Leading the Circular and Sustainable Business

Leading the Circular and Sustainable Business is the third and final course in the specialization, Applied Sustainability for Technical Managers. This course focuses on the business case for sustainability. It begins by defining a sustainable business, one that is inclusive of all stakeholders and how new organizational structures support the sustainable enterprise, enabling the business to go beyond corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. The course highlights sustainable operations and supply chains, recognizing sustainable products need to be manufactured using environmentally and socially responsible practices. Companies are increasingly marketing products as "green", and the course discusses truthful advertising, greenwashing, and the value of 3rd-party certifications. Sustainable finance is introduced through the lens of the Triple Bottom Line (TBL), using the Environmental P&L to illustrate a company’s environmental costs. ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) is increasingly important today, and companies are communicating their progress through Sustainability reports. The course explores how to read a sustainability report, as well as methodologies to generate them, including GRI and CSRD. The course closes with a discussion of Sustainability Leadership, from starting your own business to effectively communicating with upper management. This course is about empowerment, providing you with the knowledge and tools to be more sustainable in your daily life, in the community where you live, and in the company where you work. This course was developed in collaboration with Siemens Digital Industries Software and is part of the "Design for the Circular Economy" collection. Learners who complete and pass the course can receive an industry-recognized digital badge. The “Design for the Circular Economy” microcredential and graduate certificate are developed around the educational goals of providing technical, business, and leadership knowledge and skills that inspire the transformation towards a more circular economy. This includes gaining technical knowledge to apply circular economy principles in product design, minimizing waste and maximizing impact; developing business acumen to implement innovative circular economic models that prioritize sustainability and resilience; and acquiring leadership strategies to communicate effectively and inspire change within an organization. This course can be taken for academic credit as part of CU Boulder’s Master of Engineering in Engineering Management (ME-EM) degree offered on the Coursera platform. The ME-EM is designed to help engineers, scientists, and technical professionals move into leadership and management roles in the engineering and technical sectors. With performance-based admissions and no application process, the ME-EM is ideal for individuals with a broad range of undergraduate education and/or professional experience. Learn more about the ME-EM program at https://www.coursera.org/degrees/me-engineering-management-boulder.