Project Title: Meeting the Challenge of Sustainable Business
Submission date: Wednesday 25.11.2015 by 23:59 (No deadline extensions)
Submission format: Written Report (2000 words) highlights of the project are to be briefly
presented in class
Submission method: Upload to Turn-it-in on Blackboard
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 and whilst being free to
express your creativity in a medium term future context.
The project consists of developing a scenario for a sustainable business set 45 years ahead in 2060.
You should provide a rationale for a future business that is plausible and that offers an ‘innovative’
solution to a set of identified difficult environmental and social challenges that might exist at that time.
The aim of scenario planning is to help you gain insights into how business can plan for the future in
an uncertain world, in the far medium term. 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 could
provide value creation and competitive advantage for a business at that time.
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. The future setting will allow you greater
creative freedom. However, you are also expected to document your rationale using currently 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
2060. 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 will 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 scenario planning can help formulate a strategy for sustainable innovation that will provide
value creation and competitive advantage.
Optionally, referencing how business leaders and global corporations 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).
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.
STM5A1 – Sustainability in Global Business
Assessment brief and guidelines
STM5A1 – RBS – AL/RD – Autumn 2015
You are expected to use relevant and credible sources based both on key readings on the module as
well as from your individual research.
Format
Written report (2000 words +- 10%), Word processed, using 11pt with 1.5 line spacing.
Assessment
This project report is a summative assessment and weights 100% of the final grade for this module.
The assessment will be moderated. No negotiation of marks will be possible once the final mark is
given to you with feedback.
The final mark will be assessed using the criteria below.
CRITERIA
Demonstrates analytical evaluation and systemic understanding
Relevancy and quality of the scenario plan
Correct use and application of sustainability concepts and tools to sustain
the analysis and recommendations
Structure, coherence and clarity of the text
Research skills and correct use of referencing and bibliography
Presentation and argumentation skills
Guidelines for content and structure (Indicative)
This project will be assessed on the way the document is structured and written. Make sure you check
spelling and grammar. It is highly recommended to include illustrations such as images, drawings,
tables, graphs if appropriate but make sure you acknowledge the sources correctly, authors/ copyright
in captions under the image. To construct a coherent structure for your report you should consider the
following:
Title page: the title, sub-title if any, date, student name and module.
A summary: a short (one paragraph) overview of what the report contains including conclusion and
recommendations. (write this at the end)
Contents page: including the headings for the sections
Introduction: introduce the aims and objectives of the report and then provide the context with the
necessary background information in a concise manner.
Main section: Introduce the scenario set in 2060 that describes a sustainable business that operates
within a resource-constrained economy of that time yet that offers a solution that is plausible and
‘innovative’ to the difficult environmental and social challenges. Justify the scenario: What has
happened? What has changed? How have environmental limitations impacted your industry, society
and global markets? How will governments respond? How can the industry respond? How do the
specifics of your home country interact with the limitations and impacts? Why did you prioritise the
impacts as you have? Describe the strategy for your business’s sustainable innovation: Why did you
approach the business development strategy as you did? What are the opportunities? Why might the
business model need to change? Why do you consider your chosen approach to be the best one for
your business?
Stick to what is relevant and be concise, write in a clear, brief and direct style
Make sure you make logical sections with clear headings
STM5A1 – Sustainability in Global Business
Assessment brief and guidelines
STM5A1 – RBS – AL/RD – Autumn 2015
Any extra background information should go in the appendices.
Include figures/diagrams/charts if need be (don’t put these in the appendix)
Reflection: in summary, you should include your own critical reflections on the task, highlighting your
own point of view and how the elaboration of this report has helped you gain a better insight into
Sustainability in Global Business.
Bibliography: All sources need to be cited including Internet. References should be traceable –
anyone reading your report should be able to follow up your references so they must be able to find
them from what you’ve written. Use the Harvard system: AUTHOR LAST NAME, first name (DATE),
Full Title, where published, name of publisher.
Research and documentation:
To support your scenario and strategy you should apply core information and concepts presented in
the textbook and the lecture/seminar presentations alongside an array of reliable and relevant
sources of information that you will research independently. You should consult official (government)
as well as industry and company sources. Additional, third party sources should be used, see the
RULDiscovery library on-line resources such as such as EBSCOhost databases, Greenfiles etc. If you
use selected quotes from any source you must indicate the source properly. All quotes, and
resources used in the report must be referenced using the standard Harvard system (see the Student
College Handbook for guidance). Make sure the sources are relevant to your topic and what you
write. For good practice you should aim to have a minimum of 7-8 sources of which 3 should be from
the RULDiscovery database.
In Class presentation:
As part of your assessment you have to perform a brief in class presentation of the main
section of your report for a minimum duration of 3 minutes. That is, you must perform if you
are to pass the module. However, the quality of your presentation will not count towards your
assessment. It is good practice to learn to present your work to a group of your peers. It will be
interesting for them to understand, in a structured way, what you have been working on. You can
present in any format that is both visual and audible. If you have not finished your presentation it will
be stopped at 7 minutes.
MY COUNTRY IS INDIA AND MY REPORT SHOULD BE ABOUT CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL. EG.CEMENTetc
