LX 138P R&R 04/2011 Page 1: Additional pertinent information
Proposal for a Minor in Sustainable Business: Motivation and Process
Donna Anderson, Nicole Gullekson, Maggie McDermott, Tom Hench, Steve Tippins
Revised: (March 14, 2013)
Synopsis
Sustainability is one of today’s favorite corporate buzzwords. Yet it is so much more than just a buzzword. Sustainability in business means conducting business in a manner that promotes life and builds community by providing appropriate goods and services that satisfy the needs of the community in ecologically and socially constructive ways; and it does so without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own evolving needs.
Companies increasingly are coming to understand that sustainability is as much a ‘people’ matter as it is an economic or ecological matter. Consumer groups, pressure groups, the media and growing numbers of individual customers are demanding that businesses change the way they operate to give priority to not only economic issues but also to environmental and social issues, too.
With this as a backdrop, it is time for our students to be systematically exposed to some of the biggest issues that they will face over their working careers. To do any less than what is proposed in this minor would be to do a profound disservice to our students and to society as a whole.
Motivation for minor
As the importance of sustainability continues to grab the attention of the business community, higher education has embraced the learning value formal sustainability courses offer students. Here in the UW System, there are several opportunities for students to further their understanding on the topic, including:
• UW--‐Extension, along with UW--‐Parkside, River Falls, Stout and Superior, collaborate to offer a
Bachelor of Science in Sustainability Management along with a Sustainable Management and Sustainable Enterprise Certificate.
• UW--‐Madison offers a graduate certificate in Business, Environment and Social Responsibility.
• UW--‐Whitewater offers an Integrated Science--‐Business Major with a focus on water
management.
In addition to these programs across the system, there has been growing interest and support of this topic at the campus level at UW--‐LaCrosse.
• In 2007, the Joint Committee on Environmental Sustainability was formed.
• In 2008, Chancellor Gow signed the Talloires Declaration, a ten--‐point action plan for incorporating sustainability and environmental literacy in teaching, research, operations and outreach at colleges and universities.
• Student involvement in sustainability is also growing as evidenced by the support of the
Green Fund, as well as initiatives like Recycle Mania and trayless dining.
• Fall 2011 marked the beginning of Sustain UW--L . The main objective of the project is to raise sustainability awareness in the campus community by working to infuse aspects of sustainability in the curriculum as well as bringing in speakers, films and other events that highlight sustainability to campus.
Specifically within the College of Business Administration, there is growing interest from the
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) in integrating sustainability into

the curriculum. Business Week recently added a sustainability ranking for undergraduate education and 8 of the top 10 schools hold AASCB accreditation.
Finally, each of us involved in designing this minor have heard from students who seek not only coursework on sustainability, but some type of official acknowledgement that they have taken this coursework.
Sources of input
We have engaged in the following meetings with individuals and groups over the last two years to get input into the minor. Relevant comments and feedback are provided.
1. Met with CBA Student Advisory Council, February 22, 2010. Questions the council raised and our responses appear below. a. How much extra time/credits would it take to do this in light of the current number of credits required for a CBA major.
RESPONSE: The proposed minor provides students with the flexibility to take courses that might also count towards their major or another minor. It provides the flexibility to use sustainability courses taken during a study abroad, as well as courses from other institutions, including Viterbo, which is developing a major in sustainable business. b. Are there enough CBA students interested to sustain a minor?
RESPONSE: The results of a CBA st udent survey (January 2011) revealed that 88% of 303 respondents (out of 1500 surveyed) thought it was “very important” or “extremely important” to be exposed to sustainability in business, 89% had a “moderate” or higher interest in the topic and 78% agreed that learning more about sustainability would add value to their degree. However, only 16% felt they knew a lot about the topic. 84% were interested in taking a class relating to sustainability and business, while 69% were “definitely”, “somewhat likely” or “maybe” interested in working on a minor in sustainability and business. c. Would this just be available for CBA majors? One SAC rep was a recreation management major, and would like to see this offered to other majors.
RESPONSE: Given the current resources, and given the focus on sustainability within the context of business, at this time only CBA students will be eligible for the minor. d. Why is a minor necessary? Why not integrate sustainability in the current CBA curriculum?
RESPONSE: First, students have asked for some type of formal acknowledgement, whether it is in the way of a certificate or minor or major, of the fact that they not only have an interest in sustainability, but have knowledge of the field. This is important for them to show to potential employers and graduate schools. Second, as in any minor, the purpose is for students who want more in--‐depth knowledge of the particular topic, in this case sustainability. Although a few CBA instructors incorporate sustainability topics into their courses, it is still not at the point where we can conclude that all CBA students are consistently learning of sustainability within the context of business.
2. Met with UW--‐L Joint Council on Environmental Sustainability, February 26, 2010.
3. Attendance at the AACSB’s Sustainability in Management Conference, June, 2010.
4. Presentation of work to date to CBA faculty, September 29, 2010.
5. Met with Tom Eggert, Co--‐Director of the Business, Environment and Social
Responsibility
Program, UW--‐Madison, October 16, 2010.
6. Surveyed UW--‐L CBA students, January 2011. (See #1b).
7. Attendance at the AACSB’s Sustainability in Management Conference, June, 2011.
8. Surveyed CBA faculty, August, 2011.

