The Business School at the University of Colorado Denver wants to help you become a change agent for sustainable business. We hope that with the skills and concepts you gain from this specialization that you will help your business reduce its social and environmental impact. Being a change agent is hard. It takes courage and passion and knowledge. To implement change also requires being able to make the case for that change in terms that people in your company or organization respond to and understand.
After completing the specialization, you will be able to:
* Discuss the threats and opportunities that major global trends such as climate change present to businesses;
* Identify ways a company can improve its environmental and social performance;
* Evaluate and compare companies’ sustainability activities and products;
* Develop a business case for implementing sustainability investments;
* Identify key criteria of green businesses and product design;
* Be a change agent in your organization;
* Understand emerging topics in sustainable business, including those in the public policy space.
We're very excited about offering this MOOC specialization and hope it gives you the first step toward learning about and taking action to make the places you work and the products you buy more sustainable.
Sustainable business changes daily with new products, innovations and ideas, so you will be important in keeping the class current. We look forward to learning from you as you take this green journey!
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This course is part of the Become a Sustainable Business Change Agent Specialization
First Steps in Making the Business Case for Sustainability
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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Week
11 hour to complete
Introduction to Change and Change Agents
Welcome to the first class of Become a Sustainable Business Change Agent.
This week we introduce you to several people who are making changes and talk about the class and the entire specialization. We also begin to think about what type of changes you should look for at the start of your change agent career. Finally, we discuss what a good proposal has to do to be approved. The proposal has to convince decision-makers that your change helps the company or organization. So you need to make sure that the right people support your idea, that the right person receives it and that you have made a sound case for the sustainability change you are proposing.
During the next classes we will help you learn the tools to put together a powerful proposal and to identify the key people who will influence your idea being implemented.
We hope by the end of this specialization you will have a proposal for a change in your company, or have the tools so when that opportunity arises you can be an agent of positive change.
5 videos (Total 51 min), 1 quiz
5 videos
Lesson 2 - Stories of Change12m
Lesson 3 - What to look for in a first project11m
Lesson 4 - Starting as a Change Agent: Jarrett Smith Interview14m
Lesson 5 - What does a good change proposal look like?7m
1 practice exercise
Quiz 1 - Getting Started20m
Week
23 hours to complete
Finding a good first project
This week we discuss what you should be trying to accomplish with your first sustainability change project and give you some ideas of the types of projects that are likely to be successful. We also introduce the notion of establishing a baseline so you can measure the effect of your change.
7 videos (Total 80 min), 2 quizzes
7 videos
Lesson 2 - Good first Projects - Behavioral Nudges9m
Lesson 3 - Good First Projects: Recycling8m
Lesson 4 - Good first projects: Reporting6m
Lesson 5 - B-Corps: Goals Besides Profits An Interview with Kara Peck12m
Jarrett Smith - Starting your change agent career14m
Graham Russell - Recycling as a first project18m
1 practice exercise
Quiz 2 - Great First Change Opportunities20m
Week
33 hours to complete
Financial Analysis for the Business Case
An important aspect of making the business case of change is to show the likely financial impact of the change. Ideally, we will find improvements that increase profits either by saving the company money or by increasing sales. To demonstrate these financial benefits we use a standard tool from financial analysis - Net Present Value analysis (NPV). The idea underlying Net Present Value analysis is that we estimate all the cash inflows and outlays associated with a project, then through a technique called discounting (or computing the present value) we shift all the cash flows into the present so they can be compared. You cannot compare an outlay made to day directly to a cash flow or profit to be received in two or three years. Combining the present value of the cash flows - adding the present value of benefits and subtracting the present value of outlays - gives us the Net Present Value. If the NPV is positive the benefits, adjusted for time, more than offset the costs and the project enhances the value of the company. If the NPV is negative then the monetary benefits do not more than offset the costs. But there may be non-monetary reasons for pursuing the project. This is where we begin to consider the reasons for companies becoming sustainable discussed in Week 2 of this module. The business case includes the financial impact and non-monetary sustainability impacts of the change.
4 videos (Total 38 min), 2 readings, 2 quizzes
4 videos
Lesson 2 - Present Value and Doing an NPV7m
Lesson 3 Net Present Value Practice Problem11m
Lesson 4: Computing Return on Investment and Payback10m
2 readings
Hydration Station Case10m
Excel Resources (Optional)10m
1 practice exercise
Quiz 3 - Financial Analysis20m
Week
43 hours to complete
Starting to Make the Business Case for Sustainability
In this module we cover two topics: The benefits for companies of being sustainable and aspects of our economic system that prevent/discourage companies form being more sustainable. The goal of the module is to give you the first tools for making the business case for sustainability. The benefits of sustainability will be important as you put together your proposal for change. If you work in the sustainable business arena very long you will need to know some of the vocabulary and economics that cause some of our environmental and social problems. These are market failures. We'll introduce three: externalities, common access resource problems and information failures.
4 videos (Total 30 min), 3 readings, 2 quizzes
4 videos
Lesson 2 - Why Become a Sustainable Company? Part 25m
Lesson 3 - Market Failures Part 1 - Externalities7m
Lesson 4 - Market Failures Part 2 - Common Access Resources & Information10m
3 readings
Week 4 Introduction (Start Here)10m
Resources on - Why Companies Should Go Green and Market Failures10m
Additional Readings and Resources10m
1 practice exercise
Quiz 4 - Why become sustainable and market failures22m
4.7
8 Reviews50%
started a new career after completing these courses
25%
got a tangible career benefit from this course
Top Reviews
I am a sustainability professional and I learned a lot with this course! The instructors are awesome and the topics are very current.
Easy to follow, well laid out, great information. Definitely starts with the basics, which is what someone like me needed. Thanks!
Instructor
John Byrd
Senior InstructorManaging for Sustainable & Finance
About University of Colorado System
The University of Colorado is a recognized leader in higher education on the national and global stage. We collaborate to meet the diverse needs of our students and communities. We promote innovation, encourage discovery and support the extension of knowledge in ways unique to the state of Colorado and beyond.
About the Become a Sustainable Business Change Agent Specialization
About the course
This specialization is for anyone who would like to improve how their company or organization impacts the environment, people and communities. We will introduce you to some of the key concepts and tools of sustainable business, then teach you how to be an effective change agent. By the end of the specialization you will have the skills to create an effective sustainability proposal and know who you have to convince, and what they need to be convinced.
The Classes
Class 1: First Steps in Making the Business Case for Sustainability
Identifying a good first project, writing an effective proposal, financial analysis & sustainable thinking.
Class 2: More on Change and Sustainability
Implementing change, green design, sustainability reporting, examples from practitioners/
Class 3: Sustainable Business: Big Issues, Big Changes
Climate change, carbon footprinting, Context-based sustainability and science-based targets, water and energy, workplace sustainability issues, and supply chain impacts.
Class 4: Comprehensive Case
The capstone class haps you put all the pieces together as you produce a complete proposal for change! This proposal can be based on a case we have written or for your organization, or both.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Once you enroll for a Certificate, you’ll have access to all videos, quizzes, and programming assignments (if applicable). Peer review assignments can only be submitted and reviewed once your session has begun. If you choose to explore the course without purchasing, you may not be able to access certain assignments.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
What is the refund policy?
Is financial aid available?
More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.
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