Business Strategy and the Natural Environment

This course is required for students in the Environmental Management Graduate Certificate Program and is open as an elective to all University of Washington graduate students interested in exploring "sustainable business."

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Class sessions will be conducted as seminars. I use the term seminar to capture the objective of thoughtful and critical discussions of the assigned readings and cases in which each person is expected to be a contributor. This is not a lecture class with one-way information flow.

I encourage an analytical approach in class sessions, written work, and presentations. To me, analytical indicates seeking to identify underlying problems and issues, evaluating the theories and evidence presented, and comparing and contrasting across different readings and perspectives. An analytical approach contrasts both with descriptive (compiling facts, definitions, and lists) and argumentative (mustering evidence in support of a pre-established position) approaches.

II. Expectations

In general, students are expected to demonstrate the level of motivation, responsibility, and quality of work consistent with the explicit and implicit expectations associated with graduate study at a leading research university. Quality work requires thinking critically and systematically, writing clearly, and communicating ideas and arguments in a seminar format.

Every student should be prepared to make high quality contributions at every class session based upon assigned material. Studying (not just simply reading) assigned readings and cases is necessary for students to meet expectations for contribution.

III. Grades

Grades will be based on an equal weighting of three components: contribution to the class (e.g., primarily though in-class discussion; secondarily via on-line discussion), an individual written portfolio, and a group research project. (Note: if it is clear to me that the contribution of an individual to the group research project is significantly above or below that of other group members, the grade for the individual will be adjusted accordingly, up or down from the grade assigned the group.) There will not be a final exam.

IV. Policies

1. Strict adherence to University of Washington, Bothell standards with respect to academic integrity is expected implicitly by enrollment in this course. The section on plagiarism (below) and the links contained therein are assigned reading for this class.

2. E-mail sent to your UW account is considered by the University to be official communication. I will send notices regarding the class to the list of currently enrolled students, and it is your responsibility to receive these e-mails.

3. Late assignments will receive a substantial penalty.

V. Plagiarism

If I suspect that a student or group has committed plagiarism, I will follow established UW procedures for addressing the matter. If a student or group has committed plagiarism, I will assign a grade of zero for that project.

The following link is required reading for students in ENVIR 521/MGMT 579 F. This is Northwestern University’s detailed site that fines different types of plagiarism and gives examples

http://www.northwestern.edu/uacc/plagiar.html.

Instances of plagiarism will not be excused due to a professed lack of understanding; if you have anyquestions, please ASK!

VI. Contribution to class discussion

The quality of contribution to discussion is not measured by “airtime.” The best contributions to discussion demonstrate [1] responsiveness to what others have offered, [2] identification of issues and competing ideas, and [3] application of facts, models, and analysis.

Although I emphasize an analytical approach, there certainly is room for individual opinion but I expect this to be reasoned, not based on pre-conceptions.

I hope for lively and even intense discussions of opposing viewpoints. Nevertheless, personal attacks and/or lack of respect for others and/or their ideas are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

In preparation for class discussion of each article assigned, I suggest the following:

• Be prepared to offer a brief (one minute) oral summary of the reading: what is its purpose? What are its major points? How would you compare and contrast it with other readings?

• Be prepared to describe and discuss what the reading contributes to addressing the course’s fundamental questions. What are the models, theories, and/or principles presented?

• For cases on specific companies, be prepared to address the situation that the managers of this firm face: if you had two minutes of their time, what would you recommend that they do, and why?

VII. Group research project

For the group research project, I encourage groups of 3-4 people and I encourage you to seek out and work with people from outside your home discipline.

The ideal project will both be valuable to you as an individual (e.g., contributing to other work you are doing) be valuable and interesting for the rest of us to hear and think about. Application of coursework is essential for this project.

The subject of the project should be either [a] a company that is seeking to be profitable and sustainable or [b] a topic that is applicable to a large number of companies. I suggest searching the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and Sustainable Industries Journal websites for companies and topics.

