Sustainability

Course objectives, structure & group work

Main objectives of the course
• Provide students with a common basis and understanding of the “big issues”
related to sustainability (climate change, biodiversity, resource scarcity, social
challenges and North / South debates, etc.) and their impact on societies and
business

• Understand how sustainability is connected with business in terms of

impact, governance, metrics, valuation strategies, innovation and
entrepreneurship, etc.

• Think critically and challenge the existing status-quo,

• Articulate corporate sustainability management with business innovation and

entrepreneurship

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Grading & Evaluation

• 50% : final exam at the end of the course

• 50% : continuous assessment (individual participation

+ preparation of classes + group work)

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Important notice on individual work
On blackboard, for each session, you will find a folder:

These preliminary material (video, article) cover course contents and will be
discussed in class
As the name suggests, you are asked to work on it before each session

These contents are an integral part of the course and are associated
with MCQ Quizzes to take before each class. Your grade + activities will
be taken into account for your continuous participation grade and will prepare
you for the final exam
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Structure of the course

Session 3 -
Session 1 - Session 4 -
Session 2 - Growth, sufficiency,
Sustainability, Corporate
Biodiversity and degrowth? Value
anthropocene and Governance
planetary boundaries creation &
business & Sustainability
ecosystems limits

Session 7 - Session 8 –
Session 5 - Session 6 -
Regulating for Synthesis &
Sustainability Business model
sustainability in conclusion (+ prof.
reporting & finance innovation
Global Value Chains Guest)

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Structure of the course
PART 1 - Understanding the context

Session 3 -
Session 1 - Session 4 -
Session 2 - Growth, sufficiency,
Sustainability, Corporate
Biodiversity and degrowth? Value
anthropocene and Governance
planetary boundaries creation &
business & Sustainability
ecosystems limits

Session 7 - Session 8 –
Session 5 - Session 6 -
Regulating for Synthesis &
Sustainability Business model
sustainability in conclusion (+ prof.
reporting & finance innovation
Global Value Chains Guest)

PART 2 – Rethinking business in a sustainability context6

Individual & group work

Session 3 -
Session 1 - Session 2 - Session 4 -
Growth, sobriety,
Sustainability, Biodiversity and Corporate
degrowth? Value
anthropocene and planetary Governance
creation &
business boundaries & Sustainability
ecosystems limits

IW: IW: IW: IW:

-catch-up on climate - preliminary - preliminary - preliminary
material/videos + material/videos + MCQ material/videos + MCQ
MCQ - Calculate your carbon
footprint
GW (2 groups) -
GW (2 groups) - Shareholder
Analysis -> discourses
of inaction governance trial

IW: Individual work

GW: Group work 7
Individual & group work

Session 7 -
Session 5 - Session 6 -
Regulating for Session 8 –
Sustainability Business
sustainability in Synthesis &
reporting and models
Global Value Conclusion
finance innovation
Chains

GW – (2 groups)
IW – Preliminary IW – Preliminary videos + IW – Revise all contents
presentation on
material + MCQ a) sustainable business MCQ from the class
model innovation &
b) Planetary boundary
strategic stress-test

IW: Individual work GW: Group work

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Want to contribute to ESCP sustainability transition ?
Join the ESCP Transition Network!

[Link]
To join
au-sein-de-l-ETN-5b9dcd8479de43b092fe8303d91c7ed0
🡪 9
Sustainability
Guidelines for Group work
Group work – discourses of climate delay (session 2 – 2
groups)

The 12 discourses of climate delay

illustration from Lamb WF et al. (2020).

Discourses of climate delay. Global
Sustainability 3, e17, 1–5.

[Link]
op-cambridge-
core/content/view/7B11B722E3E3454BB6
212378E32985A7/S2059479820000137a.
pdf/discourses_of_climate_delay.pdf

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Discourses of climate delay - Instructions for each group
1) Each group chooses one of the discourses of inaction (see following slides) with
the professor, one week before the presentation (at the end of session 1)

2) Read the article of Lamb & et al. (2020) (available on blackboard)

3) Prepare with the group a short and impactful theatral scene with different
protagonists, to be performed in front of the class.

4) Once the scene is ready, prepare a 5 min presentation (ppt) that will be presented
after the scene

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Discourses of climate delay - Instructions for each group
1) Each group chooses one of the discourses of inaction (see following slides) with their professor one week before the presentation (at the end
of session 1)
2) Read the article of Lamb & al. (2020) (available on blackboard)
3) Prepare with the group a short and impactful theatral scene with different protagonists, to be performed in front of the class.
• The scene has to illustrate how discourses of inaction unfold within organizations, and how they may be countered or overcome. It
needs to be insightful, fun, realistic and interesting.

