Postgraduate Course: Climate Change & Corporate Responsibility (online) (PGGE11213)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Online Distance Learning |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | In this course (which is the same as Climate Change and Corporate Strategy given in Semester 2), climate change is approached from the lenses of organisational decision-makers who are time-starved and must juggle a complex array of information and priorities. Thus, more than an environmental challenge, in this course climate change is viewed as a trigger of market transition, where controls on greenhouse gas emissions will affect virtually all sectors of the economy to varying degrees. For some this transition represents risks and constraints, for others, an opportunity. Decision makers and leaders must therefore equip themselves with the strategic analytical tools necessary to analyse an organisation's positioning on climate change vis-à-vis competitors, interests and other strategic considerations. This course provides students with the tools to enable them to become world class strategists. |
| Course description |
Climate change is now widely regarded as a strategic issue with significant operational and financial implications for business. These implications form a complex web of interactions between climate change science, policy and economics. To succeed in such a complex and ever-changing world, there is a need for business practitioners and other stakeholders (such as NGOs, government, media and the general public) to have a deeper understanding of the present and future implications of climate change for business.
'Solving' the climate crisis requires input and involvement from the business sector across the globe. This course aims to provide students with an opportunity to explore and analyse the myriad of impacts of the climate crisis for business, the ways in which business can respond, and the wider implications of their responses for a range of stakeholders including the environment, shareholders, employees and consumers.
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Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2020/21, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 45 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
196 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework 100%
Assignment 1 (40%) - due week 6
Assignment 2 (60%) - due week 12 |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Analyse a business and its competitive environment regarding present and future carbon emissions, incorporating the perspectives of multiple stakeholders.
- Develop corporate strategy that reflects climate change expectations within any policy or regulatory framework.
- Communicate complex ideas that incorporate business, climate change and sustainable responsibility to a range of audiences through synthesis and creative application of relevant literature to practical situations.
- Critically evaluate the challenges to transitioning to a low-carbon economy, taking into account a range of sometimes diverging viewpoints.
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Reading List
Required and further readings for this course generally take the form of reports from industry/government/NGOs and peer-reviewed journal articles. Due to nature of this course, there is no single volume textbook that covers the range of material presented.
Details of required and recommended further reading for individual lectures can be found in several places: the full course reading list on Learn and the Welcome page on the VLE, and; lecture specific readings on the Welcome page of that lecture.
Self-selected Preparatory Reading could include:
Packard, K. and Reinhardt, F. (2000) 'What Every Executive Needs to Know about Global Warming', Harvard Business Review, July-August, pp. 129-135
Lash, J. and Wellington, F. (2007) 'Competitive Advantage on a Warming Planet', Harvard Business Review, March, pp. 95-102
Hoffman, A. (2007) Getting Ahead of the Curve: Corporate Strategies that Address Climate Change, Executive Summary (pp v-vii) and Synthesis Report (pp 1-7)
Porter, M. & Kramer, M. (2011) The Big Idea: Creating Shared Value, Harvard Business Review.
Goldman Sachs Sustain (2009). Change is coming: A framework for climate change- a defining issue of the 21st century, pp 1-17.
McKinsey & Company (2009) Pathways to a Low-Carbon Economy. Version 2 of the Global Greenhouse Gas Abatement Cost Curve, pp 190.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Cognitive Skills:
Through this course, students will have the opportunity to develop business analytical skills, numerical skills, research and synthesis skills, and presentation skills. These will be developed throughout the course via reading and reflecting on academic and business literature; the content of the lectures; discussion with other students and facilitators, and; assessment preparation and presentation.
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| Additional Class Delivery Information |
The world has changed due to COVID-19, and how we work and study has had to adapt in response to this. As a result, we have designed this course to enable you to get the full learning experience whether you are working from home or from the university campus. It is going to be a challenging year, but we hope that this design will enable you to continue learning despite the changes we face. Note that as the pandemic progresses, things may change, and we ask you to be patient as we adjust to a new way of teaching and working.
The course consists of 10 lectures. All of the core course materials are available via Blackboard Learn, our online teaching portal. The lectures are designed to be delivered ¿asynchronously¿ so that you can go through the material in your own time at home. Each lecture is made up of a mix of pre-recorded mini videos, texts and readings. The material will become available on a week-by-week basis. This is to help you manage your time and self-study. We encourage you to follow the week-by-week structure as far as possible so that the assessments align with the learning and you get the most out of the tutorials.
Discussion, debate, and sharing ideas with staff and students is all part of the learning experience. So, while we may not be able to meet in person, the Course Organiser will host weekly live virtual seminars using Blackboard Collaborate. We will use these student-centred interactive sessions to discuss elements of topics in more depth. Please sign up to one seminar slot ¿ they are allocated on a first-come-first basis, and you are expected to stay in the same time slot for the full semester. You are encouraged to make as many of these live sessions as possible, but should you need to miss one, they will be recorded and stored on Learn. |
| Keywords | Business,Strategy,Climate Change |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr Stephen Porter
Tel: (0131 6)51 4545
Email: stephen.porter@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Heather Penman
Tel: (0131 6)50
Email: heather.penman@ed.ac.uk |
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