a. The results revealed that of the 22 respondents, 81% thought it very or extremely important that business students be exposed to sustainability and 60% agreed or strongly agreed that employers want employees who are aware of sustainability issue, although only 50% incorporate sustainability into their existing courses. However, 86% expressed a moderate to high interest in the area of sustainability, 67% were very interested in learning more about sustainability in order to incorporate it into their courses and 73% support a certificate or minor in sustainability housed in the CBA. b. Appendix 2 contains more detailed results of the survey.
Development Process
We utilized the backward design approach developed by McTighe and Wiggins in their
Understanding by Design Curriculum Development Model to devise the proposed minor. The stgrength of this approach is in its basic question: “How do we make it more likely—by our own design—that more students really understand what they are asked to learn?” (McTighe & Wiggins, 2005, p. 4).
The backward design approach consists of three general stages:
Stage 1: Identification of Desired Results
What should students know, understand, and be able to do? What specific knowledge is targeted in the goals and needed for effective performance?
State 2: Determine Acceptable Evidence
How will we know if students have achieved the desired results and met the content standards? How will we know that students really understand the identified big ideas?
What will we accept as evidence of proficiency?
Stage 3: Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction
What are specific learning activities and the sequence best suited for the desired results? How will we make learning both engaging and effective, given the goals and needed evidence?
A summary of our work in each stage for the minor program (as opposed to an individual course) is given below. Mapping of the following learning objectives and goals to specific courses appear towards the end of the document.
State 1: Identification of Desired Results
A. Learning Objectives and Goals/Understandings
1. Demonstrate an understanding of the interdependent and interconnected set of relationships that exist among organisms (and organizations) in the environment and how this set of relationship is affected by human and business activities; and most important, why organizations should take note.
Understand and be able to demonstrate the scientific differences between “mechanical” and “biological” worldviews and how these different worldviews inform very different ways of conducting business sustainably.
Students will understand:
1. Ecological model of economy, the difference with conventional/neoclassical economic model and the ecological limits to growth
2. Economic model of externalities a. Externalities as applied to exploitation of natural resources b. Some market outcomes may not accrue to the benefit of society as a whole. c. Methods for resolving disputes between public and private actions

3. Ecological Thinking vs. Mechanical Thinking a. Parts vs. Wholes: Which creates which? And why does this matter? b. Wholeness vs. Reductionism
Understanding growth and development in mechanical vs. living systems c. A complex-‐‐theoretic view of creativity and the limits of managerial control . d. The dynamics of emergent, self--organization and the limits of top-‐‐down, command and control.
4. Models utilized by organisms in the natural world that have business applications and generate additional applications (i.e., biomimicry).
Understand the principles of biological diversity and the implications of those principles for the sustainable conduct of business.
2. Incorporate a cognitive framework of sustainable and ethical reasoning into organizational thinking and action.
Students will understand:
1. The “morality” of business/the purpose of business
2. Ethical issues facing business pertaining to the environment
3. Develop an awareness and understanding of the basic frameworks, tools, techniques and practices to promote the ethical conduct of business: a. Triple Bottom Line b. Full Cost Accounting c. Information Systems that promote sustainable business d. Environmental Audits/Carbon Footprint Analysis e. Human Rights in the Workplace f. Sustainable Marketing g. Sustainable Product Design h. Sustainable Operations i. Sustainable Finance j. Sustainable investing k. Sustainable Economic Development
3. Draw connections among human rights, the environment, voices of peoples who have traditionally been excluded, and cultures. Establish an understanding and a context for making value connections among business practices—past and present—the environment, human rights, indigenous and commercial cultures, and institutional and global frameworks.
Students will understand:
1. Various definitions of human rights
2. When indigenous rights, human rights and property rights collide, and how businesses should act in the face of such collisions.
3. Theories of justice pertaining to business stakeholders
The relationship between human rights and business concerns affecting employees, customers, and community members.

