The aim of the module is to clarify the elements involved in the formation and evaluation of sustainability strategies in firms, helping managers to prioritize eco-investments and transform them into sources of competitive advantage and new market spaces.

Lecturer:
Pierre McDonagh
Dublin City University

Managers can make a significant contribution to both, their company and the society by carefully identifying and articulating the drivers of social performance, and managing and measuring the broad effects of their performance on the companies stakeholders. The aim of the module is to present a framework that describes the drivers of corporate social performance, the actions managers can take to affect the performance and consequences of those actions on both corporate and financial performance.

Lecturer:
Adriana Rejc Buhovac
Faculty of Economics University of Ljubljana

The module aims to provide a new sustainability-oriented vision of marketing for the twenty-first century with the emphasis on integration of sustainability principles into both marketing theory and the practical decision making of marketing managers. Based on cases of firms sustainability strategies and their environmental consciousness the module will offer different insights and approaches to new marketing paradigm vs. traditional marketing theory and concepts, long-term marketing perspectives and modern marketing tools with which we can attract and engage consumers to be a part of global and local sustainability and growth.

Lecturer:
Frank-Martin Belz
Technische Universität München,
Chair of Corporate Sustainability

Many organisations are starting to look for efficiencies throughout their operations, taking decisions on sustainability back as far as the design stage. The aim of the module is to present how can sustainability principles result in the innovation in the supply chain, challenge the way things have been always done and create products and processes that are better not only for business but also for the society.

Lecturer:
Jay Swaminathan
University of North Carolina, USA

Sustainability implies having to address a future where much of what has supported past success is no longer available, it is constrained by ever increasing competition, or is being impacted by radically different patterns of consumption and demand. The level and scope of required change will touch every aspect of the organisation, on a scale that none can tackle on their own - yet in an environment where no common ground of understanding or priority can be assumed. A cross-boundary perspective defines leadership function as a driver of complex interactions and relationships towards a sustainable system and delivers great value to the organisation.

Lecturer:
Ward Crawford
University of Exeter (UK)

Module covers the understanding of economic, legal and ethical responsibilities of companies and their leaders, namely responsibility to create wealth, responsibility to obey law and responsibility to meet ethical standards. The overlapping circles of these three sets of responsibilities present the zone of business and leadership sustainability. Actions outside the zone of sustainability may eventually lead to business failure. Through a set of case discussions/assignments participants are put in the shoes of decision-makers facing decisions that involve competing responsibilities or ambiguous standards, or factual ambiguities, hostile stakeholders and intense time pressures. Participants are challenged to chart a course of sustainable action that meets the relevant economic, legal and ethical standards. Last but not least, participants are also forced to reflect on their own business situation in order to detect and explore their own ethical, economic and legal dilemmas and reflection on solutions for their company.

Lecturer:
Melita Rant
Faculty of Economics University of Ljubljana