Imperial has launched a new online course designed to help professionals become more sustainable in their business practices.

Developed by academics at Imperial College Business School, the course is aimed at potential future MBA students and at professionals who want to develop their understanding of sustainability in the context of business. 

The course will focus on sustainability from three key perspectives; corporate sustainability, business ethics and social innovation. It will equip participants with a comprehensive understanding of sustainability issues, the relevance for policymakers, the role of corporations and the implications for decision-making on sustainability issues in business operations.

The free online course runs for six weeks from Monday 5 August and is hosted by edX, an online learning platform that offers free courses from the world’s top universities to more than eight million learners all around the world.

"Business schools such as Imperial must lead the way in ensuring that sustainability is incorporated throughout their teaching, research and practices to ensure that the business leaders of tomorrow have a sustainable and responsible mindset." Joel McConnell Executive Director of Marketing, Recruitment and Admissions, Business School

Participants will increase their understanding of the strategic challenges faced by modern organisations in today’s global business environment. They will also develop a basic understanding of sustainability thinking and triple bottom line approaches – those which benefit a company’s profit, people and the planet.

Dr Paolo Taticchi, course director and Programme Director of the Global Online MBA at Imperial College Business School, said: “In today’s business landscape, issues such as climate change are having a greater impact on the way we live and work, which means that business leaders have a responsibility to implement more sustainable practices in their workplace so they become part of the solution rather than the problem. This course is designed to provide the base knowledge to potential MBA students and professionals who are looking to increase their understanding of how sustainability affects their life and business operations.”

Joel McConnell, Executive Director of Marketing, Recruitment and Admissions at Imperial College Business School said:  “It is simply not enough for business schools to only provide practical leadership and management skills to its students. We are no longer living in a world where businesses can get away with not acting upon sustainability issues. Business schools such as Imperial must lead the way in ensuring that sustainability is incorporated throughout their teaching, research and practices to ensure that the business leaders of tomorrow have a sustainable and responsible mindset – tackling these important issues head on.”

This online course builds upon Imperial’s industry-leading work around sustainability, including the elective in corporate sustainability on the Full-Time MBA, and the new Leonardo Centre, a research hub that aims to bring together academics, businesses and institutions to develop new sustainable business models that benefit businesses and society. The Leonardo Centre aims to support the business sector in realising the UN Sustainable Development Goals and implementing these into their practices.

To sign up for the online course ‘Introduction to Corporate Sustainability, Social Innovation and Ethics’, please visit the Imperial page on the edX website.