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