, to be discussed during first session.

Teaching format

  • Group activities: during the session, in oral.

ii. Papers from sessions: group feedback on aggregated results, plus individual feedback on papers submitted.

iii. Individual conversation : on request to faculty (outside course hours).

Assessment

(i) Participation to sessions and one page memo on 10 sessions to be submited to faculty : 50%

(ii) Group work 1 (battle on SD controversies): summary paper with arguments (one page) plus oral group presentation, to be ready for sessions 5 : 25%

(iii) Group work 2 (TV news “we did it/we fail in 2050”): summary paper with arguments (one page) plus oral group presentation, to be ready for sessions 11 : 25%

Workload

  • In Class Presence: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
  • Reading and Preparation for Class: 3 hours a week / 36 hours a semester
  • Research and Preparation for Group Work 1 : 3 hours a week / 36 hours a semester
  • Research and Preparation for Group Work 2 : 3 hours a week / 36 hours a semester
  • Contextual movies (6 films+ memo) : 18 hours before the course

Readings

Main readings 4

  1. 1. The Future We Want –Declaration of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio (2012)

  2. 2. IPCC (Giec) report, AR 6 Synthesis Report

  3. 3. UN Sustainable Development Goals : 2030 agenda for Sustainable development, review of sdg’s goals @ https://sdgs.un.org/goals

  4. 4. IPBES global assessment report (summary_for_policymakers) 2019

Further readings 18

  1. 10. The Good job Strategy (Zinep Ton, MIT )

  2. 11. HBR Research: Where Employees Think Companies’ DEIB Efforts Are Failing (2023)

  3. 12. CDC Biodiversité : GBS-review_Core-concepts (https://www.cdc-biodiversite.fr/documentation-gbs/)

  4. 13. The Tragedy of the Commons (Garrett Hardin)

  5. 14. The Hidden Life of Trees (Peter Wohlleben)

  6. 15. The Hidden Universe: Adventures in Biodiversity by Alexandre Antonelli

  7. 16. Larry Finks (CEO Blackrock) letter to CEO 2022…

  8. 17. Rapport Perrier 2022 (CEO AMUNDI on rôle of finance against climate change, in French)

  9. 18. Rewriting History The (Un) predictable Past of ESG Ratings (Florian Berg , MIT)

  10. 19. Creating Shared Value, HBR article by Michael Porter and Mark Kramer (1996)

  11. 20. Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take (Pol Polman)

  12. 21. French Post Office commitment https://www.lapostegroupe.com/en/our-social-commitment (including report : societal commitment)

  13. 23. Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things (William McDonough and Michael Braungart)

  14. 5. Creating Shared Value: Redefining Capitalism and the Role of the Corporation in Society.[2] Written by Michael E. Porter,

  15. 6. The Future We Choose: The Stubborn Optimist’s Guide to the Climate Crisis, (Figueres and Rivett-Carnac)

  16. 7. The Ministry for the future (Kim Stanley Robinson)

  17. 8. World without end (C. Balin & JM Jancovici, comics)

  18. 9. ILO report : transforming entreprises through diversity and inclusion…

Teaching units

Unit no.Unit type Teaching unitsTeachers Number of hoursCredits
16457Cours séminaire All artisans of sustainable development (sd): hands on approach of the sd journey Pierre-alexandre BAPST246

Teachers

  • Pierre-alexandre BAPST

In the curricula

Contacts and resources

Contact
SAMPAOLI Valentina