Business Models For Sustainability

Overview

We can no longer ignore humans’ negative impact on the planet. While some parts of the world still can close their eyes to shared and global sustainability challenges, the negative consequences of human activity in other parts of the world have increasingly detrimental effects on the planet and people’s lives. For example, in recent years, global warming is leading to heavy rainfall at unusual times of the year. As a result, in India, some farmers have lost their entire cotton harvest. We also begin to see and understand the negative impacts of global plastic use and waste on nature, animals, and the things we eat. Change towards sustainability needs to happen at many levels of our societies. Global business activities are one of the major causes of the current situation. However, businesses also holds great potential to take the lead in creating more sustainable organizations and practices. In this course, we explore the role that businesses can play in actively transforming their operations and society as a whole towards sustainability and prosperity for all. This course was created by some of the leading researchers on business model theory and social entrepreneurship in Europe in collaboration with both small and large companies across various sectors investing in sustainable business model innovation. This course provides an overview of sustainable business model theory and innovation and discusses business models as essential tools in transforming to more sustainable businesses. Throughout the course, we will use the theory of sustainable business models and sustainable business model innovation as a foundation to investigate how companies can implement more sustainable business practices. We will provide you with a rich opportunity to examine their efforts and consider strategies for your organization. We would greatly appreciate if you would also enlighten us with business examples from your countries to discover new ways of dealing with sustainability together. By the end of the course, you will have an understanding of some challenges and opportunities companies face in their work towards creating more sustainable business models. You will be able to explain, discuss, and critically use the sustainable business model theory and tools to manage innovation towards more sustainable practices. We have developed this course in close collaboration with an amazing group of people who have contributed with their knowledge and practical experiences, and we have learned so much. We are very excited to continue this journey with you and hope you will find the course insightful, useful, and inspiring. Let’s get started!