Course 2025-2026 a.y.

21036 - SUSTAINABLE COMMUNICATION AND RETAILING

Department of Marketing

Course taught in English
31
ACME (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - AFC (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - AI (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - CLELI (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - CLMG (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - DES-ESS (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - DSBA (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - EMIT (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - ESS (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - FIN (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - GIO (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - IM (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - MM (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - PPA (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08)
Course Director:
STEFANO PRESTINI

Classes: 31 (I sem.)
Instructors:
Class 31: STEFANO PRESTINI


Mission & Content Summary

MISSION

In response to the growing importance of sustainability in both business practice and academic inquiry, this elective course plays a key role in advancing students' understanding of current and future challenges in corporate responsibility. It contributes to the educational program by equipping students with the knowledge and tools needed to critically engage with sustainability strategies in organizational contexts. The course aims to provide students with the core principles, strategic frameworks, and practical applications of sustainable corporate projects. Particular emphasis is placed on the social dimension—including Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA)—as well as the environmental aspects of sustainability. It also equips students with the skills to design sustainable communication and retail strategies, that align with sustainability goals and purposes through an integrated perspective. Through the analysis of real-world cases, students will learn how to enhance transparency, build trust, and effectively engage stakeholders by leveraging both institutional corporate reports and offline/online touchpoints. The course bridges sustainability and applied marketing from a cross-fertilization perspective, making it particularly valuable for students with diverse academic backgrounds in marketing and management. It emphasizes the adaptation of sustainability-driven projects to the specific needs of B2B, B2C, and non-profit contexts.

CONTENT SUMMARY

  • Foundations of Social and Environmental Sustainable activities. Understanding the principles and frameworks that guide sustainability related projects in B2C, B2B, and non-profit contexts.
  • Evaluating and Communicating Sustainability Performance. Navigating ESG Reporting, Risks, and Authenticity. Integrate information to enhance accountability and demonstrate commitment to sustainability goals.
  • Transparency and Trust in Communication. Understanding consumers market and trends. Develop skills to assess what is a sustainable company and what differentiate sustainable practices from greenwashing. Building stakeholder trust through clear, honest, and accountable communication strategies and practices.
  • Retail Marketing and distribution management. Understanding how retail influences the implementation of sustainable initiatives.
  • Managing Ethical Risks: Greenwashing and Exclusionary Practices. Identifying and mitigating risks related to unethical practices, including deceptive sustainability claims and exclusionary messaging.
  • Integrated communication for sustainability. Online platforms and corporate communication tools to effectively engage diverse stakeholders.
  • Social sustainability in practice. Designing, communicating and retailing for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility projects that reflect and respect diverse audiences

•  Environmental Sustainability in practice. designing, communicating and retailing for environmental projects leveraging on partnership and earned media

•  Evaluating Integrated Marketing Campaigns Applying tools, metrics, and real-world case studies to assess the effectiveness of campaigns focused on ethical, inclusive, and sustainable goals.

•  Future Trends and Innovations in Sustainabilty. Exploring emerging practices, technologies, and global standards shaping the future of responsible corporate projects.

 


Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

At the end of the course student will be able to...
  • Understand the core principles and trends of designing sustainability-related projects in B2C, B2B, and non-profit contexts.
  • Be aware of the possible areas of business initiatives related to environmental and social sustainability.
  • Explore how integrate financial, social, and environmental reporting to enhance authenticity and trust.
  • Identify the role of communication in advancing CSR, sustainability, and inclusivity goals across diverse organizational settings.
  • Analyze how physical and digital retail management and marketing influence consumer behaviors, purchase decisions, and how to design them to reach sustainability and inclusivity goals.
  • Analyze the implications of ethical lapses, greenwashing, and exclusionary practices.

APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

At the end of the course student will be able to...
  • Develop and implement sustainable and inclusive projects tailored to the unique needs of B2C, B2B, and non-profit audiences and markets, according to the sustainability trends
  • Design transparent and inclusive reporting and messaging frameworks to foster trust among diverse stakeholders.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of environmental and social sustainability-focused campaigns using real-world case studies and metrics.
  • Implement retail distribution practices that support inclusivity and environmental sustainability in real-world settings, bridging theory and practice.
  • Utilize tools and methodologies to measure the impact of integrated marketing strategies on business performance, stakeholder engagement, and societal outcomes.

Teaching methods

  • Lectures
  • Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
  • Practical Exercises
  • Collaborative Works / Assignments
  • Competitions/Hackathons

DETAILS

  • Guest Speaker Talks
    Industry experts from different sectors will join the course—either in person or remotely—to present real-world sustainability projects. Their talks will also explore key professional roles that contribute to sustainability, such as PR and stakeholder management, offering students practical insights into how sustainability is implemented across functions.
  • Practical Exercises
    Throughout the course, students will be asked to complete short exercises ("incidents") aimed at designing sustainability-driven projects and related communication and retail strategies.
  • Group Project Assignment & Competition
    Students will work in teams on a real brief launched by a company partner. The project will address a current sustainability challenge and will culminate in an in-class competition, where each group presents its proposal in front of company representatives and professors

Assessment methods

  Continuous assessment Partial exams General exam
  • Written individual exam (traditional/online)
     x
  • Collaborative Works / Assignment (report, exercise, presentation, project work etc.)
 x    

ATTENDING STUDENTS

Grades will be computed as follows:

1.Written exam: 50% of the overall grade

2.Final group project: 50% of the overall grade

 

The final grade will be calculated averaging the group assignment grade with the final written exam grade. Only the final grade will be rounded up. 

 

1.  Written Exam

In-class, closed-books final exam. The exam consists of a series of conceptual questions, multiple choice questions and exercises covering the whole course program, based on the materials provided by the instructor for Attending Students (materials on bboard, dedicated materials in the course reserve for attending students).

 

2.  Final Group project

The assignment consists of the development of a sustainability related project referred to a specific company brief. This assignment gives the students the opportunity to apply the course contents to a specific company situation. The evaluation of the group assignment will encompass the quality standard of sustainable project design, communication and retailing and the quality of the final presentation. The instructors will grade the group assignment and will give a grade per group. The instructors may also use peer evaluation to assess each member’s contribution to group grade. The grade referred to the group assignment will be valid for the three exam sessions within the current academic year.


NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

Grades will be computed as follows:

1.Written exam: 100% of the overall grade

 

1. Written Exam
In-class, closed-books final exam. The exam consists of a series of conceptual questions, multiple choice questions and exercises across the topics covered by all the Non-Attending Students materials (i.e. all the attending students materials on Bboard, articles and/or chapters in the dedicated course reserve for Non-Attending Students)


Teaching materials


ATTENDING STUDENTS

  • Materials prepared by the instructors uploaded on BBoard.
  • Articles and chapters in the course reserve for attending students

NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

  • Materials prepared by the instructors uploaded on BBoard.
  • Articles and chapters in the course reserve for non-attending students
Last change 21/05/2025 11:49