Course 2024-2025 a.y.

The course contents are organized into 4 Modules and 2 Tracks.

1. Modules 1 and 2, are common for all students, and they covers the following topics:
   • Anthropocene, planetary boundaries and social-ecological systems.
   • Climate change, energy scenarios and ecosystem services.
   • Regulations, policy and economic tools for climate change (UNFCCC, Paris Agreement, Glasgow Climate Pact).
   • Why companies engage in sustainability: Corporate sustainability and sustainability leadership.
   • The business case for sustainability.
   • How companies engage in sustainability: Sustainability strategies.
   • Sustainable supply chains and sustainable innovation.
   • Developing a business plan for sustainability.
2. Then the course divides into 2 Tracks (Modules 3 and 4):
   • Track 1 focuses on innovation, sustainable supply chain and new business models (e.g. circular economy) and is associated with a field project organized with the collaboration of leading companies.
   • Track 2 is associated with the Model UNFCCC CEMS Climate Change Strategy Role Play, and focuses on measures to address climate change, negotiation and 2 days of off-campus role play. The number of students accepted in Track 2 is limited. Preference is accorded to CEMS students.

(The course equips students with the development of skills and competencies to address quantitative and qualitative problems related with the sustainability challenges).

• Be able to recognize and understand the main challenges of the Anthropocene epoch.
• Acquire basic notions of planetary boundaries, climate change science and energy scenarios.
• Understand the interdependences between the social-ecological system and business.
• Gain an understanding on the role of global policy approaches and regulations to tackle climate change under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• Identify and understand the main implication for companies and strategic processes.
• Explain and illustrate in details the business case for sustainability.
• Understand new managerial approaches and concepts such as sustainable supply chain and green innovation, sustainable and circular business models.
• Acquire basic knowledge on the main tools to manage and measure environmental and sustainability issues (e.g environmental and carbon footprint, sustainability plan, life cycle assessment).

• Analyse and compare firm strategies and practices to address the sustainability challenges.
• Measure environmental sustainability trough key performance indicators.
• Evaluate and assess sustainable supply chain strategies and sustainable innovation.
• Track 1 students: learn to develop a specific sustainability plan for a company applying the concepts such as sustainable supply chain or sustainable innovation.
• Track 2 students: learn the basic principles of negotiation, and gain a better understanding of bilateral-multilateral negotiation dynamics, and practice their skills in the climate negotiations.

• Lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Company visits
• Collaborative Works / Assignments
• Interaction/Gamification

The course employs various teaching methods to enhance active learning. Firstly, guest speakers from both the world of natural sciences and companies recognized for best practices in sustainability implementation are involved. Moreover, the course includes a business project conducted in groups with a consulting firm, simulating a real-world sustainability challenge that necessitates teamwork and collaboration. This project enhances learning capacity and fosters the development of soft skills. The final presentation is complemented by a company visit.

Several case studies and incidents are used during the lessons to connect theoretical content with managerial practice. Managing these cases and incidents allows students to apply conceptual frameworks to real-world scenarios, thereby enhancing their understanding and retention of sustainability theories and approaches. This approach, which involves scrutinizing data, interpreting information, and evaluating outcomes, strengthens analytical skills and deepens the understanding of the complexities of the interaction between businesses, nature, and society.

Additionally, for students who choose the track focused on the UNFCCC CEMS Climate Change Strategy Role Play, the course includes a role-play where they simulate the dynamics of a Conference of the Parties by representing a country. This helps them develop a deeper understanding of the complexities of climate negotiation processes.

• Written exam (30%). The written exam is based on open-ended questions. Questions test the students’ learning of the theories, concepts and tools illustrated and analysed in class. Student are required to show that they can illustrate some basic theories and concepts, and that they can analyse sustainability problems at business level.
• Field project assignment (50%). For both Tracks (1 and 2), students are required to realize a group field project. The assignment for Track 1 students is organized as a consultant project, where students are required by a client to provide some solutions to a sustainability business challenge (e.g. circular business models, sustainable supply chain, green product design). Students are asked to apply some of the concepts and tools discussed in class to the case of a real organization, trying to apply some managerial solutions in order to improve the environmental sustainability of the business. Students have to present in front of external advisors both the “proof of concept” and the final version of the project. Students need to show ability to effectively support and defend the results achieved. Track 2 students have to elaborate two papers (a background and position paper) focusing on how specific parties (e.g. states or NGOs) are addressing the issue of climate change, according to the UNFCCC model. In doing so, they need to analyse in depth the specific feature of the assigned party with regard to the climate change challenge, and then apply the theories and concepts illustrated in the first modules of the course (e.g. carbon budget, mitigation and adaptation strategy, market mechanisms) in order to elaborate a robust strategy to negotiate their climate position. 
• Class participation (20% of the exam) aims to test the students’ ability to make thoughtful contributions based on the literature that advance the discussion, and their ability to think critically and interact in a constructive way with other classmates.

• Written exam (100%). The written exam for non attending students is based on open-ended questions and/or multiple choice. Questions test the students’ understanding of the theories and tools illustrated in the teaching materials and assess their ability to analyse and apply these theories and concepts to case studies or real practical examples.

• Selection of papers, cases, and slides provided to students at the beginning and throughout the course.
• Selected chapters from: R. SARDA', S. POGUTZ, Corporate Sustainability in the 21st Century. Increasing the Resilience of Social-Ecological Systems. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2019.

• Selection of papers, cases, and slides provided to students at the beginning and throughout the course.
• R. SARDA', S. POGUTZ, Corporate Sustainability in the 21st Century. Increasing the Resilience of Social-Ecological Systems. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2019.