Here are some other topics that we will cover in class. Any of these will be acceptable for the group research project, but obviously would require a much "deeper" and more extensive treatment than what will be assigned.

Marketing "green" products

Manufacturing "green" products

Environmental technologies

Improving operations (e.,g., reducing energy usage, reducing toxics, reducing waste)

Investment community response to environmental problems

Measuring firms' environmental performance

Finally for topics, think about specific "environmental" industries (e.g., "clean" energy, biofuels, recycling, remanufacturing) or how environmental concerns are playing out in specific industries (e.g., automobiles, big oil)

Proposal due on Monday January 22. This can be one or two pages, submitted electronically. Simply identify what you propose to work on and how it relates to the course. If applicable, mention how the proposed relates to other research or study being undertaken by group members. Identify the methods and types of sources you plan to use to carry out the project.

The proposal should present research questions and describe both how you see these questions being addressed by material from the course and what else you will need to address the questions

I would like to have a brief meeting with each group to discuss your proposal and approve your project. This will be outside of class, after I have read the proposals (i.e., on or after Wednesday January 24.)

Presentations will take place in week 9 or 10 (Monday Feb 26 through Weds March 7.)

The project is due Monday March 12 (electronically). A paper of 15-25 pages, not including figures and tables, is appropriate.

VIII. Individual written portfolio

This is due on Monday March 12 (electronically). It will consist of [a] weekly short (1 page) papers in which you reflect upon the readings and discussion and how these fit into the overall subject of the class and [b] a concluding overview.

I do not have a single template or model required for these papers. However, I expect that you will demonstrate that you have "digested" material rather than simply summarized readings or class sessions. What are the big issues? What are the competing ideas? How does one perspective compare and contrast with another?

In general, I think that any written work should make clear at the beginning why it is something the reader should care about. (E.g., "sustainability is the greatest challenge for business at the beginning of the 21st century because ..." is much more compelling than "here are some random thoughts about the first class.")

First paper. Write this based upon what your thinking is prior to reading the assigned readings for Jan 8 and Jan 10. (The second weekly paper should cover your analyses of these papers and our discussion.)

Here are some suggestions for what you might address in this first paper:

• what you think the nature of the problem is (i.e., related to the challenge of achieving "sustainable business")

• what you think the "great questions" should be

• what approaches you hope to pursue (e.g., economic, scientific, policy, ethical)

• how these issues relate to your own work

IX. Schedule

The following schedule is a work in progress (January 27).

There are only 17 meetings. I plan for the last day to be Wednesday, March 7. However, if we miss any classes due to weather or other reasons, I most likely will feel that we will need to meet during finals week as well.

Week 1

• Wednesday January 3

Introduction and background

Week 2

• Monday January 8: seminal articles on sustainability and business

Lovins, A.B., Lovins, L.H., & Hawken, P. (1999) “A road map for natural capitalism,” Harvard Business Review, 77(3): 145-158.

McDonough, W., & Braungart, M. (2000). “A world of abundance,” Interfaces, 30 (3): 55-65.

• Wednesday January 10: seminal articles on sustainability and business (part 2)

Senge, P.M., & Carstedt, G. (2001). “Innovating Our Way to the Next Industrial Revolution,” MIT Sloan Management Review, 42(2): 24-38.

Preston, Lynelle (2001) "Sustainability at Hewlett-Packard: From theory to practice." California Management Review, 43 (3): 26-37.

Week 3

• Monday January 15: no class

• Wednesday January 17: Michael Porter on innovation, corporate social responsibility, and competitive advantage (Note: Porter's work is the source of a great deal of contemporary theory of business strategy and firm performance)

Porter, M.E. (1990) “The competitive advantage of nations.” Harvard Business Review, 68(2): 73-91. This article addresses Porter's theory for how innovation occurs, in a national and global context. While there are elements that many disagree with, I think his basic perspectives on innovation and competition are valuable.

Porter, Michael E., and Mark R. Kramer (2006) "Strategy and society: The link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility." Harvard Business Review, 84 (12). This article argues that companies need to be more "strategic" about their CSR (corporate social responsibility) activities.

