Obiettivi formativi
1. Understand the principles of sustainable and responsible project management.
2. Apply sustainability frameworks (e.g., SDGs, ESG, PB) in project planning and execution.
3. Assess the impact of projects on society, environment, and economy.
4. Develop strategies to manage stakeholder engagement in sustainable projects.
5. Integrate risk management practices to address sustainability challenges.
6. Develop personal skills to deal with the complexity and ethical challenges of transformative projects
Risultati di apprendimento attesi
You will:
be able to evaluate to what extent a project that the proponents define responsible and sustainable is actually aimed at real and responsible sustainability.
understand the interrelations between the different SDGs and their relationship with the earth system and planetary boundaries.
learn and apply principles of project management.
learn to negotiate solutions to grand societal challenges also in presence of diverging interests.
learn about the governance of multistakeholder partnerships.
reflect on your values in regard to societal grand challenges.
experience an introduction to mindfulness practices as applied in social movements.
experience and improve your skills in video and staged communication.
Prerequisiti
Basic knowledge of business economics and management.
Contenuti Del Corso
This course explores the principles, practices, and frameworks required to manage projects sustainably and responsibly. It emphasizes environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations while addressing the practical challenges of integrating sustainability into project management. Through lectures, testimonials from practice, role playing/simulations, discussions, and practical experiences and applications, students will gain the skills to plan, execute, and evaluate projects that align with sustainable development goals (SDGs) and planetary boundaries (PB). Students will be engaged in a project aimed at portraying or addressing issues of sustainable and responsible innovation through direct collaboration with for-profit or non-profit organizations, by preparing a mocktail, or by shooting and presenting a video on a sustainability and responsibility topics.
Testi Di Riferimento
Course materials, as reported week by week. Required readings are noted by bolded references = [S .. X]
Supplementary readings (mandatory only for non-attending students):
Silvius, G., Schipper, R., & Planko, J. (2012). Sustainability in project management. Gower Publishing, Ltd..
Gray, B., & Purdy, J. (2018). Collaborating for our future: Multistakeholder partnerships for solving complex problems. Oxford University Press.
Additional resources:
https://chrismarquis.substack.com
https://earth4all.life
Metodologie Didattiche
In this course you will experience:
Lectures
Reading
Roleplay simulations
Testimonials form practice
A Mock trial
Project work on a smartphone filmmaking OR a project stimulated by one of the testimonials
Modalità di verifica dell'apprendimento
40% Group Project (Company project/mock trial/video)
30% Final Individual Written Exam
20% Project management in groups (upload 2/3 times, with a final reflection on how well it worked and challenges)
10% Questions for testimonials in groups (Upload week two)
Criteri per l’assegnazione dell’elaborato finale
Theses should be problem based: address an issue involving sustainability or responsibility choosing a theoretical lens and hence attempt at contributing also to theory
Settimana 1
Session 1
• Presentation of the course
• Introduction to the enquiry-based learning
Settimana 2
Session 1
• Testimonial by Edgar Hohnetschläger, artist, filmmaker and founder of GoBugsGo (https://gobugsgo.org)
Session 2
• Introduction to mindfulness as a sustainability and management practice
• Brief theoretical and practical introduction by mindfulness coach Barbara Antonie Delmestri (https://baerbl-delmestri.com)
Session 3
• Giuseppe Addamo
Founder & Partnership Manager
at VAIA s.r.l. - Società Benefit (https://www.vaia.eu/en/)
READINGS:
• [S1 X] Sage, D. J. (2025). Soil and organization studies: unearthing a ‘more-than-relational’ ethics towards non-humans. Organization Studies, 0(ja). https://doi.org/10.1177/01708406251317257
• [S2 X] du Plessis, E. M., & Just, S. N. (2022). Mindfulness—it’s not what you think: Toward critical reconciliation with progressive self-development practices. Organization, 29(1), 209-221.
• [S3 X] Gehman, J., & Grimes, M. (2017). Hidden badge of honor: How contextual distinctiveness affects category promotion among certified B corporations. Academy of Management Journal, 60(6), 2294-2320.
