University of Sussex Business School
The University of Sussex Business School is a member of the UN Global Compact, a key goal of which is to help businesses advance education. The School is also a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), an initiative of the UN Global Compact.
Principles for Responsible Management Education engages business and management schools in providing business students the skills and understanding to balance economic, social, and environmental goals.
Sustainability is integrated across the Business School’s teaching, offering a range of sustainability focused modules and programmes as well as embedding sustainability into the broader curriculum, supporting a contextual understanding of sustainability matters e.g. sustainable supply chains.
As a result, the offer links to a broad range of the SDGs including SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth; SDG 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; and SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production.
Current sustainability related undergraduate modules in the Business School include:
- Introduction to sustainability
- Non-profit management and social entrepreneurship
- Enterprise in the circular economy
- Economics of development
- Finance for development
- Environmental economics
- Climate change economics
- Social responsibility, sustainability and business ethics
The availability of the above modules depends on your chosen course of study. Please follow the module links to see which degree courses offer this module and look at your course prospectus to see whether modules are core or optional.
Case study: Enterprise in the circular economy
Enterprise in the circular economy is currently an option module for students on the BSc Business and Management and BSc Marketing and Management courses. The module employs a blend of theory and practice, integrating sustainability concepts with business and their activities, and aligning the module with the majority of the SDGs.
The module focuses on ideas of the circular economy in business, for example, value creation through slowing of resource loops by using products for longer facilitated by repair and remanufacturing.
The module has received lots of traction among students. The highlight of the module is the guest speakers and practitioners, who often come from local enterprises that are integrating circular economy into their business models. Hearing directly from those that are adopting these ideas helps students to see how theoretical concepts are transformed into practical business activities.
As part of the coursework, students study a business and product of their choice and analyse the value chain of the product from resource extraction to end of life, this may be in the linear or circular economy. Students investigate the sustainability impacts of the product and business by identifying material and waste flows. This applied approach enables students to engage with how products are made, how value is added along the value chain, and what implications this has for planet, people, and profit.