BEXP 14A07 - Sustainability, Innovation and Power in the Nordics

Sustainable development and consumption, the role that the private corporations and public institutions play in society have long constituted important topics in philosophy and theology as well as the natural and social sciences in the Nordics. Long before Milton Friedman’s oft-cited 1970 New York times Magazine piece that contented “The Social Responsibility of business is to increase its profits”, penned as response to the current discourse on the role of business in society, the question of the shareholder-centric versus stakeholder-centric perspectives has antecedents in the political economy discourse and in discussions of the nature of the firm.

Fundamental questions in this line of inquiry include discussion of why firms exist and the rights and responsibilities that private/private organizations and public governments have in regards to the citizen. Those questions take on importance in the light of COP-Summit influence and the role of the civil society in the world in general, in the Nordics in particular. The most widely agreed upon definition of sustainable development “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs” (*) came from the famous report “Our Common Future”, also known as the Brundtland Report, because its publication on October 1987 by the United Nations was in recognition of Gro Harlem Brundtland's, former Norwegian Prime Minister, role as Chair of the World Commission on Environment and Development.

According to the definition, the sustainable development includes the three main pillars: economic growth, environmental protection and social equality. Recognizing the inherent tradeoffs and issues in operationalizing the definition, the course will present a review of different aspects of those pillars, their own historical frameworks, concrete contents and their interactions and potential implications taking stock on the practices of each Nordic country. On completing the lecture, we will explore the interaction-mechanisms between sustainable development, CSR and innovation, taking into account the core insights from the most recent European and American research and the scoring of the Nordic Countries in regards to their competitors in the EU, and beyond (Switzerland, US, Latin America, China, South Korea, Japan, Australia).

This lecture aims to provide students with the following:

• 1) Geographical, historical and political framework of the Nordics in regards to their civilian, normative and military/diplomatic power

•2) Theoretical & empirical approaches of the Corporate Social Responsibility, strategy management and legal framework through case examples (Competitive positioning/capabilities positioning, Role of the stakeholders/shareholders, Environmental Social Governance (ESG) indicators & metrics & indicators, Stock Exchange Sustainability Index, range of sustainable investments, competitive advantages and value chain, competition between social and environmental challenges, microeconomic strategy of the companies/macroeconomic policy of the government)

•3) A detailed history of the early CSR policy and components in different sectors of the economy including the founding theories, the revival of the topic of the sustainable growth in the 1980s, the introduction of the climate change’s topic since the first Conference of the Parties (COP) and the most recent European regulation (CSR Directives, European Taxonomy, Green Deal, etc…)

•4) An understanding of the Corporate decision making process, studying the CSR as an emergent way to prevent the corruption issues through theories and case examples

•5) An exploration of the history and theory of cooperation/competition since the 1990s between the shareholders and stakeholder’s approaches focusing in particular on the ESG Indicators, the development of public and international standards after 1990, and analysis of the causes and consequences of the current environmental and social issues

•6) An understanding of the conditions for more sustainable consumption (Behavioral economics principles and practices/tax policy mechanisms), the streamline of innovation process in the companies as a CSR integration model, the different business models and corporation structures for disruptive, semi-radical and frugal innovations

•7) Models of the circular economy and their outcomes

•8) Models for urban sustainability, sustainable architecture and smart cities

•9) Critical analysis of tax policies regards to CSR and Sustainability in the Nordics

English proficiency required.

In addition to participating in the weekly seminar discussions, the students will act as a speaker of an oral presentation followed by a focus point writing and they will write one critical essay. The components carry the following weight for the final mark: Attendance Participation 20% ; One oral Presentation 25% ; One Focus point writing assignment 25% ; One critical Essay 30%)