The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) | SUSTAINABILITY: ENVIRONMENT, ECONOMY AND SOCIETY

SUSTAINABILITY: ENVIRONMENT, ECONOMY AND SOCIETY

ONLINE CERTIFICATE COURSE

Gain practical strategies to move towards a greener future with an integrated, social-sciences view of sustainability.

6 weeks, excluding 1 week orientation.

6–8 hours of self-paced learning per week, entirely online.

Next start date: 19 Feb 2025

Email: lseonline@getsmarter.com

Call: +44 2038 568 850

ABOUT THIS COURSE

Sustainability has fast transitioned from a business buzzword into an imperative. Yet many organisations still lack an in-depth understanding of all it entails or how it might be achieved. It’s not sufficient to treat sustainability as an isolated technical problem to be crossed off the corporate checklist. True sustainability calls for a broad, multidimensional strategy that incorporates a deeper appreciation for the economics, politics, and social dynamics that govern it.

On the Sustainability: Environment, Economy and Society online certificate course from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), you’ll develop an integrated, holistic understanding of sustainability today from a social-science perspective. Over the course of six weeks, you’ll gain a firm grasp of current concepts within this space, including sustainability transitions, sustainability economics, and sustainable development. With guidance from leading researchers in the field, you’ll move from theory to practice through the application of various real-world scenarios, while unpacking the complex relationship between business growth and sustainability. You’ll also learn how best to manage climate-related risk and conserve natural capital, and develop a sound strategy for leading sustainability in your own organisation. Walk away with the insights needed to weave sustainability into your work and ‘hybridise’ your role, and the skills to successfully participate in the green economy of tomorrow.

This Sustainability: Environment, Economy and Society online certificate course is certified by the United Kingdom CPD Certification Service, and may be applicable to individuals who are members of, or are associated with, UK-based professional bodies. The course has an estimated 70 hours of learning.

Note: should you wish to claim CPD activity, the onus is on you. The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and GetSmarter accept no responsibility, and cannot be held responsible, for the claiming or validation of hours or points.

“As a world-leading social science university, LSE has a unique opportunity to lead on and engage with the major challenges of today, and work to shape the world for the better. And now, more than ever, is the time to work together to shape a pathway that is sustainable, resilient, and inclusive.”

Baroness Minouche Shafik, Director, LSE

LSE (May, 2020).

“As the world responds to a global pandemic, we cannot forget the climate crisis facing us. Both require urgent action and a truly global response. A sustainable recovery can be both a fast recovery and help lay the foundations for a transformation in economic development. LSE today is making a commitment to action, and we encourage others to engage and lead on this critical agenda: be it organisations, academics, students, or citizens of the world.”

Professor Nicholas Stern, Chair, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment

LSE (Oct, 2020).

“Recovery from crisis cannot be driven by a zero-sum game of economy versus environment. Rather, this is a once-in-a-generation chance to set things straight between people and the planet.”

Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme

UNDP (Sep, 2020).

“Making peace with nature is the defining task of the 21st century. It must be the top, top priority for everyone, everywhere.”

António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations

United Nations Climate Change (Dec, 2020).

WHAT THIS COURSE COVERS

This course interrogates sustainability from a social-sciences perspective, providing a broad and current overview of key concepts within this space. It starts by exploring the multidimensional nature of sustainability and the factors that can accelerate or impede sustainability transitions. Next, you’ll gain the opportunity to relate key sustainability economics concepts to real-world situations and examine the contribution of nature and natural capital to wealth and well-being. You’ll then unpack the complex relationship between economic policies and sustainability, and discover the ways in which green growth can be achieved. From there, you’ll investigate how social development and sustainability interact, before analysing the shared, interconnected nature of climate-related risk through the lens of the water-energy-food nexus. Finally, you’ll unpack the applications of sustainability from a corporate and financial perspective, and learn how to develop an informed sustainability strategy that takes business risks and benefits into account.

A POWERFUL COLLABORATION

The London School of Economics and Political Science is collaborating with online education provider GetSmarter to create a new class of learning experience – one that is high-touch, intimate, and personalised for the working professional.

ABOUT LSE

The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a leading dedicated social science university. LSE was founded in 1895 with the aim of understanding the causes of things for the “betterment of society”. LSE seeks to make research and teaching practical and relevant to the real world. The School counts 18 Nobel Prize winners and 37 world leaders amongst its alumni and staff. LSE has students from over 160 countries, and over 100 languages are spoken on campus.

ABOUT LSE ONLINE CERTIFICATES

LSE is dedicated to addressing global issues through research and education, and is the most international of all British universities. By offering online certificate courses designed by expert LSE faculty members, the School aims to make its state-of-the-art social sciences research and insights available to a wider global audience. The supported, interactive online learning model allows participants to study from anywhere in the world, at times of their convenience, while still interacting with peers and teaching staff alike.

ABOUT GETSMARTER

GetSmarter, part of edX, partners with the world’s leading universities and institutions to select, design and deliver premium online short courses with a data-driven focus on learning gain.

