Module Directory

This interactive and engaging module provides students with an experiential learning experience around the challenges of devising and implementing competitive sustainable business strategies.

The module comprises a balanced mix of lectures and simulation-based teamwork. In teams of four, students get to run their own virtual company in which they are faced with the challenge of implementing a sustainable strategy with only a limited budget available to achieve the highest possible value creation for the business. Students will be tasked with finding an effective action plan that necessarily considers the 3 P’s (the triple bottom line) of a successful sustainable business: People, Planet, and Prosperity (profit) by focusing on cost (budget) and value (promise).

This module consolidates students’ learning on the MBA and develops new knowledge, insights, and skills that will directly enhance their employability. Ultimately, this module closes the sustainability skills gap crucial in today’s business environment.

The aims of this module are:

• To provide theoretical and practical insights allowing students to manage and grow sustainable businesses.


• By doing so, to assist students to make an impactful contribution to achieving 13 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in their current and future careers.

The 13 UN SDG Goals covered by the module are:

• Decent Work and Economic Growth


• Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure


• Affordable and Clean Energy


• Gender Equality


• No Poverty


• Zero Hunger


• Quality Education


• Reduced Inequalities


• Responsible Consumption and Production


• Clean Water and Sanitation


• Climate Action


• Life on Land


• Partnerships for the Goals

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

1. Use metrics to make judgements about the sustainability of a business.


2. Implement a sustainable transformation strategy.


3. Prioritize strategic actions by identifying the sustainability trade-offs in managing and growing a business.


4. Boost sustainability in the first mile of the value chain and learn how to source in a sustainable manner.


5. Practice effective decision-making and learn about the importance of cross-functional alignment.


6. Assess sustainability ambitions and target relaxation to prevent a company from greenwashing.


7. Apply critical thinking, teamwork, report writing and presentation skills.

Indicative Content:

Day 1

• Lecture: Introduction; key concepts of sustainability and application to managing businesses.


• Practical + Facilitation: Simulation kick-off. Exploring the environmental bottom line: Simulation Rounds 1-3.

Day 2

• Lecture: Managing sustainable businesses, types of value creation and growth.


• Practical + Facilitation: Exploring the social bottom line: Simulation Rounds 4-6.

Day 3

• Preparation and reading.

Day 4

• Practical + Facilitation: Exploring the economic bottom line: Simulation Rounds 7-8.


• Practical + Facilitation: Transforming your business: Simulation Rounds 9-11.

Day 5

• Lecture: Exploring the sustainable value chain.


• Workshop: Presentations, Debrief and Discussion.

This module will be delivered via a mixture of experiential and interactive lectures and simulation-based exercises that allow students to apply learnings from the current module in addition to previous modules (integrated learning approach).

There will be a mixture of lectures, practical exercises, and workshops constituting 24 contact hours.

• Lectures; Workshops and Group discussions of articles and cases.
• Practical Simulation-based exercises: Team-based engagement and problem solving with an elaborate realistic online business simulation.
• Presentations and effective communication (verbal and written) to formulate clear strategies and logical argumentation.