Make your company and the world a better place. Learn tools and strategies to make sustainability changes in your organization

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Become a Sustainable Business Change Agent SpecializationUniversity of Colorado System

About this Specialization

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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.

Applied Learning Project

Class 1: A financial analysis (week 3) and a B-Corp Survey (week 5).

Class 2: Identifying appropriate sustainability metrics and an option (Honors) life-cycle analysis.

Class 3: Setting a Science-Based Sustainability Target.

Class 4: Option 1: Write a proposal for changes at Snowflake Basin Ski Resort, a hypothetical ski area.

Option 2: Write a proposal for a change at your organization

Option 3: Do both 1 and 2.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online courses

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible Schedule

Set and maintain flexible deadlines.

Intermediate Level

Some related experience required.

Approximately 5 months to complete

Suggested pace of 2 hours/week

English

Subtitles: English, French, Portuguese (European), Russian, Spanish

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online courses

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible Schedule

Set and maintain flexible deadlines.

Intermediate Level

Some related experience required.

Approximately 5 months to complete

Suggested pace of 2 hours/week

English

Subtitles: English, French, Portuguese (European), Russian, Spanish

How the Specialization Works

Take Courses

A Coursera Specialization is a series of courses that helps you master a skill. To begin, enroll in the Specialization directly, or review its courses and choose the one you'd like to start with. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. It’s okay to complete just one course — you can pause your learning or end your subscription at any time. Visit your learner dashboard to track your course enrollments and your progress.

Hands-on Project

Every Specialization includes a hands-on project. You'll need to successfully finish the project(s) to complete the Specialization and earn your certificate. If the Specialization includes a separate course for the hands-on project, you'll need to finish each of the other courses before you can start it.

Earn a Certificate

When you finish every course and complete the hands-on project, you'll earn a Certificate that you can share with prospective employers and your professional network.

There are 4 Courses in this Specialization

Course1

Course 1

First Steps in Making the Business Case for Sustainability

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147 ratings

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57 reviews

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! ______

Course2

Course 2

More on Change and Sustainability

4.9

stars

54 ratings

•

19 reviews

This is Class 2 of the MOOC Specialization, Become a Sustainable Business Change Agent.

Course3

Course 3

Sustainable Business: Big Issues, Big Changes

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stars

74 ratings

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14 reviews

This is class 3 in the MOOC specialization, Become a Sustainable Business Change Agent.

This class looks at the big issues companies are fixing - climate change, water, worker satisfaction and supply chain issues. You will learn tools to help your company address these issues intelligently. The class ends with an assignment to set a science-based carbon reduction target for a small company. Tis is absolutely cutting edge material. Only about 300 companies in the whole world are doing this as of July 2017. You could put your company in the elite group! With the knowledge and tools you have acquired from the 3 classes in this specialization you are well on your way to making a difference in your company, and making the future brighter for everyone. Thank you for being part of this program!

Course4

Course 4

Capstone: Creating A Sustainability Proposal

4.9

stars

32 ratings

•

11 reviews

Congratulations on reaching the Capstone Class of the Become a Sustainable Business Change Agent specialization. The class will help you apply material from the previous three classes. We have developed a case about a hypothetical ski resort that offers lots of opportunities to develop sustainability recommendations. A second option is do develop a proposal for a change in your company or organization. Or you can do both the case and your own proposal.

The goal of the class is to have you practice the entire process from identifying a problem, finding a possible solution, doing analysis to determine the proposed change's financial and sustainability impacts, figure out who to present the proposal and what they need to see to say 'Yes' and develop a budget and implementation plan. It is big assignment, but if you have gone through the material in the first three classes you should be well-equipped for the challenge. We hope that the concepts and tools we have introduced will start you on your way to making positive changes in your company, organization, community and the world. We have provided just the most basic tolls. As you progress you will enhance your skills and become more effective. Best of luck on all you change endeavors.

Instructors

John Byrd

Senior Instructor

Managing for Sustainable & Finance

13,394 Learners

4 Courses

Kenneth Bettenhausen

Professor

Management

7,292 Learners

3 Courses

Offered by

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the refund policy?
If you subscribed, you get a 7-day free trial during which you can cancel at no penalty. After that, we don’t give refunds, but you can cancel your subscription at any time. See our full refund policy.
Can I just enroll in a single course?
Yes! To get started, click the course card that interests you and enroll. You can enroll and complete the course to earn a shareable certificate, or you can audit it to view the course materials for free. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. Visit your learner dashboard to track your progress.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.
Can I take the course for free?
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. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free. If you cannot afford the fee, you can apply for financial aid.
Is this course really 100% online? Do I need to attend any classes in person?
This course is completely online, so there’s no need to show up to a classroom in person. You can access your lectures, readings and assignments anytime and anywhere via the web or your mobile device.
How long does it take to complete the Specialization?
The entire specialization is 4 classes. The first three are organized into 5 modules each. The last one is shorted. If you do a module a week, the specialization will require about 17 or 18 weeks.
If you have time you could do several modules in a week and accelerate through the specialization.
What background knowledge is necessary?
We assume you are excited about trying to make your company or organization more sustainable and are wiling to invest some time and effort in obtaining the tools and skills to do that. No previous business training is required.
Do I need to take the courses in a specific order?
Yes, the courses build on one another so taking them in order is the best approach.
Will I earn university credit for completing the Specialization?
No, this is not an official University of Colorado Denver course.
What will I be able to do upon completing the Specialization?
We hope that you will be able to identify some ways your organization can be more sustainable, analyze one or more of those possible changes, and write a proposal that gets the change implemented. This may be corny, but we think tat after completing the specialization you will be ready to make the world a better place.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

Become a Sustainable Business Change Agent Specialization

About this Specialization

Applied Learning Project