Sustainable Business Initiative - Executive Education
Rethink knowledge. Impact your world
Sustainability Strategy,
Businesses are besieged by many, and sometimes conflicting demands and pressures across different stakeholder groups – e.g. investors, employees, customers, regulators, the media, and the society at large. Under such complex demands and pressures, managers and organisations are often drawn into different directions and have to manage competing priorities. Survival and success, therefore, require distinctive business capabilities to navigate through these complexities. These capabilities are the foundation of The S.M.A.R.T Company© Programme
framework for delivering Leadership for Sustainability.
3
Sustainable Business Initiative Sustainability Strategy, Leadership and Management
The University of which we are a key part, is one of the oldest in the United Kingdom. Granted its Royal Charter in 1583, the University of Edinburgh has been the seed-bed for some of the country’s most distinguished thinkers.
Although these are essential characteristics in fiercely competitive, global, and dynamic business environments, they are often in short supply in organisations.
Research has found that businesses need to be SMART and have the capability to be:
Sustainable Balance the interests of people, planet, and profit
Meaningful Create purposeful value across stakeholder groups
Adaptable Adjust to, cope with, and or initiate positive industry and societal changes
Responsible Do the right thing irrespective of circumstance
Trustworthy Generate significant goodwill and social capital over time by being true to strategic purpose
Design &
Objectives
The S.M.A.R.T Company© Programme
This programme aims to assist in the development of SMART businesses by helping organisations integrate these SMART capabilities into their existing business models to fuel competitiveness, growth, and longevity. Each programme is normally delivered over 4 days.
Our programmes are designed
to provide opportunities for
group engagement, experiential
learning through site-visits,
post-programme mentoring/coaching,
implmentation and review.
Group engagement is encouraged and the programmes are designed to stimulate group discussion. The post programme implementation, mentoring, and review, will reinforce learning and help to translate knowledge into practice.
5
Sustainable Business Initiative Sustainability Strategy, Leadership and Management
Themes
Modules
Objectives
Sustainability People, Planet and Profit: Mitigating Risks and Maximising Opportunities
To foster sustainability orientation and system thinking, and provide participants with the necessary tools and techniques to incorporate these best practices into their organisational culture.
Meaningfulness Position, Purpose and Place: Re-evaluating strategic mission, and vision
To cultivate meaningful entrepreneurship within the enterprise and provide participants with the tools and techniques to enable them to develop their strategic purpose and plans true to their mission and vision.
Adaptability Change, Management and Leadership: Value-based Change Management and Strategic Organisational Development
To foster positive change in organisations and equip participants with strategic tools and techniques to lead positive change and integrate positive values in their organisations’ operations, partners and customer relations.
Responsibility Corporate Citizenship,
Accountability, and Performance: Building and Promoting
Responsible Business Cultures
To explore the role of business in society and how this relates to company’s accountability and performance. It will offer tools and techniques to create and implement responsible business best practices across cultures and borders.
Trustworthiness Building Reputation and
Trust-based Systems in Organisations To explore the link between trust and organisational longevity within business. It will offer tools and techniques to build trust-based systems as a core business competency.
At the end of the programme, participants should be able to:
è Understand global sustainability trendsè Implement sustainability orientation and system thinking in their organisations è Identify, prioritise, and engage with critical stakeholder groups
è Develop operational plans in line with the company’s strategic purpose, mission and
vision
è Lead positive change in their organisations and in society è Enhance personal effectiveness
è Create and implement responsible business best practices across cultures and
borders
è Design and develop effective communication strategies for specific stakeholder
groups
è Apply different stakeholder engagement tools and techniques
è Build trust across different stakeholder groups for organisational development,
growth and longevity
Outcomes & Benefits
The University of Edinburgh Business School enjoys a long tradition of teaching and research. The School offers undergraduate, postgraduate and executive education programmes in business and management and provides a platform for research, discussion and debate on a wide range of business issues. The School has a world-class faculty of over 85 members. The 2012/13 student population was close to 1,500 (with more than 400 students pursuing postgraduate studies).
7
Sustainable Business Initiative Sustainability Strategy, Leadership and Management
Our programmes are designed for:
è Organisations seeking to cultivate social
value and contribution as key drivers towards industry leadership and sustainability.
è Organisations that want to plan their
sustainable and responsible business agenda, in anticipation of/to meet the requirements of stakeholders, e.g. customers and clients.
è Leaders and Managers who want to
understand sustainability and ensure their organisations are positioned to tackle the challenges of sustainability.
è Leaders and Managers who want to
understand and harness the opportunities provided by the challenges of sustainability.
