Бакалавриат 2026/2027

Устойчивое развитие и ESG практики компаний

Статус: Курс обязательный (Управление цифровым продуктом)

Кто читает: Департамент стратегического и международного менеджмента

Где читается: Высшая школа бизнеса

Когда читается: 4-й курс, 1 модуль

Охват аудитории: для своего кампуса

Преподаватели: Роулинс Томас Эдвард

Язык: английский

Кредиты: 3

Контактные часы: 30

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The undergraduate course "Sustainable Development and ESG Practices" provides a comprehensive conceptual, historical, and strategic introduction to responsible business and sustainability management within the modern organizational landscape. Designed specifically for bachelor students, this course challenges traditional shareholder-primacy frameworks by framing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles not merely as compliance mechanisms, but as an interconnected strategic management paradigm essential for long-term corporate value creation. The curriculum is balanced across four dedicated thematic sections. It begins by tracing the historical evolution of the sustainability mindset over the last sixty years—spanning Friedmanite shareholder primacy, the Brundtland report, post-Soviet capitalism shifts, the Triple Bottom Line, and the UN SDGs anchored into regional national priorities. It then systematically unpacks the practical corporate execution of sustainability through three dedicated pillars: the Environmental (E) Pillar focusing on climate risks, carbon accounting (Scopes 1-3), and digital infrastructure footprints; the Social (S) Pillar covering human capital equity, ethical value chains, and social entrepreneurship models; and the Governance (G) Pillar analyzing corporate oversight structures, non-financial disclosure tables (GRI), and greenwashing mitigation strategies.

Learning Objectives

• Deconstruct the Evolution of Sustainability Mindsets: To equip undergraduate students with a deep, chronological understanding of how business ethics and corporate purpose evolved from 1960s shareholder primacy to modern stakeholder capitalism, the UN SDGs, and Russia's National Priorities.
• Master the Strategic Environmental (E) Management Domain: To train students to evaluate enterprise-wide environmental risks, master carbon accounting frameworks (Scopes 1, 2, and 3), analyze resource circularity, and quantify the hidden infrastructure footprints of digital transitions (such as AI engines).
• Evaluate Socio-Ethical Corporate Ecosystems (S): To develop the capacity to design and assess internal human capital policies, construct ethical value-chain procurement models, and differentiate the distinct strategic constraints of large-cap corporate social platforms from social entrepreneurship and sustainable SMEs.
• Analyze Governance Integrity and Reporting Compliance (G): To introduce core corporate governance mechanisms (such as board structures and ESG-linked compensation) and train students to navigate global non-financial disclosure tables (GRI Content Indexes) to verify reporting transparency and mitigate corporate greenwashing risks.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Construct a basic Power-Interest Matrix to categorize and map an organization's primary internal and external stakeholder ecosystems.
• Explain the three pillars of John Elkington's Triple Bottom Line framework (People, Planet, Profit) and how they apply to the core mission statement of a modern firm.
• Differentiate between traditional shareholder-primacy models and modern stakeholder-oriented value creation platforms.
• Identify the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and outline how prominent regional and international corporations map their operational targets to the Agenda 2030.
• Navigate official published non-financial reports to locate and extract quantitative Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) figures using Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Content Tables.
• Recognize the warning signs of greenwashing by cross-examining corporate textual marketing claims against hard, published performance metrics.
• Describe how digital innovations and emerging technologies (such as Artificial Intelligence tools) create both operational efficiencies and severe infrastructural footprints (Scope 2 energy and data center water cooling demands).
• Verify the accuracy of AI-generated summaries against official corporate PDFs to independently detect data hallucinations and missing non-financial indicators.
• Formulate Defensible Strategic Justifications: Prepare evidence-based positions individually to confidently defend research findings, data limitations, and operational trade-offs during live seminar discussions.
• Understand the historical transition from traditional shareholder wealth maximization models to modern stakeholder-oriented value creation platforms.
• Map and categorize an organization's primary internal, external, compliance-driven, and value-driven stakeholder ecosystems.
• Construct a basic Power-Interest Matrix to identify and prioritize competing stakeholder demands.
• Apply John Elkington's Triple Bottom Line framework to evaluate how an organization aligns profit objectives with societal needs.
• Contrast traditional business frameworks with the unique operational models, constraints, and opportunities of social entrepreneurship and sustainable Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
• Describe how emerging digital innovations (such as Artificial Intelligence tools) create operational efficiencies while simultaneously imposing severe infrastructure footprints.
• Independently detect data hallucinations and skipped non-financial indicators by auditing AI-generated summaries against official sustainability reports.
• Quantify the direct resource footprint of digital workflows by calculating the aggregate environmental impact of generative prompt routines.
• Analyze the historical transition and ideological friction between traditional shareholder wealth maximization models and modern stakeholder-oriented value creation platforms.
• Evaluate how macro-global sustainability frameworks (UN SDGs) and national development priorities shape corporate strategic agendas and operational mandates.
• Quantify the comprehensive resource footprint of corporate workflows by calculating carbon emissions and environmental impacts across complex value chains.
• Differentiate between corporate Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions to evaluate an organization’s climate transition vulnerability.
• Design strategic social criteria for ethical vendor selection, procurement policies, and human rights compliance across complex corporate value chains.
• Contrast traditional large-firm corporate social responsibility (CSR) platforms with the distinct operational constraints and social value-creation frameworks of social entrepreneurship and sustainable SMEs.
• Navigate official corporate non-financial reports and sustainability disclosures to locate, extract, and benchmark quantitative metrics using Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Content Indexes.
• Recognize the structural warning signs of corporate greenwashing by cross-examining qualitative textual marketing narratives against multi-year published performance data.
• Audit digital workflows and corporate summaries to independently detect data hallucinations, skipped indicators, and algorithmic reporting gaps against official verified data PDFs.