Stage 2: Determine Acceptable Evidence
In the first course, we will assess understanding primarily through the application of sustainability concepts to cases and problems. To assess the overall minor, we will use the capstone course, BUS
450 in which students will undertake a project that will provide evidence of how well they achieved the learning objectives of the minor. The capstone project would be a sustainability/green design project in which students will be required to explicitly relate the lessons they learned throughout the minor. We are particularly interested in their ability to recognize the complexity and interconnectedness of business to the ecosystem. That is, they should demonstrate an understanding of the relationships among social, environmental, and business systems.
Stage 3: Approaches for Curriculum Delivery
The minor proposed below permits the achievement of both the learning objectives for the minor outlined above and the objectives voiced to us by students (also noted above). The minor further encourages more CBA faculty to offer sustainability courses throughout their respective majors.
Proposed Minor
The minor in Sustainable Business is an 18 credit minor comprised of 3 required courses and 3 elective courses (assumes 3 crs. For each course).
The three required courses within the College of Business (CBA) are Principles of Sustainable
Business (BUS 310), Global Responsibility of Business (MGT 408), and Business Sustainability
Capstone (BUS 450). (BUS 310 and BUS 450 are new courses; MGT 408 is an existing course.)
Of the three electives required to support the minor, one must be taken within the CBA, though more may be. Two electives may be taken outside the CBA.
Possible electives within the CBA: Given the nature of this minor and its contemporary content, a long array of possible electives within the CBA and its various functional departments are immediately obvious. Each department in the CBA has agreed to offer at least one elective course every fourth semester to support this minor. The list below is a sample of the types of electives that will be offered within the CBA in the future to support this minor:
ACC
BUS
ECO
FIN
IS
MGT
MGT/MKT
MKT
Green Accounting
Full-‐‐Cost Accounting
Environmental Law
Environmental and Ecological Economics (ECO 346)
Micro-‐‐Lending and Sustainable Development
Sustainable Finance
Green Investing
Sustainable Information Systems
Green Operations
Sustainable HR Systems
Green Product Design
Green Marketing

Proposed Course Scheduling: Pending approval of this minor, the introductory course (BUS310) is schedule to be offered every Fall semester, starting in Fall 2013. The capstone course, BUS 450, is scheduled to be offered for the first time in Spring 2014 and every Spring thereafter. The other required course, MGT 408, is currently offered every semester as part of the Management major.
The minor will be housed within the Department of Management. The Department of
Management will be responsible for coordinating classes and course offerings in support of the minor. It will do this in conjunction with the faculty involved directly in the teaching and/or development of the minor.
Proposed Sustainability Courses and Learning Objective Matrix:
The following courses would need to initially be approved on a course-by-course basis by the CBA sustainability committee as to how they map to the outlined learning objectives. Some suggested possible electives may include, but are not limited to:
ANT 266
ARC 300
ESC 211
ENV 201
ENV 303
HIS 317
HIS 391
GEO 200
PHL 341
POL 318
PSY 302
Anthropology of Food
Cultural Resource Management
Global Warming and Climate change
Intro to Environmental Studies
Issues in Environmental Studies
American Environmental History
History of Environmental Policy in the United States
Conservation of Global Environments
Environmental Ethics
Environmental Politics and Policymaking
Environmental Issues: Applied Psychology
SOC 363 American Indians and the Environment
Approval for Electives in the minor: As noted above, courses to be included in the minor would be evaluated relative to the proposed course(s)’ learning objectives for the minor, as outlined above.
Student Population to be Served: All students majoring in the CBA (Accounting,
Economics, Finance, Management, Marketing, Information Systems, International Business).
Entrance Requirements : Admission to the CBA