Business for a Sustainable Future

In this module, we explore how to use business tools to push towards sustainability.  Businesses have an enormous environmental impact, but can — and should — be catalysts for positive systems change.  Every business, regardless of whether it’s a tiny startup or a giant multinational, has the power (and the obligation) to re-think how its practices can build a better world. 

Big questions are on the table in the 21st century: what responsibilities do multinational companies have in regards to the environment?  What does it take to design a business model that is sustainable environmentally and financially?  How might we forge new partnerships to tackle the daunting challenges we face?  How can business help with the challenge of getting great conservation ideas to scale? 

It’s time to imagine new products, initiatives, and business models that help us turn the tide on the extinction crisis.  An entrepreneurial mindset helps us to see opportunity even in the face of the most dire problems, and through this module we’ll learn how to apply this mindset to drive change for good.  

By completing this module, you will:

1. Establish a moral compass for business’ role in environmental change.
2. Practice applying the major frameworks for sustainability in business, and analyze their advantages and shortcomings. 
3. Apply entrepreneurship tools and practice designing a business. This includes understanding how innovative business models can be applied to set an initiative up for long-term growth, as well as identifying and attracting the early-stage support needed for an initiative to start up and scale. 
4. Craft a compelling pitch that communicates your mission and route to impact, in order to get others onboard with your vision. 

The materials in this module can also be downloaded here, and guidance on how to use this toolkit is here.