Sustainability for Strategic Advantage
A one-day program for senior and mid-level executives, this course is distinct in approaching sustainability as a strategic issue, with a particular focus on climate change.
Sustainability for Strategic Advantage Program Overview
Leaders who fail to incorporate sustainability into their strategic decision making forgo revenue, incur unnecessary costs, expose their firms to avoidable risks and fall short on their purpose.
On the other hand, leaders that approach sustainability as a strategic issue enable their firm to maintain superior performance over the long term.
Join us at Melbourne Business School for this unique one-day program, including a guest speaker dinner session, focused on why it matters (starting with the science around the cause and impacts of climate change and other sustainability challenges), why it matters to you (related business risks and opportunities), and what to do about it (implications for strategic decision-making and change).
Who Should Attend Sustainability for Strategic Advantage Program?
Designed for Individuals Wanting to:
- Upskill on sustainability and climate change
- Unlock sustainability as a strategic advantage
- Understand the contribution of each corporate function to your response
- Be able to communicate the strategic implications and opportunities with colleagues
- Make a difference in the world by creating or contributing to impactful change
Sustainability for Strategic Advantage Program Key Takeaways
Learn how to Enact an Effective, Impactful Response
- Highly practical
- Grounded in science and leading practice
- Focused on opportunities and competitiveness
- Frameworks and tools based on familiar strategy concepts
- Easy to connect with your strategy, leadership and innovation response
- Australian insights and cases
Learn Strategic Sustainability Concepts for your Organisation
Immerses yourself to knowledge and concepts you and your organisation need to know to enact an effective, impactful response.
Topics Covered
Sustainability Megatrends
- Planetary boundaries and climate science
- Key developments and leading players in Australia’s sustainability journey
- Grey and green rhinos
Strategic Implications
- Unpacking materiality (both stakeholder and business success)
- Strategic drivers (relevance of sustainability to your firm)
- Mapping sustainability to strategy (arenas and strategic levers)
Sustainable Success
- Narrative, measures and reporting (communicating within and beyond the firm)
- Leadership capabilities and organisational change
- Partnering and collaboration across your value chain and ecosystem
Learning Methods
Interactive masterclasses by world-class leaders in sustainability and strategy
Highly curated insights and knowledge from science and business
Senior guest speakers and case studies
Peer networking and learning, with personal reflection
Practical takeaway tools and techniques
Sustainability for Strategic Advantage Success Story
The facilitators were engaging and knowledgeable and there were many opportunities to hear from the other participants as to their specific challenges and ways of addressing them. This course provided an excellent framework and has prompted me to go deeper into various issues associated with climate change and sustainability.
JUSTINE HALLORAN
Non-executive Director, Wildlife Victoria
Lead Instructors
This program is led by the leaders of our Centre for Sustainability and Business, including one of Australia’s leading strategy educators and one of Australia’s leading environmentalists. It cuts through complexity to deliver the knowledge, insights and tools that executives require to unlock strategic advantage.
Professor Glenn Hoetker, Director of the MBS Centre for Sustainability and Business and a leading strategy professor
Glenn is the MBS Foundation Chair in Sustainability and Business and Professor of Business Strategy at Melbourne Business School. He leads Melbourne Business School executive education training on climate change and sustainability across industry sectors, and our MBA classes on sustainability and strategic advantage.
Glenn is also a Fellow of the Melbourne Energy Institute at the University of Melbourne and a Senior Scholar at the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University. Prior to joining the school, he was a professor of strategy at Arizona State University with affiliate positions in supply chain management and law.
He has worked across industry, government and academia in advancing the clean energy industry, consulted for organisations in the automotive, semiconductor, agriculture, FMCG and government sectors and taught executives from NAB, Ford, IBM, HP, NASA and Wrigley among others.
Enterprise Professor of Environmentalism Don Henry AM, MBS Centre for Sustainability and Business
Don is an Enterprise Professor of Environmentalism at Melbourne Business School and the University of Melbourne, with a focus on practical action and transformative change. He is an International Board Member of The Climate Reality Project, chaired by the Hon. Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States.
In 2018, Don was awarded an Order of Australia (AM) for his work in protecting Australia's native wildlife and environment. His background includes being the CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation and WWF Australia, a Director of WWF US and the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland. Don has delivered climate science related training for our Executive Education and training work with MBS clients.
Dr Gary Veale, Executive Director, MBS Centre for Sustainability and Business
Gary bringing to this program over 25 years of experience at the forefront of issues relating to sustainability, innovation, growth, high performance. He holds a PhD in the role of nature in unlocking human potential and corporate nature responses, is an Honorary Senior Fellow with the School of Ecosystem and Forestry Science (University of Melbourne) and a former Director with KPMG where he led several teams.
Prior to joining Melbourne Business School in late 2020, Gary founded and led a specialised firm (‘The Nature Of’) in this space. He has been a Practice Partner with Monash Business School, and during 10 years with KPMG led several teams, including the firm’s national grants practice, global sustainable supply chain offering, and Australian environmental response. He is a qualified teacher (Bath Uni), has an honours degree in biological science (Durham Uni) and his background includes co-establishing sustainability teams at both KPMG and EY, dog sledding in remote Alaska and being the creative director on a children’s animation property for international television.
Upcoming Sessions
This is a non-residential program. The program fee covers tuition, learning materials and meals during the workshop.
Read our full terms and conditions and other frequently asked questions for more information.
Program Enquiry
If you have any questions about this course, such as the next intake dates or application process, please fill out the form below with details of your enquiry and our team will respond to your request within three business days, or call us on +61 3 9349 8200 or email programs@mbs.edu. Read our Privacy Policy.
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