Technology meets academic rigour in GetSmarter’s people-mediated model, which enables lifelong learners across the globe to obtain industry-relevant skills that are certified by the world’s most reputable academic institutions.

As a participant, you will also gain unlimited access to edX’s Career Engagement Network at no extra cost. This platform will provide you with valuable career resources and events to support your professional journey. You can look forward to benefits including rich content, career templates, webinars, workshops, career fairs, networking events, panel discussions, and exclusive recruitment opportunities to connect you with potential employers.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

You’ll be welcomed to the course and begin connecting with fellow participants, while exploring the navigation and tools of your Online Campus. Be alerted to key milestones in the learning path, and review how your results will be calculated and distributed.

You’ll be required to complete your participant profile, confirm your email address for the delivery of your digital certificate, and submit a digital copy of your passport/identity document.

Please note that module titles and their contents are subject to change during course development.

Explore the multidimensional nature of sustainability and the transition from unsustainability to sustainability.

Recognise that sustainability is a multidimensional and contested issue
Identify key developments in the emergence of sustainability
Determine the impact of sociotechnical sustainability transitions
Describe how different actors shape sustainability policies
Articulate how political interests can accelerate or impede sustainability transitions

Explore sustainable economics and question traditional measures of wealth and well-being.

Identify how economics has influenced sustainability
Examine key concepts that illustrate the contribution of nature to wealth and well-being
Articulate how changes to the way in which economic progress is measured are a building block of the sustainable economy
Examine sustainability discussions through the lens of natural capital and ecosystems services

Discover ways in which a sustainable, green economy can be achieved.

Interpret the debates around economic growth and sustainability
Explore the merits and shortcomings of green growth and degrowth
Use a standard policy toolkit to address real-world sustainability problems
Analyse how economic policies might bring about a sustainable economy

Explore how social development and sustainability interact.

Identify different conceptions of development
Examine how different conceptions of development influence the well-being of individuals and integrity of the climate
Assess the tensions between sustainability and development
Reflect on who might be winners and losers in situations of environmental change
Assess how different actors might reconcile trade-offs between Sustainable Development Goals

Learn about natural resource interconnections and shared risk associated with climate change.

Review interdependencies in practice through the lens of the water-energy-food nexus
Reflect on the impact of everyday resource consumption
Analyse the shared and interconnected nature of climate-related risk
Assess how the various interdependencies impacted by climate change shape risks and opportunities
Evaluate the potential for sustainable development to address the threat of climate change
Recommend steps for your organisation to respond to global environmental change and climate risk

Explore the applications of sustainability from a corporate and financial perspective.

Analyse the growing role of corporations in governing sustainability
Assess how financial actors are governing their relationship with social and environmental issues
Assess financial systems for sustainability
Attribute the risks and opportunities in an organisation pursuing sustainability
Formulate meaningful ways of engaging with sustainability in an organisation

WHO SHOULD TAKE THIS COURSE

This course will benefit any professional interested in driving sustainability, regardless of their industry or role. Business leaders, directors, and managers will gain real-world strategies for leading sustainability practices in their organisations, while finance and investment professionals will enhance their ability to deliver socially responsible investments. Public-sector professionals, including those who work with non-governmental organisations and agencies, will benefit from a cross-sector perspective on sustainability, and unearth tools to improve their current role performance. Risk and compliance managers will gain insights into the shared, interconnected nature of climate-related risk, and technical environmentalists will be able to more effectively link their practices to the world of business and prove the value of sustainability in the marketplace. Participants of all experience and skill levels will develop a deeper understanding of the current sustainability landscape, and acquire practical tools for hybridising their careers in the green economy of the future.

THIS COURSE IS FOR YOU IF YOU WANT TO:

ENHANCE YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Gain a holistic, conceptual perspective on how economic and political theory applies to sustainability, using an integrated social-science lens.

TURN THEORY INTO PRACTICE

Unpack the connection between sustainable development and business practices through the practical application of relevant, real-world scenarios.

BUILD A SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY

Learn how to value and preserve natural capital, manage the impact of climate-related risk, and lead your organisation towards a greener future.

ADVANCE IN YOUR CAREER

Develop your ability to incorporate sustainability into all aspects of your role and organisation, with guidance from expert LSE faculty.

ABOUT THE CERTIFICATE

Get recognised for your knowledge when you earn a certificate of competence from the London School of Economics and Political Science – a world-leading social science university – and use it to validate your new-found sustainability knowledge.

Assessment is continuous and based on a series of practical assignments completed online. To be issued with a digital certificate, you’ll need to meet the requirements outlined in the course handbook. The handbook will be made available to you as soon as you begin the course.

Your digital certificate will be issued in your legal name and sent to you upon successful completion of the course, as per the stipulated requirements.

WHO YOU’LL LEARN FROM

These subject matter experts from LSE guide the course design and appear in a number of course videos, along with a variety of industry professionals.

YOUR COURSE CONVENORS

Professor Declan Conway

Interim Deputy Director and Professorial Research Fellow, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, LSE

Originally a geographer, Declan has over 20 years of experience working with sustainability and development initiatives in the UK and Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia. His problem-focused research, which cuts across water, climate, and society, has drawn funding from the European Union, the UK government, UK Research and Innovation, US National Science Foundation, and the World Bank. Declan sits on the editorial boards of various journals, including Climate Risk Management, Climate and Development, and Global Environmental Change, where he also served as co-editor-in-chief for close to a decade.

