Embedding Sustainability in the Entrepreneurship Curriculum

Abstract

The sustainability revolution requires a paradigmatic shift in the way entrepreneurship education is delivered. There are ample opportunities to introduce sustainability concepts into the entrepreneurship curriculum since they employ innovation and creativity in both product/service and business model applications. Increased demand for clean, renewable energy, abundant safe drinking water, and healthy products give rise to innovations in the use of biomimicry, green chemistry, green supply chains, and building design. The sustainable development goals (SDGs) developed by the United Nations provide a platform from which entrepreneurial opportunities emerge. Although the entrepreneurial process may be the same, sustainability requires changes in business plan or business model development. A case study of how sustainability is embedded in the entrepreneurship curriculum in a public university in the United States is provided.

Sustainability in Entrepreneurship

Proposed Module

Week One:

Course introduction. What is entrepreneurship? Who are entrepreneurs? Trends in global entrepreneurship.

What is sustainability entrepreneurship? (Tragedy of the commons, limits to growth theory, anthropogenic changes in the environment, cradle to cradle)

Week Two:

Sustainability entrepreneurship (continued)

Opportunity recognition

Case: ‘Andrew Kellar and Simply Green Biofuels’

Week Three:

Opportunity recognition (industry/market gaps and trends)

Opportunities emanating from sustainability (clean energy, clean products, green supply chains, biomimicry, green chemistry, building design, water usage, etc.) in ALL sectors of the economy around the world.

Case: ‘Clarke: Transformation for Environmental Sustainability’

Week Four:

Introduction to feasibility analysis feasibility analysis

Sustainable business idea generation (develop a half page description of a business venture that incorporates sustainability issues)

Week Five:

Product service analysis. What is your value proposition? How does it address an environmental trend, solve a problem, or fill a gap in the marketplace?

Develop preliminary market research survey.

Week Six:

Industry/market analysis (industries related to sustainability, trends, growth rate, market segmentation)

Case: Clean energy, organic/natural food, and so on

Week Seven:

Marketing strategy (sustainability and pricing, packing, advertising and sourcing)

Radical transparency

Case: ‘Jeffrey Hollender and Seventh Generation’

Week Eight:

Present feasibility analyses

Week Nine:

Business modeling for sustainable businesses

Case: ‘Ray Anderson and Interface’

Week Ten:

Management strategy (vision, mission, core values, building a team that embraces sustainable business practices, culture, human resource strategy.)

Case: ‘Growing tentree: Social Enterprise, Social Media, and Environmental Sustainability’

Week Eleven:

Green Supply Chain Management (local sourcing, water and energy conservation, cradle to cradle)

Case: ‘Green Mountain Coffee’

Week Twelve:

Financial and Accounting Issues, financial statement analysis, sources of funding, CERES, GRI

Case: Timberland and Vanity Fair

Week Thirteen:

Present final business plans

Adopted from Barringer and Ireland (2016) and Gittell et al. (2012)