The course aims to provide students with the concepts and theoretical basis necessary for understanding:

-the concept of sustainability and its dimensions (economic, social, environmental dimensions)

-the concept and the content of integral development

-the concept of corporate social responsibility and its theoretical construct/foundation

-the different perspective on sustainability and corporate social responsibility applied at a macro, micro and territorial level

-the main national and international accountability standards (GRI, GBS) and reporting tools (such as the social balance, the sustainability report) and norms (such as the UNI EN ISO26000) 

First Part

The concept of sustainable modernity and its declinations

The role of enterprises for sustainability

European policy and international references to corporate social responsibility and sustainability

The Italian approach of CSR and  Sustainability issues

European policy for small and medium-sized enterprises

Second part

Corporate Social Responsibility - Theoretical framework

CSR and small and medium-sized businesses

The concept of integral development of companies

Sustainability Strategy; Tools and levels of application

Third Part

Corporate Social Responsibility and Territory; the territorial dimension of sustainability

Some application cases of Territorial Social Responsibility (TSR) (The case of the Marches region)

Fourth Part

Sustainability Reporting

The GBS model - the social report

The GRI model - the Sustainability Report

Other international reporting standards

THE COURSE WILL BE HALD IN THE SECOND  HALF OF THE SECOND SEMESTER THROUGH 12 LESSONS THAT WILL HAVE A DURATION OF THREE HOURS EACH. THE TIME SCHEDULING OF THE ENTIRE COURSE  WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS ON THE MOODLE PLATFORMS BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE LECTURES.

Knowledge and understanding: By the end of the course, students must have acquired the knowledge of the concept of sustainability and corporate social responsibility, key regulatory references, national and international guidelines of CSR and sustainability reporting and reporting standards used by organizations worldwide. In particular, they must know and understand the different strategies, actions and accountability tools of sustainability and social responsibility. These results will be achieved through the following teaching methods: traditional class lectures, analysis and discussion of business cases, working group and in-depth seminars involving managers, entrepreneurs and practitioners.

Applying knowledge and understanding: Students should be able to appropriately apply the knowledge to analyze, understand and solve situations and problems related to the development of social responsibility and sustainability actions and strategies implemented by public and private organizations, as well as to interpret and evaluate the reporting standards required for the implementation of the social and sustainability reporting.

Making judgements: Students must acquire the capability to integrate the different topics and perspectives of CSR and sustainability and to critically evaluate strategies and tools organizations adopt to implement and report on sustainability and CSR.  The methods used to achieve this goal include the analysis and discussion of cases and working group involving managers, entrepreneurs and practitioners.

Communication skills: Students must acquire a clear and effective communication capability to interact with CSR and sustainability officers, managers, entrepreneurs and institutions - belonging to the public, private and no-profit sectors -,  and a good mastery of the lexicon related to the topics. The main teaching methods used to achieve an in-depth technical language and a wide knowledge on the topic include: traditional class lectures and seminars aimed to discuss specific issues with managers and practitioners.  

Learning skills: Students must have developed good learning skills that will enable them to deepen and apply the knowledge gained during the course on social and sustainability strategies, and ethical, social and environmental reporting as well as relative to international standards adopted by organisation (for profit, no-profit, public and private organisations). The methods of teaching work with which these results will be achieved will be: testimonials, analysis and discussion of business cases, group work and in-depth seminars, production of works.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Classroom reading and group discussion/focus group focused on specific themes
Involvement of practitioners  for in-depth analysis of some topics included in the program.

Teaching

Traditional class lectures

Workshops and seminals

Case-studies

Working group and discussions

Attendance

Strongly Recommended. Attendance will allow to adopt a different assessment method (based on presenting and discussing a thesis:  viva-voce dissertation and short written thesis based on an assigned topic).  

Course books

Please procure the following textbooks:

Rullani Enzo, Modernità Sostenibile. Idee, filiere e servizi per uscire dalla crisi, Marsilio, Venezia, 2010

Chapter 2: Come e perché la modernità è diventata insostenibile (p. 43-71)

Ch 3: Veri e finti rimedi. Paragrafo 10. L’impresa socialmente responsabile dà senso anche alla sua sostenibilità (p. 97-101)

Ch 6: Sostenibilità made in Italy: La specificità italiana di fronte alla questione della sostenibilità (p. 157-181)

De Chiara Alessandra, Stakeholder Engagement per strategie di sostenibilità, Giappichelli, Torino, 2015

(from page no. 3 to 83)

Chapeter I: Il ruolo delle imprese per la sostenibilità: la politica europea e gli strumenti internazionali. (from page 3 to page 47 up to: Linee guida per la rendicontazione 2.7 included)

Gli obiettivi della politica europea (A renewed EU strategy for Corporate Social Responsibility; La politica europea per le piccole e medie imprese)

Sostenibilità e linee guida internazionali (Il Global Compact; La dichiarazione tripartita dell’International Labor Organization; Le linee guida OCSE per le imprese multinazionali; Le linee guida ISO26000; Due Diligecne Guidance for Supply Chain Management of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High Risk Areas).

