HA E100 - Climate Strategies for Business* NOT ESTABLISHED

Faculty
Prof. Peter Møllgaard (Econ), Assoc. Prof.Christian Erik Kampman (INO), Prof. Susse Georg (IOA), Patricia Plackett (OM), Jakob Bundgaard and Kim Østergaard (JUR) and a few guest speakers

Course Coordinator
Prof. Susse Georg

No prerequisites. The course is open to all undergraduate students.

The business climate has changed markedly over the past few years as the concern for climate change has grown and the economic recession takes its told. In light of both of these developments there is a marked increase of interest in moving towards a carbon free economy. For the business community this represents both a tremendous opportunity and threat as many of the existing ways of doing business need to be changed and entirely new ways can be created. How will these changes in the business climate affect business and what strategiesare businesses developing to grapple with the challenges of climate change? What are the opportunities that climate change offers to business and how might they be realized?

This course explores a number of strategic management themes that have bearing on how companies can address climate change issues: by creating climate change task forces to integrate climate considerations within company operations; by becoming industry leaders in developing greenhouse gas controls, clean technologies and products; by being mindful of changes in government regulations so as to better anticipate and influence them and the development of market for CO2 emissions; by providing detailed public accounts of greenhouse gas emissions as a means of improving corporate reputation and accessing new sources of capital; and by creating strategic plans intended to exploit commercial opportunities presented by climate change. Using a number of cases, the course focuses on the strategies of established industries as well as entrepreneurial companies seeking to develop new clean technologies/products.

The course is multi-disciplinary. In exploring these themes the course will draw upon insights from economics, law, innovation and organizational theory. The course will meet 10 times during the spring term. The teachers will use a variety of teaching methods: lectures, case studies, videos, and in-class exercises.

The course seeks to develop the student’s competencies with regard to inter-disciplinary studies of complex issues. The course will enhance the students’ theoretical understanding of the challenges facing business in developing climate strategies, provide them with empirical insights and develop their analytical and presentational skills.

The aim of the course is to give students an overview of how various disciplines within business administration and economics conceptualize and analyze the ways in which business address the challenges of climate change. The aim is to develop an inter-disciplinary perspective and not to make the students fully proficient in any one discipline. Students will be expected to have a working knowledge of key concepts, theories, models and frameworks used in climate change analyses; to knowledgeably analyze and discuss the costs and benefits of different climate strategies; as well as to critically assess the climate strategies of business and to suggest alternatives giving due consideration of the technological, organizational, financial and legal constraints.

The exam will be a four hour written (case) exam. Students are allowed to use their own computers.

Hoffman, A. J. 2007. Carbon Strategies: How Leading Companies are Reducing their Climate Change Footprint. Ann Arbor: The Erb Institute, University of Michigan.

Compendium of selected articles and a number of cases.