In the 21st century, corporations cannot ignore the impact of increasing formal (regulatory) and informal (community) expectations relating to economic, social, and environmental sustainability.  This course examines the scope of these expectations, explores the reasons behind these expectations, and evaluates the impact of these expectations on corporations operating in a dynamic competitive environment in a capitalist economy. The course takes the perspective of an individual corporation that wants to: examine both its internal and external environments to determine the range of sustainability issues that it faces; develop strategies for sustainable practices that enhance its competitive position; make a business case to a range of its stakeholders, including owners, for the adoption of those sustainable practices; and understand the principal barriers to the implementation of those practices.

This course aims to promote an understanding, within the context of a capitalist economy, of:

• the importance to each individual corporate entity of corporate sustainability;
• the inter-relationship between the environmental, social, and economic aspects of corporate sustainability;
• key drivers and inhibitors, both external and internal to the corporation, of the environmental and social aspects of corporate sustainability;
• the roles of social and environmental risk, and product and process innovation, in developing corporate sustainability; and
• theoretical and practical constraints on the development of a business case for corporate sustainability;
• and provide an overview of:
• the principal ‘toolkits' currently used by practitioners to recognise and appropriately resolve environmental and social sustainability issues in business; and
• current best practice in corporate sustainability. 

The course seeks to equip students with analytical skills relevant to solving issues relating to corporate sustainability. Upon completion of the course students would be expected to have attained proficiency in:

• the ability to identify and analyse, within the context of economic sustainability, issues within a corporation that relate to its environmental and social sustainability;
• the ability to make a case to a range of stakeholders, including managers, Boards, and owners for addressing specific corporate sustainability issues; and
• the ability to develop appropriate policies and plans to address these issues.