What does sustainability mean? How can we get there?  How can we measure our progress?  What does all this mean in a business setting?  How can I lead a transition to sustainability? In a series of four courses, we intend to provide the perspectives, skills and tools needed to understanding these questions, formulate answers and lead the way forward.

The concentration consists of four courses:

• Systems Thinking, Resilience and Sustainability, ENV 5xx
• Economics and Metrics for Sustainability BUS 5xx
• Sustainable Marketing: BUS 5xx
• Organizational Communication and Collaboration for Sustainability CST 591

A prerequisite to the concentration is participation in a one-day workshop on The Natural Step.  This will establish a baseline of knowledge needed for Sustainable Marketing, Systems Thinking, Resilience and Sustainability, and Economics and Metrics for Sustainability

The four courses can be taken in any order and typically will be offered as follows:

Fall Term: Systems Thinking, Resilience and Sustainability;
Spring Term: Economics and Metrics for Sustainability; Sustainable Marketing
Summer 1: Organizational Communication and Collaboration for Sustainability; Economics and Metrics for Sustainability

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Courses:  

1. Systems Thinking, Resilience and Sustainability

Course Description:

Ecosystems, communities and enterprises are all examples of complex systems: networks of local agents and parts interacting to produce an overall pattern or whole.  Sustainability, as it applies to each of these examples, requires a systems thinking approach for its implementation and management.  Systems thinking – the ability to represent and assess dynamic complexity – is a key factor for the understanding and management of interdependencies and change.  This course develops systems thinking perspectives and skills through a series of case studies drawn from environmental, social and business contexts, using a participatory approach.  With these skills and perspectives in hand, we will examine the utility of systems thinking in planning for, and managing, the transition to sustainability. 

The concept of system resilience, originally developed in ecosystem science, is becoming a key organizing principle for defining and measuring sustainability.  Resilience – the ability of a system to withstand, and learn from, external impacts – has important implications for managing any organization through rapid change and uncertainty.  We will examine both the theory and application of this principle using case studies drawn from environmental and business contexts. 

Course Objectives:

Students will:

1. Develop critical skills of systems thinking and analysis at a variety of scales (local to global) and contexts (environmental, social and commercial).  Students will develop the ability to analyze complex systems in terms of their essential components and interactions.  As well, students will gain experience communicating sustainability principles and practices with the goal of developing skills for leading a transition to sustainability.  Specific system thinking skills include abilities to:

• understand how the system behavior arises from the interaction of system components.

• identify, communicate and analyze feedback processes (both positive and negative) responsible for overall system behavior;

• identify and analyze stock and flow relationships;

• identify nonlinearities and understand their role in uncertainty and risk;

• recognize the ethical and practical important of setting system boundaries.

2. Acquire the skills of visual representation and computer modeling of systems with the goal of developing robust mental models for understanding complexity and change.

3. Develop a scientific and ethical understanding of a variety of challenges to sustainability including: global climate change, declining water resources, financial volatility and social instability.

4. Understand the principles of resilience thinking and the role that resilience management plays in enhancing the ability of systems to survive and prosper in the face of external impacts and uncertainties.  

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2. Economics and Metrics for Sustainability- BUS 5xx 

Course Description:

1. Critically evaluate how to utilize models and definitions of sustainability, including the environmental economics and the ecological economics perspective.  
2. Acquire skills for analyzing the environmental performance of an organization.  Natural Step, life cycle analysis, greenhouse gas auditing and other benchmarking techniques will be studied and applied. 
3. Learn how to argue the economic and ecological case for sustainability within a variety of levels, including at the level of the organization.  Techniques covered will include pricing externalities and cost benefit analysis, risk analysis, and the precautionary principle, with special attention paid to climate change and the risks and opportunities involved. 
4. Learn how to choose and strategically frame short, medium and long run sustainability actions within an organization.

3. Sustainable Marketing - BUS 5xx 

1.  Develop a vision of marketing’s place in a sustainable society.

2.  Learn to examine critically a marketing strategy or marketing plan and identify ways to make it more socially, environmentally and economically sustainable.

3. Understand The Natural Step Framework as it applies to sustainable marketing.

4.  Develop their skills in backcasting, creating innovative marketing solutions in cross-functional teams, and prioritizing marketing decisions and actions for sustainability and competitive advantage. 

Course Description:

Twenty-first century communication skills are needed to enact sustainability (the ability to use natural, financial, and human resources, responsibly so that we can meet existing needs as we also preserve the ability for future generations to meet their own needs). These skills demand parties recognize the interests of other stakeholders, negotiate in a principled rather than polarized or competitive process, and make collaborative decisions. Argumentation and presentation skills are needed but insufficient for accomplishing environmental collaboration. Stakeholders need to build their communicative repertoire with skills associated with dialogue and collaboration. At stake are costly court battles, damaged relationships and reputations, and the continuation of the status quo.

This course focuses on the ethical philosophy and micro-skills of communication practices that will further participatory decision-making on issues of sustainability. Beginning with the pragmatic reasons such as maximizing diverse viewpoints, increasing creative potential, and building trust in relationships, the course teaches and allows students to practice the concrete skills of appreciative inquiry, consensus decision-making, and public dialogue.
 

Course Objectives:

Students will:

1. Understand the philosophies and ethics behind collaborative decision-making.
2. Learn to identify critical stakeholders who should participate in collaborative decision- making around a particular sustainability issue.
3. Learn and apply steps from the principled negotiation process, such as interest-based as opposed to position-based, negotiation.
4. Develop the skills associated with appreciative inquiry, used in visioning projects.
5. Practice consensus decision-making and distinguish between consensus outcomes and consensus processes.
6. Understand the components of organizing a public dialogue in a particular context.
   

Initial Launch