• One party/protagonist should illustrate the discourse of inaction, the other try to attack, challenge or overcome it. It is up to each
group to decide whether parties should finally converge towards a common agreement or should camp on their position.

• We recommend you to stick with the guidelines provided about the framing of the scene & protagonists. However, you may an original
idea and decide to change the framing (story, situation, protagonists), in this case inform your professor beforehand

• Rehearse the scene before the session to check that it fits in a 5/6 min format. To make it more lively and engaging, phones and paper
notes are not allowed for actors
4) Once the scene is ready, prepare a 5 min presentation (ppt) which will be presented (preferably by the members of the team who do not have
a role in the scene). The presentation should cover the following themes:

• How prevalent in society is this discourse of inaction? Illustrate it concretely with other examples / manifestations, either at the
individual, business or political level

• Relate the scene to other discourses of inactions (here you can build on the academic article)

• Which strategies do you suggest at the individual or collective level to fight this discourse of inaction ?
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Whataboutism

Context: You are working in the fast fashion industry.

Until now the CEO and financial director consider that these
topics are of little relevance due to the low impact of the industry
vs. other sectors.

Protagonists: there is a meeting between a) the CEO and financial

director and b) a group of managers trying to convince them
about the need to develop a « real » sustainability strategy

Question: should the company engage into a sustainability

transition strategy? Why?

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The free rider excuse

Context: you are working in a European car manufacturer
(automotive industry).
In Europe, manufacturers are concerned that regulation, and in
particular a too early ban of combustion engines (in 2035) could
weaken the historical players, favor Asian companies and
eventually threaten the whole automotive industry.

Protagonists:
- a team of corporate lobbyist willing to question the current legal
framwork to reconsider and delay environmental regulations to
ban classical engines
- a team of green european deputees which set up the current
environmental regulations
Actors meet at the European Parliament

Question: should the European Parliament reconsider / slow

down environmental constraints? Why?

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Talk vs. action
Context: Imagine you are working in the cement industry, for a
company which has taken ambitious claims and policy to reach
« carbon neutrality ». The CEO is invited at a TV show with NGOs
challenging these neutrality claims.

Protagonists:
- CEO and sustainability officer claiming a « carbon neutrality »
strategy based on offsets
- NGO groups challenging the trustworthiness of these claims.
- TV presenter

Question:
- Can we trust companies about their climate neutrality claims?

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Technological optimism

Context:
Public actors are discussing with NGOs and aircraft manufacturers
on how to green the aviation industry.

Protagonists:
- NGO groups promote reducing traffic (ex: forbidding short-
distance flights) and higher taxation of airline industry. They
highlight all the limits of the solutions promoted by the airline
industry
- Airline industry is promoting fuel efficiency, sustainable aviation
fuels and the perspective of hydrogen planes.
- Public actors search for best ways to reduce the impact of airline
industry, maintain employment & respond to political pressures

Question: how to frame public policy to accelerate the transition

towards low-carbon airflights ?

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Group work – Shareholder governance trial (session 4)
• 2 groups – (prosecution VS. defense)

• Define the charges against shareholder

governance

• Build argumentation based on external

sources (list provided) + your own
research and sources

• You can call witness to the bar

• End: vote of the jury

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Business model innovation (s6)
Choose a case of innovative business model involving a sustainability dimension (ex. Aravind Eye Center in India, Phenix in
Europe, a second-hand / sharing economy platform, or a choice of your own to be validated with your professor).

Part one:
- Introduce the story of the company and present the business model using the sustainable business model (SBM) canvass,
Part two: scaling and impact:
- Explore the success factors or inhibitors to scale the SBM
- How to measure the sustainability impacts of the initiative?
- Critically assess the tensions & risks on the economic and sustainability dimensions of the model

Advice: build on existing academic literature on entrepreneurship, business model, or sustainability

Format:
- Presentation of 15 minutes
- Provide a list of academic references and sources at the end of your presentation.

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The anthropocene stress test of a product (s6)
Select a given product being impacted by planetary boundaries, and validate it with your professor

Introduction: Present the product, the key figures about the market (past / future development) and main market actors
Part 1: through a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) framework, connect planetary boundaries and resource use with the product. What
are the main impacts, key resources & risks?
Part 2: using a materiality matrix, assess and present the criticality of issues and risks identified, both in terms of stakeholder
and business importance
Part 3: How should the product and business model be redesigned? highlight 2 recommendations that you believe are key for a
market actor to mitigate and adapt to the main elements identified above.

Format:
- Presentation of 15 minutes
- Provide a list of academic references and sources used at the end of your presentation.

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The anthropocene stress test of a product (s6)
Part 1: through a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) framework, connect planetary boundaries and resource use with the product. What
are the main impacts, key resources & risks?

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The anthropocene stress test of a product (s6)
Part 2 and 3: materiality matrix and recommendations

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