ENVS676 - Corporate Sustainability Management and Communication

Sustainability (i.e. the long term viability of humans in harmony with the environment) has been identified as a critical issue for society and industry. The question is what actions individual companies can take to promote sustainability. This course will focus on the approach to both managing and communicating the corporate sustainability function. The opportunity that exists is to demonstrate that sustainability can reduce costs and enhance the corporations reputation. A sustainable approach looks to change core business activities that consume resources and generate waste (now to be seen as by-products) so that the new business model will not only have a beneficial impact on the environment but also generate better products, reduce costs and improve trust between society and the company. The implementation of sustainability management systems, which assists in aligning business operations with sustainable principles, has the potential for significant benefit for industry as well as for the long term viability of the human population and the natural ecosystem. The key will be to communicate the approach and the benefit so that investors, employees and the public understand what is at stake.