84147 - Sustainable Business

Learning outcomes

This course aims at socializing students with how the global world of business is rapidly changing, as a result of new environmental and social concerns and sensitivities. The notion of sustainability is defined at the micro-level, in relation to a new generation of attitudes, strategies and innovations put into place by ethically-minded companies of all kind. The course has the following objectives: 1) To teach students the real “language” of business, under the assumption that in order to understand today’s economy one needs to be able to examine it from the inside; 2) To socialize students with the highly complex and multi-disciplinary challenge of running a global company in the 21st century, with a special focus on the role played by shareholders, stakeholders and society at large 3) To create an open forum for reflection and scientific querying, whereby students and partner companies share their perspectives on the future of capitalism

Course contents

How can business sustainability—and a regenerative economy—be defined? Why do most enterprises operating within today’s dominant business paradigm overlook long-term sustainability in the name of short-term profit maximization? What can companies do to become more environmentally friendly? Is a more ethical and humane way of doing business emerging from the current crisis of capitalism?

This course provides a multidisciplinary perspective on the future evolution of the private sector and the economy as a whole, based on trends that can already be observed in the present. Students will directly interact with companies at the forefront of sustainability and regeneration, learning to adopt both a scientific and a pragmatic perspective.

The course explores a variety of emerging topics, including biomimicry and frugal innovation, humanistic management, responsible sourcing, B Corporations, steward-ownership and many more.

This is the five-week course plan:

• Week 1: Introduction to Sustainable Business
• Week 2: The Sustainability-Oriented Company
• Week 3: Emerging Organizational Models
• Week 4: Circular Economy
• Week 5: Towards a New Economics and Leadership

 

Readings/Bibliography

We will read and discuss scientific papers, articles from the world’s leading economic press, and publicly available company materials. Students will reflect on the different challenges and opportunities associated with business sustainability, paying particular attention to the assumptions under which different stakeholders operate.

These are a few examples of course readings:

• The Future of the Responsible Company (book by Stanley and Chouinard)
• The Error at the Heart of Corporate Leadership (article, Harvard Business Review)
• Six Ways That Governments Can Drive the Green Transition (report, Ernst & Young)

Teaching methods

Ten class sessions (three hours each) will cover the following activities:

• lectures, supported by slides and videos;
• class dialogues centered on provocative questions or groundbreaking web documentaries;
• conversations with guest speakers from innovative companies or from research and consulting firms;
• a potential company visit to directly experience the reality of a sustainability-oriented enterprise.

Assessment methods

Student evaluation will be based on class participation and on contributions to a group project. Each student will be required to keep a course learning journal and to comment on the assigned readings.

Students who do not attend class activities will still be allowed to take the exam, provided that they also participate (online) in a group project.

Teaching tools

L'insegnamento partecipa al progetto di innovazione didattica dell'Ateneo

Office hours

See the website of Filippo Dal Fiore