Capitolo II: La strategia di sostenibilità. (pp. 53-82)

La corporate Social responsibility in letteratura (CSR ed etica)

La strategia di CSR (i vantaggi della strategia di CSR)

I livelli di applicazione della strategia di sostenibilità (la strategia di sostenibilità a livello di impresa; a livello di filiera e di network; nel sistema locale).

Matacena Antonio, Del Baldo Mara (2009), Responsabilità sociale d’impresa e territorio, F.Angeli, Milano

Capitolo 4: I territori della Responsabilità sociale. Un modello marchigiano di sviluppo sostenibile (pp. 127-216)

Un possibile speciale ruolo delle PMI verso la CSR e la sostenibilità?

Le radici della responsabilità sociale dell’imprenditori: valori e comportamenti socialmente orientati

Etica, mission e governance nella grande e nella piccola impresa. Un inquadramento concettuale.

Le Marche: una regione di imprenditorialità diffusa.

I territori del geniu loci: le componenti socio-culturali dello sviluppo economico marchigiano. Alcuni profili di marchigianità

Le imprese conviviali, imprese di territorio

Modelli, processi percorsi della CSR: l’occasione e la sfida del territorio. Verso una governance territoriale sostenibile?

Riflessioni conclusive

Carlo Sorci (a cura di), Lo sviluppo integrale delle aziende Giuffè, Milano, 2007.

Frompage 11 to page 66

Sorci Carlo, Lo sviluppo integrale dell’azienda (la nozione di sviluppo integrale; lo sviluppo integrale delle aziende; dalla dimensione sociale allo sviluppo integrale: Yunus, il banchiere dei poveri).

Coda Vittorio, Modelli mentali, condizioni di contesto e sviluppo delle aziende

(La funzione obiettivo dell’azienda nella letteratura economico-aziendale e manageriale; la funzione obiettivo dell’azienda nella prassi; la prospettiva dello sviluppo integrale dell’azienda in azione; i valori e modelli mentali soggiacenti alla funzione obiettivo dello sviluppo integrale dell’azienda; l’atmosfera atta a favorire la diffusione nel tessuto economico delle funzioni obiettivo di tipo olistico)

Vergara Corrado, programmazione, controllo e sviluppo integrale delle aziende

(Sviluppo, sviluppo integrale e successo aziendale; la dinamica causale del successo e quella dello sviluppo integrale aziendale; alcuni presupposti per l’avvio e la guida dei processi di sviluppo integrale delle aziende: le caratteristiche del profilo imprenditoriale; le caratteristiche del contesto culturale; Gli strumenti di programmazione e controllo dello sviluppo integrale delle aziende).

Zacharoula Andreopoulou, G.Paolo Cesaretti, Rosa Misso, Sostenibilità e dimensione territoriale, F. Angeli, Milano, 2012

From page 37 to page 58

Chapter 2: (di Rosa Misso) I sentieri della sostenibilità territoriale

Dalla dimensione spaziale alla dimensione territoriale: l’evoluzione concettuale della dimensione spaziale nella teoria economica.

Il territorio: un sistema tra competitività e sostenibilità: i sentieri possibili per il futuro dei sistemi territoriali

Sostenibilità e identità culturale e territoriale: il ruolo dei giovani

Campedelli Bettina (a cura di), Reporting aziendale e sostenibilità.F. Angeli, Milano, 2005.

From page: 53 to 95

Chapter 3 ( Cantele Silvia): I modelli di rendicontazione sociale (Lo stato dell’arte degli standard di rendicontazione in Italia; Il modello GRI; il modello GBS; Il modello IBS e il modello ABI; il modello Comunità e impresa; Analisi comparativa dei modelli)

Assessment

Written and oral examination, on the same day.

For a correct answer to each question is assigned a score of 15, for a total of 30.In answering the questions students have to respond in an articulate and detailed way in order to demonstrate the knowledge and understanding of the principles and concepts introduced during the course. 

The oral examination (which only takes place after passing the written one with a minimum score of 18/30) involves at least 2 questions based on selected topics included among the course program.

The student must answer both the written and oral  questions in an articulated and in-depth way, in order to demonstrate to have mastered the concepts and issues introduced during the course

The oral examination shall include at least two questions about the parts of the course program which have  not been included in the written test. Accordingly, the total score assigned to the answers is 30. The overall assessment of the student's level of preparation will be performed taking into account the evaluation of the written test and the oral dissertation.

As an alternative to the written exam, only the attending students will be allowed to submit a written dissertation focused on a selected topic included in the course. The written work should be submitted in hard copy and by e-mail (as attachment) one week before the exam date. The work will be evaluated taking into account the following parameters: completeness; clarity, critical analysis and will be assigned a maximum rating of 30 points / 30. The oral examination will take place in the same way as described in the previous paragraph.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Attendance

Non-Attending students could use the same training materials adopted for attending students. Accordingly, the verification will be based on a written and oral exam as per adopted.

Course books

The same

Assessment

Non-Attending students could use the same training materials adopted for attending students. Accordingly, the verification will be based on a written and oral exam as per adopted.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

The student can request to sit the final exam in English with an alternative bibliography.