Sustainability and CSR

The SSE MBA Executive Format aims to integrate corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability issues into all of the program’s discipline-based courses.

The course comprises stand-alone modules, interlinked joint sessions, and digital synchronous online learning, alongside preparatory asynchronous content. Our goal is to integrate sustainability knowledge throughout the program and across all relevant courses. As part of this, we examine the role of companies and organizations in society and track the expanding boundaries of corporate responsibility from a global norm perspective. Taking a corporate strategic approach and drawing on existing knowledge from the social sciences as well as best-practice managerial tools across various disciplines, the course also introduces students to managing sustainable businesses through case studies.

The transition to sustainable development is considered one of the greatest challenges of our time. Issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, population growth, urbanization, geopolitics, and inequality are increasingly influencing—and being influenced by—our systems, policies, and businesses. Starting with the definition of sustainable development provided by the UN Brundtland Commission (1987), this course encourages critical thinking and aims to contextualize corporate social responsibility and sustainable business strategies within the necessary transformation.

Corporate responsibility is the obligation of an organization to consider the interests of its stakeholders, including customers, employees, shareholders, communities, and the environment. It involves internalizing these social and environmental externalities into the company’s operations. By embedding sustainability into core business strategies and adopting a stakeholder perspective, organizations can create both social and corporate value on a sustainable basis. At a minimum, they can generate what has been referred to as “shared value” for both business and society. Corporate responsibility and sustainable business practices are strategic priorities for all businesses and require effective managerial action. Achieving this requires a deep understanding of global and local sustainability challenges, international norms and codes, the boundaries of firm responsibility, and a variety of sustainable business practices.