Settimana 3
Session 1
• Testimonial by Carlo Pesenti, Consigliere Delegato Italmobiliare Investment Holding S.p.A (https://www.italmobiliare.it/en)
Session 2
• Introduction to project management
• Introduction to the group assignment
• Project selection (in groups)
READINGS:
[S1 X] Kanarp, G. C. S., Böhm, S., & Löf, A. (2025). Contested adaptation futures: the role of global imaginaries in climate adaptation governance. Sustainability Science, 1-21.
[S2 X] A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) - Fifth edition (2013). Project Management Institute, Inc., Newtown Square, PA. Chapters 5, 6 and 7. (Students are expected to skim through)
Settimana 4
Session 1
• Introduction to Planetary Boundaries (PB) https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/planetary-boundaries.html
Session 2
• Climate Fresk simulation: understanding causes and consequences of climate change (based on the latest IPCC report) https://climatefresk.org/world/
Session 3
• The Friday Night at ER simulation: experiencing a complex organization
READINGS:
[S1] Katherine Richardson et al. Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries. Sci. adv.9, eadh2458(2023). DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adh2458
[S2 X] Williams, A., Perego, P., & Whiteman, G. (2024). Boundary conditions for organizations in the Anthropocene: A review of the planetary boundaries framework 10 years on. Journal of Management Studies. (Students are expected to skim through and concentrate on Table I & Fig 7 and corresponding explanatory texts)
[S3 X] Arjaliès, D. L., & Banerjee, S. B. (2024). ‘Let's Go to the Land Instead’: Indigenous Perspectives on Biodiversity and the Possibilities of Regenerative Capital. Journal of Management Studies.
Settimana 5
Session 1 & 2
• EN-ROADS Climate Action Solution game: an engaging roleplaying game where participants are oil executives, activists, heads of state, and others
READINGS:
[S1 & 2 X] Zankl, J., & Grimes, M. (2024). Taming unicorns: toward a new normal of responsible entrepreneurship. Academy of Management Review, (ja), amr-2021.
Settimana 6
Session 1
• PRME and values: reflecting on the values supporting global responsibility of business and business school
READINGS:
[S1] Audebrand, L. K., & Pepin, M. (2022). Principles for responsible management education: An axiological approach. Journal of Management Education, 46(5), 888-919.
Settimana 7
Session 1
• Introduction to sustainable project management
• Principles to incorporate sustainability in project management
• Follow up on the projects
Session 2
• Corporate governance for responsible innovation
READINGS:
[S1 X] Silvius, A. J., & Schipper, R. P. (2014). Sustainability in project management: A literature review and impact analysis. Social Business, 4(1), 63–96.
[S2 X] Scherer, A. G., & Voegtlin, C. (2020). Corporate governance for responsible innovation: Approaches to corporate governance and their implications for sustainable development. Academy of Management Perspectives, 34(2), 182-208.
Settimana 8
Session 1
• Risk management and the risk society: ethics of the future vs Elon Musk’s ideology
MATERIALS:
Slides on learn
Settimana 9
Session 1
• Group coaching session: come to the coaching session with the state of the art of your project in order to receive feed back from professor and other students
Settimana 10
Session 1 (if needed)
• Group coaching session: come to the coaching session with the state of the art of your project in order to receive feed back from professor and other students
Settimana 11
Session 1
• The 20230 SDGs Game: connect individual awareness with transformative action
MATERIALS:
Distributed in class
Settimana 12
Session 1
• The Mock Trial by two groups of students:
Effective socio-economic transformation to remain within planetary boundaries must be gradual
BASIC READINGS FOR MOCK TRIAL:
- Comi, A., Lurati, F., & Zamparini, A. (2015). Green alliances: how does ecophilosophy shape the strategies of environmental organizations?. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 26, 1288-1313.
- Kallis, G., Kostakis, V., Lange, S., Muraca, B., Paulson, S., & Schmelzer, M. (2018). Research on degrowth. Annual review of environment and resources, 43(1), 291-316.
- Morgan, J. 2025. Cancel Culture in Climate. Ch. 5 (in learn)
Following week's sessions 1 & 2
• Group projects & videos presentation