Sustainability and Compliance Across Value Chains 5 credits

In an era of uncertainty and shifting planetary boundaries, sustainability and compliance have become critical components of global value chains. Once considered secondary concerns, they are now fundamental strategic priorities that shape business resilience. This course addresses the need for a comprehensive understanding of sustainable value chain management. It will train you to act as a proactive agent of sustainability, enabling you to position organisations for long-term resilience and future competitiveness. You will explore the importance of multi-stakeholder engagement beyond the company's immediate operations, highlighting a significant shift from merely operational issues to strategic value creation. <br> Through the lens of the supply chain, you will study various topics, including sustainability strategy, risk and resilience, and reporting/compliance regimes (such as corporate sustainability due diligence and relevant standards). You will compare regulatory landscapes across different markets, evaluate how digital technologies facilitate traceability and responsible sourcing, and analyse the implications for both small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and multinational corporations. By the end of the course, you will be equipped to critically evaluate sustainability and compliance decisions throughout entire value chains and manage the tensions between stakeholder interests and organisational goals. You will confidently apply compliance frameworks and strategically integrate sustainability into business operations. Importantly, you will learn to tailor these approaches to various organisational contexts, including SMEs that are increasingly expected to meet higher standards of transparency and risk management. With these skills, you can play a vital role in embedding sustainability and compliance into the core strategy of any organisation.