GOVERNING SUSTAINABILITY - 179002-EN1

Sustainability is commonly defined as meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Brundtland Report, 1987). It is characterized by three overarching concerns: maintaining ecological and environmental health; creating economic welfare; and ensuring social justice.

This module (Governing Sustainability) is part of a 12 CFU course on Governing, Accounting and Reporting for Sustainability. The full course (12 CFU) focuses not only on the material requirements for sustainability, but also on the social, political, cultural and economic dynamics shaping it. It will be proposed a holistic approach to sustainable development, which encompasses societal (macro-level), organisational (meso), and individual (micro) levels and in which the human being is the starting and the ending point.

The role of accounting, reporting and control mechanisms and techniques will be studied and investigated in Module 2 - Accounting and Reporting for Sustainability, while Module 1 – Governing Sustainability offers a contribution to our understanding of the interconnectedness of the personal, organizational and societal level for the achievement of sustainability in economic activities.

This interconnectedness is visualised in the Three Levels of Sustainability (TLS) framework developed by Cavagnaro and Curiel (2012). The TLS framework conveys that:

1. Sustainability plays a role in three distinct and interrelated levels, i.e. society, organisations and individuals;

2. Sustainability starts from the individual level and is an inside-out process;

3. Sustainability is not an end in itself but a middle to achieve a better quality of life for this and future generations.

Upon successful modules completion, students will acquire the following skills:

• Knowledge and Understanding: Understand sustainability as a multidimensional and multilevel concept and be able to evaluate the role of the companies and single individuals in achieving a more sustainable society - Enrich the knowledge of business administration with specific reference to the role and contribution of business for sustainability - Knowledge of the main tools for sustainability management
• Intellectual Skills: Think critically - Ability to evaluate complex challenges from different perspectives - Sensitivity to diversity in people and different situations and the ability to continue to learn through reflection on practice and experience.
• Transferable Skills: Ability to apply tools such as a stakeholders’ analysis to address sustainability challenges - Ability to recognise and use tools for companies' sustainability management.

Furthermore, in coherence with the strategic plan and the TRANSET excellence program of the Department of Management, this course introduces students to the concepts of transition towards more sustainable business models from both an environmental and a social point of view.