APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2016/2017 Norwegian version

MAN 3097/3098/3099/3100 Green Growth as Competitive Advantage

Responsible for the course
Jørgen Randers, Per Espen Stoknes

Department
Department of Law

Term
According to study plan

ECTS Credits
30

Language of instruction
Norwegian and english

Introduction
With companies such as Tesla, Novo Nordisk, Skanska, Vestas, IKEA, REC Solar and Storebrand, the green growth agenda has gained momentum. International institutions such as the OECD, EU-Commission, UNEP, World Bank, WBCSD and GGGI has also pushed the opportunities of the coming “green shift” towards 2050. Since the British economist Sir Nicholas Stern’s (2006) report, there has been increasing economic arguments in favor of bold environmental measures as profitable and smart rather than simply as costs. Such statements have nevertheless been contested, and the economic results variable. Further it has been unclear what exactly a green growth entails. But such debates have sparked new research, practices and reporting on what green growth is and how to precisely distinguish greenwashing from genuine green growth. 

Norwegian and Scandinavian companies and institutions have in any case already started the shift towards greener business development and strategies. Also unions and public agencies have started calling for more green jobs and procurement. This program will give participants the necessary competencies and skills to move from rhetorics about green economics into informed practice in Nordic organisations.  The focus will be on green business models and strategy, accounting and measurements, innovation and leadership. Participants will get the tools necessary to succeed with implementing the practices of green economics for growth and profitability.


Learning outcome
Knowledge objectives:
a) get overview over central theories, methods and approaches in green economics and environmental economics
b) achieve knowledge about tools for whole-system thinking, including system dynamics
c) get practical understanding of the most central concepts within green strategy, innovation and accounting
d) accumulate experience from cases with organisational change into green business, organisation and policy.

Skills objectives:
e) be able to lead and facilitate all phases and steps in a green strategy process and associated reporting
f) be able to develop guidelines for green accounting in their own company/industry
g) be able to describe, develop and communicate green innovations
h) leadership skills for transitioning to green business

Attitude objectives:
i) Students shall be able independently to continue own competence development and specialisation
j) Students wish to strengthen green growth in own organisations
k) Students shall be able to contribute to public discourse relevant to the discipline of green economics
l) Students shall understand what responsible investment in financial, social and natural capitals is (”green ethics”)

Prerequisites
Bachelor degree, corresponding to 180 credits, and 4 years of work experience. Please consult our student regulations.

Compulsory reading
Books:
Brady, , Alison Ebbage and Ruth Lunn. 2011. Environmental management in organizations : the IEMA handbook. 2nd ed. Earthscan
Costanza, R. 2014. An Introduction to Ecological Economics. 2nd ed. Raton, FL: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group
Esty, Daniel and P.J. Simmons. 2011. The green to gold business playbook : how to implement sustainability practices for bottom-line results in every business function. Wiley
Fucks, R. 2015. Green Growth - Smart Growth. NY: Anthem Press
Jørgensen, Sveinung og Lars Jacob Tynes Pedersen. 2013. Ansvarlig og lønnsom : strategier for ansvarlige forretningsmodeller. Cappelen Damm akademisk
Kane, Gareth. 2011. The green executive : corporate leadership in a low carbon economy. Earthscan
McDonough & Braungart. 2013. The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability - Designing for Abundance. North Point Press
Randers, Jørgen. 2012. 2052 : a global forecast for the next forty years : a report to the Club of Rome commemorating the 40th anniversary of The limits to growth. Chelsea Green
Stoknes, Per Espen. 2007. Penger og sjel : en ny balanse mellom finans og følelser. Flux forlag. Utvalgte kap. 1, 6, 8-9, 11-12
Stoknes, P.E.. 2015. What we think about when we try not to think about global warming. Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing

Articles:
Boons, F. 2013. Sustainable innovation, business models and economics performance: an overview. Journal of Cleaner Production. 45. 1-18
Brunstad, Bjørn. 2008. Å planlegge for store samfunnsomveltninger: Paradigmeanalyse som fremsynsmetode. Plan. Nr. 5
Daly, Herman. 2005. Economics in a Full World. Scientific American. Sept
Dasgupta, Partha. 2007. Nature in Economics. Environmental and Resource Economics. Vol. 39-1
Ditlev-Simonsen, Caroline. 2013. Ny proposisjon om samfunnsansvarsrapportering. Magma
Eccles, Ioannou, Serafeim. 2014. The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Processes and Performance. Management Science. 60 (11). 2835-2857
Hockerts Wüstenhagen. 2010. Greening Goliaths versus emerging David. Journal of Business Venturing. 25. 481-492
Karakaya, E, Hidalgo, A & Nuur, C. 2014. Diffusion of eco-innovations: A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 33. 392-399. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.01.083
Lubin, D.A. & D.C. Esty. 2010. The sustainability imperative. Harvard business review. May
Morgan, Gareth. 1988. Accounting as reality construction: towards a new epistemology for accounting practice. Accounting, Organizations and Society. 13(5). 477-485
Randers, J. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Per Unit of Valued Added ("GEVA") - A Corporate Guide Towards Sustainability. Ecological Economics
Unruh, G. and R. Ettenson. 2010. Growing green. Harvard Business Review. 88 (6). 94-100