Week 4

• Monday January 22 and Wednesday January 24: Marketing

Proposal for group research project due Monday January 22

World Business Council for Sustainable Development (2004) "NatureWorks (TM) by Cargill Dow LLC: Capturing consumer attention and loyalty." Also available at http://www.wbcsd.org/web/publications/case/marketing_natureworks_full_case_web.pdf.

Ginsberg, J.M., & Bloom, P.N. (2004) "Choosing the right green marketing strategy." Sloan Management Review, (Fall) 79-84.

Hoffman, Andrew J. (2005) "Climate change strategy: The business logic behind voluntary greenhouse gas reductions." California Management Review, 47(3): 21-46.

Pedersen, E.R., and Neergaard, P. (2006) "Caveat emptor -- Let the buyer beware! Environmental labeling and the Limitations of 'Green' Consumerism." Business Strategy and the Environment, 15: 15-29.

Arnot, Chris, Peter C. Boxall, and Sean B. Cash (2006) "Do ethical consumers care about price? A revealed preference analysis of fair trade coffee purchases." Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics - Revue Canadienne d'Agroeconomie, 54 4): 555-565.

Supplemental readings

Straughan, R.D. & Roberts, J.A. (1999) "Environmental segmentation alternatives." Journal of Consumer Marketing, 16: 558-575.

Peattie, K. (2001) "Golden goose or wild goose? The hunt for the green consumer." Business Strategy and the Environment, 10(4): 187-199.

Anderson RC & Hansen EN (2004a) "The impact of environmental certification on preferences for wood furniture: A conjoint analysis approach." Forest Products Journal, 54 (3): 42-50.

Anderson, RC & Hansen EN (2004b) "Determining consumer preferences for ecolabled forest products: An experimental approach." Journal of Forestry, 102(4): 28-32.

Berglind, M. and Nakata, C (2005) "Cause-related marketing: More buck than bang?" Business Horizons, 48, 443-453.

Week 5

• Monday January 29: innovating in manufacturing and operations

World Business Council for Sustainable Development (2004) " SC Johnson: Easing our ecological footprint."

Hall, Jeremy & Harrie Vredenburg (2003). "The challenges of innovating for sustainable development." MIT Sloan Management Review, 45(1): 61-68.

Kleindorfer PR, Singhal K, & Van Wassenhove LN (2005) "Sustainable operations management." Production and Operations Management, 14(4): 482-492.

• Wednesday January 31: analyzing and applying the environmental value chain

Rosenthal, Elizabeth (2007) "Can Polyester Save the World?" New York Times (January 25).

The article mentions a report "Well dressed? The present and future sustainability of clothing and textiles in the United Kingdom" by the Sustainable Manufacturing Group of the Institute for Manufacturing, Cambridge University. The study and technical appendix can be downloaded from http://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/sustainability/

Tesco, Carbon and the Consumer (2007). Summary of company initiative; from http://tesco.com/climatechange/

Leahy, Terry (2007). "Tesco, Carbon and the Consumer." (January 18) speech by Chief Executive of Tesco.

Reno, Jamie (2007) "Mr.Clean." Newsweek (January 22). Retrieved from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16753903/site/newsweek/

"Environmental implications of E-commerce, the Internet, and the new economy." (no date) Project description from Carnegie Mellon Green Design Institute http://www.ce.cmu.edu/GreenDesign/

(Supplemental reading) Reichart, Inge & Roland Hischier (2003) "The Environmental Impact of getting the news: A comparison of on-line, television, and newspaper information delivery." Journal of Industrial Ecology, 6(3-4): 185-200.

Week 6

• Monday

• Wednesday

Week 7

• Monday

• Wednesday

Week 8

• Monday February 19: no class

• Wednesday

Weeks 9 and 10

Presentation of group research projects

Finals week

• Monday March 12

Individual written portfolio due (electronically)

Group research project due (electronically)