Introduction to Sustainable Development in Business

Course Description

Welcome to this MOOC on “Introduction to Sustainable Development in Business”.

This module aims to introduce you to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and discuss issues related to sustainable development in business. We will be linking the SDG concepts to the COVID-19 pandemic and encourage you through forums to share your personal and country experiences with us. We will also discuss post-COVID-19 issues, introduce strategies to initiate the conversation about how to build a robust, resilient and even more sustainable world.

This MOOC has already attracted 10,000+ participants since 2019. The module will play an important role in creating opportunities for more sustainable initiatives in the post-Covid-19 era.

We hope that you will enjoy the MOOC. The team is looking forward to interacting with you.

Course Contents

  • Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Challenges, Complexities and Inter-relationship;
  • Corporate Sustainable Strategy;
  • Sustainable Balanced Scorecard;
  • Policies on Sustainable Balanced Scorecard;
  • Economic Growth;
  • Trade as an Engine of Growth;
  • Sustainable Development: Striking a Balance between Sustainability and Economic Growth; 
  • Sustainable Trade and Sustainable Trade Opportunities;
  • Sustainable Production and Consumption: Fundamentals and Trends;
  • Sustainable infrastructure, Sustainable Tourism and Sustainable Waste Management;
  • Industrial Symbiosis

Target audience

Professionals in the field of sustainability, NGOs, University students.

Outcomes of this Course

On completion of this course, you are expected to be able to:

  • Analyse the interrelationships between the SDGs.
  • Discuss the complexities and challenges of achieving the SDGs.
  • Explain the issues relating to the development of a sustainable corporate strategy.
  • Identify the four different perspectives pertaining to the traditional Balanced Scorecard.
  • Discuss the issues which are integrated in the sustainable balanced scored.
  • Define a sustainable business model.
  • Explain the concepts of economic growth, sustainable development and sustainable trade.
  • Discuss about the case for sustainable trade and its drivers.
  • Identify opportunities related to sustainable trade in different sectors such as agriculture and tourism
  • Apply the concepts of sustainable production and consumption.
  • Apply sustainability to different business areas including infrastructure, waste management and tourism.
  • Explain the concept of industrial symbiosis.

Certificates

After completing the course, a Certificate and a Digital  Badge will be issued to you by the Open University of Mauritius and the Commonwealth of Learning.  The criteria for the award of the certificate and the digital badge are:

  • Participating in at least one Forum throughout the course
  • Completing the Quiz Questions for each unit