BU2009 - Sustainability in Business

Credit points:	03
Year:	2010
Student Contribution Band:	Band 3
Administered by:	School of Business

N/A

This multi-disciplinary subject provides a comprehensive introduction to the concept of sustainability as it applies to business. The subject moves beyond the notion of commercial sustainability that has been prevalent in business towards a more balanced and integrative approach that includes economic, social and environmental sustainability. The subject will explore organisational sustainability at the strategic and operational levels. Topics include a consideration of sustainability metrics and reporting, triple bottom line, corporate social responsibility, stakeholder engagement, climate change and emissions trading, social impacts, operations in developing countries and indigenous community settings, emerging 'green' technologies, sustainable natural resource management, marketing of sustainability and international best practice for sustainability.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand and critically evaluate the concepts of sustainable development and the global and local drivers of sustainability in business;
• Understand the role of strategic foresight as a means of identifying sustainable business outcomes in a changing environment;
• Understand the operational dimensions of sustainability in business;
• Analyse and critique appropriate forms of sustainability as a driver for business growth and development;
• Understand contemporary approaches to monitoring and reporting the outcomes of sustainable initiatives.

Graduate Qualities

• The ability to define and to solve problems in at least one discipline area;
• The ability to think critically, to analyse and evaluate claims, evidence and arguments, and to reason and deploy evidence clearly and logically;
• An understanding of the economic, legal, ethical, social and cultural issues involved in the use of information;
• The ability to select and organise information and to communicate it accurately, cogently, coherently, creatively and ethically;
• The acquisition of coherent and disciplined sets of skills, knowledge, values and professional ethics from at least one discipline area;
• The ability to generate, calculate, interpret and communicate numerical information in ways appropriate to a given discipline or discourse.

Availabilities
Townsville, Internal, Study Period 1
Census Date 25-Mar-2010
Coordinator:	Professor Gianna Moscardo
Lecturers:	Assoc. Professor Natalie Stoeckl, Dr Riccardo Welters, Dr Breda McCarthy, Dr Alastair Birtles.
Contact hours:	26 hours lectures 12 hours tutorials
Assessment:	(50%); (50%).
Special Assessment Requirements:	N/A

Note: Minor variations might occur due to the continuous Subject quality improvement process, and in case of minor variation(s) in assessment details, the Subject Outline represents the latest official information.