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HA.E103 - Green innovation: Managing the innovation of climate-friendly products/processes/services* *CLOSED FOR FURTHER ENROLMENT*

Faculty
Dr Patricia Plackett and guest speakers on specific topics to be arranged
Course Coordinator
Dr Jan Mouritsen
Prerequisite/progression of the course
No prerequisites. This course is open to all students. It should be noted that there is also a complementary elective available in the Spring semester that could be taken in conjunction with this elective – the ‘Climate strategies for Business’ elective course
Course content, structure and teaching
Today there is tremendous potential for ‘climate-friendly innovation.’ Few issues are likely to be of greater concern to businesses – and business school graduates – over the next few decades than climate change. It is widely acknowledged to be the most pressing problem that we will face in our lifetime. It can be argued that companies are the largest single player involved in causing climate change and also in experiencing its impacts. Increasingly, company leaders will be required to deliver short-term financial returns and, at the same time, to build capacity for the challenges that climate change presents in the longer term. This course will focus on providing deep insights about ‘green innovation’ in terms of the following question: How do companies manage the ‘green innovation’ process to create value that has positive benefits for climate change?
What are ‘green innovations’? The Financial Times Climate Change Challenge, which attracted nearly 300 entries from around the globe, provides an indication of the diversity of such projects. The winning entry selected by a panel of experts was a solar-powered cardboard and acrylic cooker made in Kenya that sells for $5. The other four competition finalists were a truck wheel cover that reduces fuel consumption by 2%, a machine that converts waste into carbon-rich material for fertilizer instead of adding to CO2 emissions, a food additive that reduces the greenhouse gas-rich flatulence in cows and sheep and a ceiling tile that cools rooms in place of air conditioning. The goal of products such as these is production of innovations that offer commercial success and, at the same time, material reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
The course is divided into four parts. It will open with a discussion of the issues central to climate change based on a provocative series of panel discussions convened by Harvard Business Review and then will look at the drivers and barriers to ‘green innovation’ that are present today, including the role of scientists and politicians. The course participants will then study a range of examples of ‘green innovations’ followed by concluding discussions on the lessons learned about managing the ‘green innovation’ process.
Classes will include a combination of mini-lectures, videos and in-class exercises as well as group discussions. A range of cases and examples will be examined to identify specific ways in which companies are creating value through ‘green innovations’ aimed at addressing the challenges posed by climate change. Students will be encouraged to actively share their viewpoints by drawing on their own experiences and information from other courses as well as the materials for this course. The class groups will post blogs on the key discussion topics. The quality of the sessions will be monitored through feedback at the conclusion of each session.
The course's development of personal competences
The aim of this course is to allow students to gain an understanding of how ‘green innovation’ strategies aimed at mitigating the impacts of climate change and, at the same time, to create products, processes or services that contribute to corporate value. Students can expect to learn basic concepts and theories as well as to gain insights about best practices in the real world associated with ‘green innovation.
Learning Objectives
At the end of the course the student should be able to manage competently the following objectives:
Learning Objective 1 – Opportunity recognition: To explain clearly how the risks associated with climate change can create opportunities for businesses [Be able to describe empirical examples of the ways in which climate change risks have presented market opportunities for climate-friendly products/processes/services]
Learning Objective 2 – Solution creation: To discuss knowledgably strategies for innovation aimed at responding to market opportunities for solutions to the risks associated with climate change [Be able to explain theoretical foundations relevant to ‘green innovation’ including key concepts, theories, models and frameworks]
Learning Objective 3 – Practical application: To strategically apply the main theories and analytical concepts from the course to produce ‘green innovations’ [Be able to apply the course content in recognizing climate change-related business opportunities and creating appropriate solutions]
To obtain a score of 12 in this course a student must master the three learning objectives to an exceptional level with lower scores awarded in accordance with reductions in the levels of mastery.
Type of examination, exam aids and assessment
Individual oral examination with prior preparation.
Students at the HA programme are able to write their bachelor project in connection with this course: Yes
Recommended literature
  • Bishop, Steve, Walker, Brian, Hoffman, Andy, Woody, John G., Rose, Stuart, Samuelson, Judith, Khurana Rakesh and Nohria, Nitin (2008), Six critical conversations about business and the environment, Harvard Business Publishing.
  • Sachs, Jeffrey (2009), An industrial policy for climate change, 23 February 2009. http://whatmatters.mckinseydigital.com/climate_change/an-industrial-policy-for-climate-change
  • Berkhout, Frans, Hertin, Julia and Gann, David (2006), “Learning to adapt: Organizational adaptation to climate change impacts,” Climate Change, Vol. 78, pp. 135-156.
  • Kolk, Ans amd Pinkse, Jonatan (2004), “Market strategies for climate change,” European Management Journal, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 304-314.
  • Bernauer, Thomas, Engels, Stephanie Kammerer, Daniel and Seijas, Jazmin (20069, “Explaining Green Innovation ten years after Porter’s win-win proposition: How to study the effects of regulation on corporate environmental innovation,” CIS Working Paper, Vol. 17.
Case studies:
  • Global warming and climate change [IFCAI Business School, 2008] – A concise presentation with many key facts and figures on the climate change business case, corporate responses and ethical retailing.
  • Feeling the heat: Allianz and WWF pushing an industry towards climate change action [IMD, April 2009] – An interesting analysis of relationships aimed at fostering green innovation.
Three case studies examining ‘green innovations’ and the challenges that they faced:
  • Green rubber: The revolution of the rubber recycling business [Asia Case Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong, 2009].
  • Scandinavian Airlines: The green engine decision [Richard Ivey School of Business, June 2009].
  • Innovation at BMW: Can green powertrain technology be introduced by 2020? [IMD, June 2009].

Last updated by The Electives Office 03/02/2010