Group Sustainable Business Project - ENV00120M

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Module summary

In this module students will undertake a group sustainable business project in collaboration with a business partner. Broad project ideas will be defined by business partners and then developed and implemented by student groups. All projects will challenge student groups to mobilise their skills, knowledge and values to lead on a change towards more sustainable business practice in a real-world setting.

Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Semester 2 2024-25

Module aims

The aim of the module is to give students the opportunity to mobilise their skills and knowledge to develop and design a group sustainable business change project linked to a business partner. The module will expand student understanding and knowledge of different sustainability assessment methods and provide opportunities for direct application in their client project.

Module learning outcomes

At the end of the module students will be able to:

• Conduct advanced research and critically apply appropriate sustainability assessment methods to analyse a complex sustainability problem as part of a group and individually to inform and guide the development of a real-world change management project;
• Work as a team to identify areas of focus for change towards sustainability which consider the context in which they are working;
• Design and implement effective change management and innovation strategies as part of a group, and communicate this in a written plan;
• Collaborate effectively and professionally both face-to-face and online with group members and external business partners;
• Work as a group to design innovative and resilient solutions to a real-world sustainability problem;
• Communicate effectively and professionally during group meetings and in writing.

Module content

At the start of the module students will select a broad project idea from a list compiled in collaboration with our business partners. Project development and implementation will be supported in 2-hour workshops held over the first two weeks of the module alongside separate 1-hour weekly meetings with business partners and 2 2-hr group meetings with staff.

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100.0

Special assessment rules

None

Additional assessment information

The Individual Project is developed through the work and guidance of a Group Project Report Proposal, working together with a client in fulfilment of a sustainability project. As such, the Group Project Report Proposal needs to be drafted and submitted early in the module for feedback.

Each group member will submit an Individual Project Report developed in part from the Group Project Report Proposal, which is assessed through a specific Individual Project Report marking criteria.

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100.0

Module feedback

Summative feedback will be provided on written feedback sheets as per Department of Environment and Geography assessment criteria.

Indicative reading

Cameron, E. and Green, M. 2015. Making Sense of Change Management: A Complete Guide to the Models, Tools and Techniques of Technical Change. Kogan Page.

De Kraker, J. and Dijk, M. 2016. Sustainability Assessment. In Corvers, R. et al. Sustainable Development Research at ICIS: Taking stock and looking ahead (chapter 30). Maastricht University Press.

Chesebro, J. L. 2014. Professional Communication at Work: Interpersonal Strategies for Career Success. London: Taylor and Francis.

Madsen, S. 2015. The Power of Project Leadership: 7 Keys to Help You Transform from Project Manager to Project Leader. Kogan Page.

Thomas, D. and Hodges, I. D. 2010. Designing and Managing Your Research Project: Core Skills for Social and Health Research. London: Sage Publications.