Learning objectives
The teaching aims to introduce the main issues of corporate sustainability, with a specific focus on reporting.
The final objective is to make the student capable of interpreting in a comprehensive way the issues of corporate sustainability, a topic of great topicality today but observable from different points of view and with different levels of depth; this objective is pursued by treating the topics with a practical and operational slant, as well as with the frequent intervention in the classroom of external witnesses, particularly experts in the topics of specific intervention. At the end of the teaching, students will have acquired a. The knowledge necessary to understand the different facets of corporate sustainability, having understood its main levers ; b. The ability to apply the knowledge acquired to read a sustainability report; c. The autonomy of judgment in reading information on a company's sustainability d. The skills consisting of the ability to engage with industry experts on the subject of reading a sustainability report e. The ability to learn through the use of multiple sources (not only textbooks), but also through the direct use of materials used by witnesses or from readings provided by the lecturer
Prerequisites
none
Course unit content
The course content focuses on introducing sustainability issues in business.
The approach is twofold: a first part of the course provides an overview of the main issues related to corporate sustainability, starting with the founding concepts (circular economy, CSR to sustainability), and then delving into more technical topics such as ESG and measuring sustainability for management purposes.
The second part of the course is devoted to the main reporting tools, with a focus on the sustainability report prepared according to the new regulations.
Full programme
For attendees
Course Introduction
From sustainable development to circular economy
Corporate testimony
The sustainable company
The ESG performance of the company
Measuring sustainability for management purposes
Focus on energy and the environment
Guided Business Game
The tools for making explicit a sustainability-oriented strategy
The tools for making explicit a sustainability-oriented strategy
The non-financial reporting process, with particular reference to stakeholder engagement
The non-financial reporting process, with particular reference to stakeholder engagement
Regulatory framework on non-financial reporting
Regulatory framework in nonfinancial reporting
The basic concepts of nonfinancial reporting
The tools of nonfinancial reporting
The ESRS
The ESRS
Reading a sustainability report
Business case
For non-attenders
See chapters in the book
Bibliography
NON-ATTENDERS
- TEXTBOOK: Introduzione alla sostenibilità aziendale - CHIUCCHI M.S., GIULIANI M. | Giappichelli to be done in full
- To supplement the part on sustainable business (chapter 2): reading 4 on Benefit Societies
- To supplement the part on non-financial reporting (thus supplementing chapter 9): readings 1 and 2
- to connect part 1 and 2 of the course: reading 3 (in English)
all readings to be integrated are uploaded to Elly
FREQUENT ATTENDANTS
- TEXTBOOK: Introduzione alla sostenibilità aziendale - CHIUCCHI M.S., GIULIANI M. | Giappichelli - for exam study only chapters 1, 2, 3 and 8
- Lecture slides, slides of testimonies (it is essential for this to attend)
Teaching methods
Teaching activities will be conducted with an emphasis on active learning modes, with lectures marked by a high practical connotation, through especially the frequent use of real cases and external testimonies.
Attending students have the opportunity to carry out interactive experiences during the course.
Acquisition of knowledge: face-to-face lectures
Acquisition of ability to apply knowledge: seminars, optional conduct of project work during lectures
Acquisition of independent judgment: during the course, students will be challenged to identify critical aspects of corporate sustainability plans
Acquisition of learning skills: for each topic they will start from the illustration of the problem to be solved and critically analyze the solutions adopted.
Acquisition of technical language: the meaning of commonly used terms will be explained during teaching
The teaching materials used during the lectures are uploaded to Elly on a weekly basis. Registration for the online course is required to download the slides. The slides used are considered part of the lecture materials. Non-attending students are reminded to check the available lecture materials and directions provided by the lecturer via the Elly platform
Assessment methods and criteria
Assessment of learning is by a written test differentiated for frequent and non-attending students. Attendee status will not be verified in the classroom by signature collection or otherwise but students will self-declare themselves as such in the examination.
The examination will be conducted in written mode
NON-ATTENDING
No. 3 long open questions of 10 points each
FREQUENT ATTENDANTS
No. 6 short open questions of 5 points each
On 16.11.2023 during the 4 hours of class, work will be proposed to be done exclusively in the classroom, at the end of which the work of the groups will be evaluated and in case of successful completion of the work, the lecturer reserves the right to add No. 1 point to the final examination evaluation. The additional point, if any, will be considered only for A.Y. 2023/2024.
he written test has a duration of one hour. The written test is graded on a 0-30 scale. Honors will be awarded to those particularly deserving students who, in addition to having met the requirements necessary to obtain a full grade, in the conduct of the test have on the whole demonstrated an appreciable systematic knowledge of the subject, an excellent ability to apply the acquired knowledge to the specific problem at hand, a relevant autonomy of judgment, as well as special care in the formal drafting of the paper
In more detail, it should be noted that the ability to apply knowledge will be ascertained by questions in which the ability to provide examples taken from classroom experience (for frequent attendees) and citing practical examples from the book (for nonattenders) will also be rewarded. Autonomy of judgment and ability to learn will be ascertained with open-ended questions, in which the student must demonstrate synthesis skills combined with critical insights, as well as in the evaluation of the project work, where the student is asked to provide critical judgment. The ability to communicate with appropriate technical language will be ascertained through the open questions, where special attention is also paid to the correct use of technical terms The final results of the exam are published on Esse3.
Other information
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