MGT 534 Corporate Climate Action: Business Responses to Climate Change
This course will provide students with a comprehensive introduction to the business response to climate change. Climate change is a major challenge for business and society, with severe and often unforeseeable consequences for human life and business conduct. Companies worldwide are increasingly asked to contribute to a climate-resilient future by reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. In this course, students are introduced to the theoretical foundations of carbon accounting and management. Equipped with the fundamental understanding of how and where greenhouse gas emissions emerge from corporate activities, students will examine various mitigation measures, including the role of cap-and-trade programs, carbon offsetting, and capture. The long-term and financially sustainable minimization of corporate emissions calls for students' critical reflection on the potential and limitations of carbon management programs. Thus, students will learn about the risk of greenwashing and the need to analyze the quality of offsetting schemes. The course outlook sheds light on future trends, such as the impact of distributive ledger technology and its potential for corporate climate action and the governance of carbon markets.