This course is designed to provide students with concepts and instruments that are necessary to gain a better understanding of sustainability and impact management. The course offers a new perspective on the whole set of managerial notions and concepts that students already master, ranging from strategy to technology management, accounting and financing, in light of sustainability-oriented entrepreneurial models and economic paradigms.

The course focuses on new market paradigms, corporate models and entrepreneurial forms that are designed to generate a positive social and environmental impact and to find suitable solutions to emerging challenges. The program includes the analysis of strategy, technology and impact management, financial instruments, accounting and control tools, performance management approaches as a function of the objectives of newly established social ventures or consolidated and mainstream corporate models, striving to exploit the opportunities related to emerging societal challenges.

The successful completion of the course enables students to interpret the complex ad systemic relationships between environmental and societal challenges, technological innovation, market disruption and purpose-driven corporate and entrepreneurial models.

In particular, the course contributes to the development of the following capabilities:

• Understanding the concept of impact and sustainability management and the foundations of purpose-driven corporate and entrepreneurial models. The distinguishing feature of such models is the proactive pursuit of solutions to social and environmental problems along with economic sustainability and profit.
• Designing innovative solutions through the application of scientific approaches (Analysis, Learning, Reasoning, and Modeling capability deriving from a solid and rigorous multidisciplinary background) to face societal and environmental challenges and seizing related opportunities, developing system-changing ideas, scaling solutions and translating them into long-term oriented, sustainable business models;  
• Interpreting real-world situations and learning from case studies;
• Interacting in a professional, responsible, effective and constructive way in a working environment, also motivating group members.

On completion of the course, main expected learning outcomes are:

• understanding the concept of impact and sustainability and the entrepreneurial responses to new societal challenges and opportunities, in the real of inclusive economy;
• understanding the fundamentals of social innovation and its practical applications;
• interpreting the whole system of managerial notions that students are already provided in a purpose-driven perspective;
• designing social ventures’ business models and developing related managerial strategies;
• mastering competencies and tools necessary to face the managerial challenges that are typical of purpose-driven companies;
• understanding the role of technological innovations to spark systemic change in social business models and purpose-driven companies;
• mastering concepts and tools to measure a firm's performance in terms of the social and environmental impact generated;
• understanding the different forms of financial approaches and instruments that are designed to deliver social and environmental impact along with financial returns;
• learning how to scale social ventures and purpose-driven companies through ESG and impact finance; 
• developing communication skills and communicate the key concepts in a public context as well as in a written document (in-class case discussion and written and oral exam).

I – THE EMERGENCE OF THE IMPACT IMPERATIVE

The current trends and societal challenges and the quest for a new capitalism

The fundamentals of Social Innovation: theory and practice

Understanding and interpreting the fundamentals of social and environmental impact

The role of technology and innovation in the impact revolution

II – THE ENTREPRENEURIAL DIMENSION OF SOCIAL INNOVATION: ORGANIZATIONAL CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES

Combining profit and purpose: a definition and taxonomy of hybrid organizations

The legal framework for impact-oriented hybrid organizations

Purpose-driven corporations and corporate strategies for sustainability

Business models for impact venture and purpose-driven corporations

Scaling impact ventures

Technology, innovation and management of Social-Tech Ventures

Measuring and managing social and environmental impact

III – FINANCE FOR SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIAL IMPACT

The emergence of novel purpose-driven financial approaches

Disintermediation, ethics, and values: alternative finance models

Applying ESG criteria for long-term risk protection: responsible finance

Environmental and value-based financial approaches and instruments: sustainable finance

Investing in solutions: microfinance and impact finance

Fundamentals and basic concepts of management 

The final test will be:

1. a MANDATORY written exam for ALL students and it covers the primer and the case studies discussed in class

2. an OPTIONAL oral exam where students are asked to critically discuss the theoretical concepts and show an original interpretation of the additional readings provided by the Professor.

The assessment is based on the knowledge of the theories and on the student's ability to prove his/her understanding of their application in real-world situations.

During the course, a Primer will be provided as well as additional readings and case studies.