Aims and Objective:
This final individual project report ‘Meeting the Challenge of Sustainable Business’ builds on the formative assessment and should reflect your ability to consolidate your knowledge and understanding of the key concepts and tools learned throughout the module. The project consists of developing a scenario for a sustainable business set 40 years ahead in 2055. You should provide a rationale for a future business that is plausible and ‘innovative’ and that offers a solution to a set of identified difficult environmental and social challenges. The aim of scenario planning is to help you gain insights into how business can plan for the future in an uncertain world. The business scenario should be supported by emerging and future trends related to the chosen business sector, and take into account environmental limitations and the socio-political issues; alongside a strategy for sustainable innovation that will provide value creation and competitive advantage. The aim is to demonstrate understanding of the complex issues, risks and opportunities business face and apply the appropriate knowledge, as well as creative and entrepreneurial thinking to reach convincing solutions for a sustainable global business. You are expected to document your rationale using credible sources and bibliography based both on key readings on the module as well as in your individual research. Task You will refine your initial research findings building on your research for the formative assessment (see the brief for the formative assessment) to present a sustainable business scenario set in year 2055. The sustainable business scenario will be based on research into the geo-political, socioeconomic, legal and environmental factors affecting a nation; an industry; and your chosen business and provide a response and adapt to the major challenges you will have identified in terms of environmental risks and socio-political issues that pose a direct risk to the company and its community. You should aim to research and demonstrate:
• How industry standards and country/government laws and regulations affect business decisions in terms of sustainability at a global and local level.
• How environmental factors such as: fresh water shortage, waste, land-use, climate change, pollution and bio-diversity loss will impact a selected business/ industry the most alongside economic and/or demographic factors.
• How business leaders and global corporations can use emerging and future trends to inform future visions and plans (see reports from the EU, UN and various organisations such as Unilever, Volkswagen or Shell’s plans for 2050).
• How scenario planning can help formulate a strategy for sustainable innovation that will provide value creation and competitive advantage. You will demonstrate that you can apply the appropriate knowledge (concepts, methods and tools introduced and explored in the lectures and seminars) through research and analytical evaluation. You are expected to use relevant and credible sources based both on key readings on the module as well as from your individual research.