Course Contents

• The Evolution of Sustainability Frameworks: From Shareholder Primacy to Global and National Agendas
• The Environmental (E) Pillar: Climate Risk, Resource Efficiency, and the Green Transition
• The Social (S) Pillar: Human Capital, Ethical Value Chains, and Social Innovation
• The Governance (G) Pillar: Corporate Accountability, Ethics, and the Mitigation of Greenwashing
  This final section explicitly incorporates 14 hours of dedicated independent study allocated for comprehensive framework synthesis, revision, and mock testing in direct preparation for the proctored intermediate assessment.

Assessment Elements

• Attendance
• Final Exam (multiple-choice, 20 questions; four open questions)
  Platform: StartExam (administered via SafeExam browser in physical HSE computer classrooms) [INDEX, INDEX]Proctoring Mode: Synchronous/Asynchronous Digital Proctoring (requiring continuous video, audio, and desktop screen feed monitoring) [INDEX, INDEX]Duration: 80 Minutes (Strictly enforced digital timer countdown via the platform) [INDEX, INDEX]Testing Rules: Continuous screen locking is active [INDEX]. Any minimization of the testing screen, navigation to external browser tabs, use of mobile devices, or communication with other test-takers results in flags from the proctor and immediate disqualification from the exam session [INDEX, INDEX].Structure: 20 multiple-choice questions (1 point each; single best answer from four options) [INDEX] and 4 short-answer open-ended questions (5 points each; maximum 50-word cap per response), totaling 40 points towards a 0.400 final grade weight [INDEX].
• Preparation and Presentation of Independent Study during first set of seminars
  Per-Group Allocation: 25 minutes total2 mins: Group Setup & Tech Transition (Connecting laptop/projector)10 mins: Presentation Delivery (Strictly capped)10 mins: Individual Questioning & Peer Defense (Auditorium debate)3 mins: Grader entry buffer & Audience Reflective Log CompletionTotal Classroom Schedule (160 mins):000 – 005: Attendance, introduction, and lottery sequence (5 mins)005 – 030: Group 1 Presentation, Q&A, and Peer Log Entry (25 mins)030 – 055: Group 2 Presentation, Q&A, and Peer Log Entry (25 mins)055 – 080: Group 3 Presentation, Q&A, and Peer Log Entry (25 mins)--- 20-Minute Scheduled HSE Classroom Break Between Pairs --- [INDEX]080 – 105: Group 4 Presentation, Q&A, and Peer Log Entry (25 mins)105 – 130: Group 5 Presentation, Q&A, and Peer Log Entry (25 mins)130 – 155: Group 6 Presentation, Q&A, and Peer Log Entry (25 mins)155 – 160: Final collection of physical log sheets from non-presenting students (5 mins) [INDEX]
• Preparation and Presentation of Independent Study during second set of seminars
  Per-Group Allocation: 25 minutes total2 mins: Group Setup & Tech Transition (Connecting laptop/projector)10 mins: Presentation Delivery (Strictly capped)10 mins: Individual Questioning & Peer Defense (Auditorium debate)3 mins: Grader entry buffer & Audience Reflective Log CompletionTotal Classroom Schedule (160 mins):000 – 005: Attendance, introduction, and lottery sequence (5 mins)005 – 030: Group 1 Presentation, Q&A, and Peer Log Entry (25 mins)030 – 055: Group 2 Presentation, Q&A, and Peer Log Entry (25 mins)055 – 080: Group 3 Presentation, Q&A, and Peer Log Entry (25 mins)--- 20-Minute Scheduled HSE Classroom Break Between Pairs --- [INDEX]080 – 105: Group 4 Presentation, Q&A, and Peer Log Entry (25 mins)105 – 130: Group 5 Presentation, Q&A, and Peer Log Entry (25 mins)130 – 155: Group 6 Presentation, Q&A, and Peer Log Entry (25 mins)155 – 160: Final collection of physical log sheets from non-presenting students (5 mins) [INDEX]