Other:
TEEB. 2010. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Mainstreaming the Economics of Nature: A synthesis of the approach, conclusions and recommendations of TEEB
World Business Council for Sustainable Development. 2010. Vision 2050 : the new agenda for business. WBCSD. Kan lastes ned. http://www.wbcsd.org/vision2050.aspx


Recommended reading
Books:
Hahnel, Robin. 2011. Green economics : confronting the ecological crisis. M.E. Sharpe
Hawken, Paul, Amory B. Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins. 2010. Natural capitalism : the next industrial revolution. 10th anniversary ed. Earthscan
Ries, Eric. 2011. The lean startup : how today's entrepreneurs use continuous innovation to create radically successful businesses. Crown Business
Weizsäcker et al. 2009. Factor Five: Transforming the Global Economy through 80% Improvements in Resource Productivity. London: Routledge

Articles:
Diener, E & Seligman, M.E.P.. 2004. Beyond Money: Toward an economy of well-being. Psychological Science in the Public Interest. 5. 1-31
Spash, Clive. 2008. How Much is that Ecosystem in the Window?. Environmental Values. 17 (2)
Vatn, A and Bromley, D. 1994. Choices without prices without apologies. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management. 26(2). pp. 129-148

Other:
New Climate Economy. 2015. Seizing the Global Opportunity. The New Climate Economy Report. Chicago. Kan lastes ned fra: http://2015.newclimateeconomy.report/misc/downloads


Course outline
Module 1) The challenges of Green Growth (4 days)
-Introduction to Green Growth: Definitions, Current trends - future scenarios
-How big is the green economy in Norway, EU, globally?
-Green jobs & green growth in the main sectors: buildings, transport, energy, industry, public sector
-Defining "Green Economics" (Green vs Environmental vs. Ecological Economics)
-"Greenwashing: When is ”green” a fraud?
-Radical resource efficiency - is decoupling possible?
-Leadership and motivation in the Green Economy
-Ideology and motivation: are "sustainability" and ”profit” compatible?

Group learning process:
-Use tools to analyse how green is my job and my business? How green is our industry?
-Exploring motivation and ethics of leadership


Module 2) Green Business Innovations, (4 days)
-The innovation process in a Green Economy framework:
-Funding of green innovations: trends and pitfalls
-Entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship: from seed to growth stage – the psychological challenges
-Are "green investments" more profitable short or long-term?
-Social entrepreneurship
-Tackling Cultural and Organisational inertia: the decision-making challenge

Group learning process:
-Develop Smart Green ideas - make business models for innovations
-Identify existing elements of green strategy in own companies


Module 3) Green Accounting for the 21st century
-Current legal requirements for green reporting and future trends
-Tools for assessing social and environmental impacts: Cost-Benefit Analysis, Life Cycle Analysis, Environmental Impact
Assessment.
-What is ”value” – and the challenges of measuring it
-New approaches in accounting: Green accounting, critical accounting
-What is natural capital? Valuing Ecosystem Services
-The Three Capitals approach
-The science of well-being and measurements of quality of life

Group learning process:
-Perform an energy audit of your company,
-Calculating Greenhouse Emission per Value Added


4) The Big Picture - and the long term future
-Understanding the next 40 years
-Climate change drivers: how serious is it?
-Earth System Science: seeing the connections in the world’s ecosystems
-Will we see a broad attitude shift in favour of green policies?
-Poverty alleviation and green economy
-Will human creativity and innovation be sufficient?

Group learning process:
Develop ”stunt” scenarios for 2050


5) Green strategies: implementing the theory in practice
-The Green executive and environmental management
-How to make a green strategy?
-Green ethics - corporate ethics
-Eco-labelling and environmental management systems (ISO etc)
-Policy strategies for enabling the transition: overcoming the obstacles (procurement, perverse subsidies, taxes etc)
-Nudging and behavioural economics for greening consumers
-Profiting on green economy in the Nordic countries

Group learning prosess: develop green business plans / projects for own companies/projects at specific strategic levels:
1) Outreach, 2) compliance, 3) greener operations, 4) supply chain, 5) product portfolio, 6) business models