RRR14 Introduction to Sustainable Business

• Topics

  Sustainability is rapidly reshaping how businesses operate, innovate, and compete. Companies across all industries face increasing regulatory requirements, such as the EU Taxonomy and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), alongside growing investor and stakeholder expectations for transparency and impact. These pressures create significant risks — including reputational, financial, and operational challenges — but also open up new opportunities for companies that successfully integrate sustainability into their strategies and business models.

  This course provides an introduction to sustainable business, emphasizing the lenses of corporate sustainability, startups, sustainable business models, and circular economy. Students will explore key sustainability challenges, learn how companies can balance sustainability with profitability, and gain insights into emerging business models that prioritize regeneration and long-term value creation. Through real-world case studies, guest lectures from industry leaders, and hands-on workshops, students will develop the knowledge and skills to critically assess and apply sustainability strategies in practice.

• Learning outcome

  Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:

  Knowledge

  • Understand the central concepts and theories on business model innovation, sustainability and circular economy
  • Connect theory with real-world tools and practice
  • Understand the evolution of corporate sustainability and the Chief Sustainability Office
  • Describe how sustainability influences the way a business is run
  • Understand specific topics within corporate sustainability, like management control and reporting

  Skills

  • Apply tools to solve sustainability problems
  • Explain key concepts like sustainable business model innovation, circular economy, and net positive business
  • Design experiments to test business model ideas
  • Discuss how sustainability is influencing business
  • Discuss pros and cons with increasing regulation within the sustainability domain, specifically within reporting
  • Discuss challenges and opportunities for companies working with sustainability

  General Competence

  • Communicate about complex issues related to sustainable business models, circular economy, and corporate sustainability

• Teaching

  This course includes lectures, group work, and workshops.

• Compulsory Activity

  Written group project papers, ca. 10 pages; groups of 4 (+/- 2) students.

• Assessment

  4 hours written digital school exam

• Grading Scale

  A-F

• Literature

  Materials include a selection of academic articles, blog posts, podcasts and more.

  Example readings which may be included:

  Bocken, N. M. P., & Coffay, M. (2023). Sustainable by design: An organizational design tool for sustainable business model innovation. Journal of Cleaner Production.​

  Bocken, N. M. P., Short, S. W., Rana, P., & Evans, S. (2014). A literature and practice review to develop sustainable business model archetypes. Journal of Cleaner Production, 65, 42-56. ​

  Chouinard, Y. (2016). Let my people go surfing: The education of a reluctant businessman, including 10 more years of business unusual. Penguin Books.​

  Chouinard, Y., & Stanley, V. (2023). The future of the responsible company: What we've learned from Patagonia's first 50 years. Patagonia.​

  Coffay, M., & Bocken, N. M. P. (2023). Sustainable by design: An organizational design tool for sustainable business model innovation. Journal of Cleaner Production.​

  Coffay, M., Tveterås, R., Bocken, N., & Bogers, M. L. (2024). Sustainable business model innovation, dynamic capabilities, and organizational design: Insights from Norwegian aquaculture. Business Strategy and the Environment, 33(6), 5386-5404.

  Crutzen, N., Zvezdov, D., & Schaltegger, S. (2017). Sustainability and management control. Journal of Management Control, 28(1), 1-4.

  Das, A., Bocken, N. M. P., & Konietzko, J. (2024). A qualitative framework for mapping rebound effects of different circular business model archetypes. Journal of Cleaner Production, 280, 123456.

  Eitrem, C., & Meidell, A. (2020). Integrating sustainability into corporate governance: The role of the board of directors. Journal of Business Ethics, 163(3), 1-15.

  Geissdoerfer, M., Bocken, N. M. P., & Hultink, E. J. (2017). Design thinking to enhance the sustainable business modeling process: A workshop-based approach. Journal of Cleaner Production, 160, 1215-1227.​

  Geissdoerfer, M., Savaget, P., Bocken, N. M. P., & Hultink, E. J. (2018). The circular economy - A new sustainability paradigm? Journal of Cleaner Production, 143, 757-768. ​

  Journault, A. (2021). Corporate sustainability strategies: A comparative study. Sustainability, 13(5), 1234. ​

  Malmi, T., & Brown, D. A. (2008). Management control systems as a package—Opportunities, challenges and research directions. Management Accounting Research, 19(4), 287-300. ​

  Polman, P., & Winston, A. (2021). Net positive: How courageous companies thrive by giving more than they take. Harvard Business Review Press.​

  Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2011). Creating shared value. Harvard Business Review, 89(1/2), 62-77.​

  Teece, D. J. (2010). Business models, business strategy and innovation. Long Range Planning, 43(2-3), 172-194.

• Permitted Support Material

  One bilingual dictionary (Category I)

  All in accordance with Supplementary provisions to the Regulations for Full-time Study Programmes at the Norwegian School of Economics Ch.4 Permitted support material https://www.nhh.no/en/for-students/regulations/https://www.nhh.no/en/for-students/regulations/ and https://www.nhh.no/en/for-students/examinations/examination-support-materials/https://www.nhh.no/en/for-students/examinations/examination-support-materials/