• Preparation and Presentation of Independent Study during third set of seminars
  For the Final 2-Hour Seminar Block (Seminar 3)Total Available Class Time: 80 minutes total (Exactly one 80-minute pair) [INDEX]Per-Group Allocation: 12 minutes total (Accelerated Flash Format)1 min: Rapid Tech Transition / Hot-swap5 mins: Flash Dashboard Presentation (Strictly capped at 5 slides)4 mins: Targeted Individual Q&A Defense2 mins: Grader buffer & Audience Reflective Log EntryTotal Classroom Schedule (80 mins):00 – 03: Session setup and timekeeper configuration (3 mins)03 – 15: Group 1 Flash Presentation, Q&A, and Peer Log Entry (12 mins)15 – 27: Group 2 Flash Presentation, Q&A, and Peer Log Entry (12 mins)27 – 39: Group 3 Flash Presentation, Q&A, and Peer Log Entry (12 mins)39 – 51: Group 4 Flash Presentation, Q&A, and Peer Log Entry (12 mins)51 – 63: Group 5 Flash Presentation, Q&A, and Peer Log Entry (12 mins)63 – 75: Group 6 Flash Presentation, Q&A, and Peer Log Entry (12 mins)75 – 80: Immediate collection of completed physical log sheets before exit (5 mins) [INDEX]

Interim Assessment

• 2026/2027 1st module
  0.4 * Final Exam (multiple-choice, 20 questions; four open questions) + 0.16 * Preparation and Presentation of Independent Study during third set of seminars + 0.17 * Preparation and Presentation of Independent Study during first set of seminars + 0.1 * Attendance + 0.17 * Preparation and Presentation of Independent Study during second set of seminars

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• 9781000533927 - Ekaterina Ivanova - Revolutionizing Sustainability Education - 2022 - Routledge - https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=3002024 - nlebk - 3002024
• Art and sustainability transitions in business and society : theoretical insights and engagement, , 2024
• Chief Sustainability Officers At Work: How CSOs Build Successful Sustainability and ESG Strategies, Pagitsas, Ch., 2022
• Digital transformation in industry : trends, management, strategies, , 2021
• Principles of business & management : practicing ethics, responsibility, sustainability, Laasch, O., 2024
• The multiplicity of international corporate social responsibility standards: Implications for global value chain governance. (2019). Multinational Business Review, 27(4), 397–426. https://doi.org/10.1108/mbr-08-2019-0083
• Zainudin, R., Khaw, K.L., Wahab, A.B.A., & Akhter, T. (2026). A Global Perspective on Corporate ESG Practices. - https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-95-5255-9

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Andrea CardoniEvgeniia Kiseleva (2023) Sustainable Governance : Concept, Metrics and Contexts 9783031374913,9783031374920
• Sustainable: Moving Beyond ESG to Impact Investing, Keeley, T., 2023

Authors

• Roulins Tomas Edvard