Short course
Business Sustainability Leadership
Course status:
Applications being accepted
Location:
Online
Dates:
12/01/2027 - 23/03/2027
Study format:
Online - live
Fees:
£430.00
Designed to provide a solid grounding in business sustainability leadership, this course explores how companies can respond to sustainability challenges in ways that are both commercially viable and aligned with long-term societal interests.
This course is intended for professionals seeking to promote sustainability in their own organisations. Recognising that this can be done ‘bottom-up’ as well as ‘top-down’, the course is well suited to current and aspiring business leaders alike, and it is also relevant to companies of all sizes and sectors. The course will also appeal to other people interested in business sustainability. In addition to introducing key topics such as net zero and the circular economy, it looks at some of the underlying science and economics of sustainability issues, as well as the roles of technology and innovation in addressing them.
With an emphasis on practical application, the course guides participants in developing an action plan to identify and implement meaningful sustainability initiatives in their own organisations, enabling them to lead the sustainability improvements they wish to see.
Book this course
Book your place online using the button below.
Programme details
This course begins on the 12 January 2027, which is when course materials are made available to students. Students should study these materials in advance of the first live meeting, which will be held on 19 January 2027, 18:30-19:30 (UK time).
Week 1: The political-economic context of business sustainability
Week 2: The science behind business sustainability issues
Week 3: Two prominent topics in business sustainability: net zero and the circular economy
Week 4: The foundations of business responses to sustainability challenges
Week 5: Commercial aspects of business responses
Week 6: Technology and innovation in relation to business sustainability
Week 7: Starting to turn sustainability challenges into organisational action
Week 8: Embedding sustainability initiatives into operational processes
Week 9: Building organisational and stakeholder support for sustainability initiatives
Week 10: Course reflections and action planning
Level and demands
This course is open to all, and no prior knowledge is required.
This course is offered at FHEQ level 4 (first year undergraduate level), and you will be expected to engage in independent study in preparation for your assignments. Our 10-week Short Online Courses come with an expected total commitment of 100 study hours.
English Language Requirements
We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but we warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information regarding English language requirements, please see here.
Course aims
This course aims to help you to:
- Understand the current context and underlying science of business sustainability, so you have a ‘big picture’ view of sustainability issues;
- Appreciate key ideas that form part of the business sustainability debate, particularly in relation to the tension between profit-maximising and social and environmental stewardship;
- Evaluate sustainability challenges in terms of competitive strategy, including opportunities to create new products/services and even new markets;
- Realise how business sustainability improvements can be effectively implemented, so you feel empowered to do so in your own organisation.
IT requirements
Any standard web browser can be used to access course materials on our virtual learning environment, but we recommend Google Chrome. We also recommend that students join the live webinars on Microsoft Teams using a laptop or desktop computer rather than a phone or tablet due to the limited functionality of the app on these devices.
Programme details
This course begins on the 12 January 2027, which is when course materials are made available to students. Students should study these materials in advance of the first live meeting, which will be held on 19 January 2027, 18:30-19:30 (UK time).
Week 1: The political-economic context of business sustainability
Week 2: The science behind business sustainability issues
Week 3: Two prominent topics in business sustainability: net zero and the circular economy
Week 4: The foundations of business responses to sustainability challenges
Week 5: Commercial aspects of business responses
Week 6: Technology and innovation in relation to business sustainability
Week 7: Starting to turn sustainability challenges into organisational action
Week 8: Embedding sustainability initiatives into operational processes
Week 9: Building organisational and stakeholder support for sustainability initiatives
Week 10: Course reflections and action planning
Teaching methods
This course takes place over 10 weeks, with a weekly learning schedule and weekly live webinar held on Microsoft Teams. Shortly before a course commences, students are provided with access to an online virtual learning environment, which houses the course content, including video lectures, complemented by readings or other study materials. Working through these materials over the course of the week will prepare students for a weekly 1-hour live webinar you will share with your expert tutor and fellow students. All courses are structured to amount to 100 study hours, so that on average, you should set aside 10 hours a week for study. Although the course finishes after 10 weeks, all learning materials remain available to all students for 12 months after the course has finished.
All courses are led by an expert tutor. Tutors guide students through the course materials as part of the live interactions during the weekly webinars. Tutors will also provide individualised feedback on your assignments. All online courses are taught in small student cohorts so that you and your peers will form a mutually supportive and vibrant learning community for the duration of the course. You will learn from your fellow students as well as from your tutor, and they will learn from you.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students will be expected to:
Knowledge:
- Outline the political and economic context in which businesses are increasingly expected to act more sustainably, recognising why the traditional notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is insufficient and outdated.
- Explain key scientific, economic, and managerial concepts relevant to business sustainability, including, for example, net zero, the circular economy, externalities, and the triple bottom line.
Interpretation and evaluation:
- Critically appraise the tension between profit maximisation and the costs of sustainability initiatives for particular businesses, judging how this translates into their strategic decision-making.
- Develop an outline argument for a business sustainability initiative that both satisfies commercial requirements and has a meaningful social or environmental impact, referring to both qualitative and quantitative evidence.
Communication and application:
- Relate the main sustainability challenges facing businesses in general to particular organisations, taking into account their real-life industry contexts and the sustainability challenges that are particularly relevant to these (e.g. in manufacturing industries, reclamation and re-use of particular materials).
- Make a provisional diagnosis of an organisation’s current social and environmental performance (i.e. baseline sustainability position) as the basis for devising a practical action plan to design a sustainability initiative for that organisation, and capture this in an appropriate communication format.
Assessment methods
You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Mr John Callaghan – Tutor
Dr. John Callaghan has been working on topics at the nexus of business, social responsibility, and environmental sustainability for 25 years. He was previously an engineer and manager in the renewable energy industry, undertaking roles related to innovation and strategy. He created a £40m applied research programme on offshore wind energy and arranged a capital investment in one of the world’s first ‘tidal farms’. Now a full-time academic, he is progressing research about social entrepreneurship and business sustainability alongside teaching about strategy and entrepreneurship in general.
John holds degrees in engineering and management from the University of Durham (MEng), IMD in Lausanne (MBA), and Imperial College London (MRes, PhD). He is a Chartered Engineer and a Sainsbury Management Fellow. John has been a Tutor with the University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education since 2019 and is currently also a Teaching Associate at Judge Business School and a Research Associate at Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
Assessment methods
You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Level and demands
This course is open to all, and no prior knowledge is required.
This course is offered at FHEQ level 4 (first year undergraduate level), and you will be expected to engage in independent study in preparation for your assignments. Our 10-week Short Online Courses come with an expected total commitment of 100 study hours.
English Language Requirements
We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but we warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information regarding English language requirements, please see here.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course Fee | £430.00 |
Module code: O26P851SOZ
Please use the ‘Book now’ button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form.