Dr Marion Dumas

Assistant Professorial Research Fellow, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, LSE

Marion is a political economist, also trained as an environmental scientist, broadly interested in unearthing ways to reform both economic and political policies and institutions to contend with planetary boundaries. Her research primarily focuses on the barriers to radical green innovation that arise because of the strategic interactions and interdependencies between firms in industrial networks. Marion holds a BSc in earth and atmospheric sciences from MIT, an MSc in environmental sciences from ETH Zurich, and a PhD in sustainable development from Columbia University. Prior to her arrival at LSE, Marion was an Omidyar postdoctoral fellow at the Santa Fe Institute.

Professor Giles Atkinson

Professor of Environmental Policy and Deputy Head of Department (Education and Teaching), Department of Geography and Environment, LSE

An environmental economist by training, Giles has published extensively on the sustainability of economic development and how natural capital accounting, cost-benefit analyses, and the valuation of environmental equity should inform policy. Giles is an associate of LSE’s Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, and a member of both the steering group for the Natural Capital Accounting Project of the UK’s Office for National Statistics and the scientific committee of the UK Network for Environmental Economists. Giles has also served on the UK’s Natural Capital Committee, the experts committee of the World Bank’s WAVES (Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services) partnership, and the advisory board for The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity initiative.

Dr Nora Sylvander

Fellow in Environment, Department of Geography and Environment, LSE

Nora is a human-environment geographer interested in territorial conflicts, environmental conservation and governance, and racialisation in Latin America. Her research focuses on territorial and natural resource disputes between indigenous communities and non-indigenous migrants in Nicaragua. She also studies the political ecology of migration and market-based conservation mechanisms in Ecuador. Nora holds a PhD in geography from the Ohio State University, where her doctoral dissertation research was funded by the National Science Foundation. Prior to this, she worked for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Nicaragua, as well as the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland on international climate policy.

Dr Richard Perkins

Associate Professor of Environmental Geography, Department of Geography and Environment, LSE

Richard is also an associate of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at LSE. His research focuses on the governance of climate and environmental change – by both public and private actors – and the rise of sustainable or ‘green’ finance. Prior to joining the LSE faculty in 2006, Richard lectured in the School of Geography at the University of Plymouth. He received his PhD in geography from the University of Cambridge, and also holds MSc and BSc degrees from the University of Oxford.

HOW YOU’LL LEARN

Every course is broken down into manageable, weekly modules, designed to accelerate your learning process through diverse learning activities:

Work through your downloadable and online instructional material
Interact with your peers and learning facilitators through weekly class-wide forums and reviewed small group discussions
Enjoy a wide range of interactive content, including video lectures, infographics, and more
Investigate real-world problems and data sets
Apply what you learn each week to quizzes and ongoing project submissions, culminating in an enhanced capacity to weave sustainability into your organisational strategy

YOUR SUCCESS TEAM

GetSmarter, with whom LSE is collaborating to deliver this online course, provides a personalised approach to online education that ensures you’re supported throughout your learning journey.

HEAD TUTOR

A subject expert who’ll guide you through content-related challenges.

SUCCESS ADVISOR

Your one-on-one support available during University hours (8am–5pm GMT) to resolve technical and administrative challenges.

GLOBAL SUCCESS TEAM

Available 24/7 to solve your tech-related and administrative queries and concerns.

While nearly a third of CEOs view climate change as an extreme concern, 60% admit that they’ve not yet factored it into their strategic risk management.*

^*PwC (2021).

Low-carbon investment must scale up five-fold to £50 billion by 2030 if the UK is to deliver on its net-zero goals.*

^*Committee on Climate Change (Dec, 2020).

Up to 40% of companies worldwide acknowledge the financial risks of climate change in their reporting, and a majority now have targets in place to reduce their carbon emissions.*

^*KPMG (Dec, 2020).

Nearly half of global executives agree that their organisation’s environmental sustainability efforts have enhanced customer satisfaction, with close to a quarter citing increased productivity, and 46% seeing a positive impact on their bottom line.*

^*Deloitte (2021).

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

BASIC REQUIREMENTS

In order to complete this course, you’ll need a current email account and access to a computer and the internet, as well as a PDF Reader. You may need to view Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, and read and create documents in Microsoft Word or Excel.

BROWSER REQUIREMENTS

We recommend that you use Google Chrome as your internet browser when accessing the Online Campus. Although this is not a requirement, we have found that this browser performs best for ease of access to course material. This browser can be downloaded here.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Certain courses may require additional software and resources. These additional software and resource requirements will be communicated to you upon registration and/or at the beginning of the course. Please note that Google, Vimeo, and YouTube may be used in our course delivery, and if these services are blocked in your jurisdiction, you may have difficulty in accessing course content. Please check with an Enrolment Advisor before registering for this course if you have any concerns about this affecting your experience with the Online Campus.