Study Guide

Learning outcomes

The student is able to
- analyze environmental, social and economic responsibilities in service business
- develop sustainable practises in organisations

Teaching methods

Online course in Canvas. First three modules on environmental, social and economic responsibility in the course are studied independently at your own pace. You will also work on a learning diary throughout the course. Last module is a graded group assignment on a case company.

Learning materials and recommended literature

Canvas course includes necessary materials on each theme and links to external resources.

Alternative completion methods of implementation

Contact teacher for options.

Co-operation with working life and/or RDI

CSR report is done on a case company that the group selects.

Important dates

There are no contact lessons during this study unit. You will work online, both individually and in teams, and actively participate in online discussions and carry out assignments.

Students workload

One credit equals roughly 27 hours of work. While there are no contact lessons, there are weekly deadlines to evenly pace your work throughout the course.

Content and scheduling

The course is divided into five sections:

1. Our Earth, individual work

What is biodiversity? How is it influenced by my footprint? What choices do I have?

All our actions have an effect on the environment but what are the main threats the world is facing?

In the first part of our study unit you will explore the environmental challenges the world is facing.


2. Social Responsibility, individual work

Organizations around the world are becoming increasingly aware of the need for socially responsible behavior. A socially responsible organization has a good reputation, is able to attract and retain workers and customers, and is able to maintain its employees' morale and commitment.

ISO 26000 provides guidance for all types of organisations on concepts, terms, definitions, principles, and the core issues of social responsibility. GRI reporting system helps the companies to communicate the impact of business on critical sustainability issues.

3. Economic Responsibility, individual work

Organisations have economic responsibilities to their stakeholders: investors, employees and customers. Profitability is important as well as transparency in giving information about how the organisation is run.

GDP is a widely-used indicator of a nations' economic success. What are the shortcomings of this measure? Is it actually a good indicator of well-being?

What is HDI? What are externalities? You will learn to define these in this third part of the study unit.

4. CSR Report, team work

You will now summarize everything you have learned so far.

In teams you will write a report where you describe the environmental, social and economic responsibilities including circular economy of an organisation of your choice. Find / choose a small- or medium-sized company (SME*), interview a company representative and describe the company’s best practices in the above areas (environmental, social and economic).

Feel free to include photographs showing examples of innovative practices. Your final report, excluding pictures, should be 5-10 pages.

5. Learning diary, individual work

You are required to compile all your contributions to any discussions in the individual learning diary.

Further information for students

You are supposed to work on the learning diary during the whole study unit i.e. starting from the very first week.

You will be required to write reports individually and in teams. Please note that all reports are submitted automatically to Urkund for plagiarism detection.

You are required to compile all your contributions to any discussions in the individual learning diary.

Grading scale

H-5