Lee Kong Chian School of Business

Sustainability Management Major

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About the Sustainability Management Major (only as 2nd major)

Many businesses have started to embrace environmental and social sustainability as part of their strategic goals. This major, the first of its kind in Singapore, develops a basic understanding of issues such as climate change, marine pollution, the depletion of natural resources, and poverty. The interdisciplinary nature of the major includes courses in various business and non-business disciplines, covering a variety of perspectives and tools needed to help firms, and in selected situations, government and the non-profit sector, to make meaningful impact.

Why Major in Sustainability Management?

Sustainability is rapidly increasing in importance in the business and policy world, as governments and businesses are forced to deal with the catastrophic consequences of human actions, lifestyles and patterns of industrialization. Sustainability is most commonly defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Brundtland Commission Report, 1987). It involves considering three areas of societal importance in cohesion: economic growth, human development and the environment.

With this major, students will be prepared to enter a variety of jobs and occupations in the business or public sector areas. Entry-level job titles that the major can qualify one for includes sustainability programme manager (product manufacturing firm), manager of programmes and partnerships (foundation), sustainability reporting (ESG) and enterprise risk management associate (professional services [consulting] firm), and environment, social and governance (ESG) market lead, and ESG investment analyst (if together with a finance background). For more details, students may view the Know-Thy-Major slides at this link. 

Curriculum

Sustainability is about tackling multidimensional real-world problems in practical and effective ways, sometimes through the collaboration of business with civil society and public policy organizations. The sustainability management major gives students a broad foundation for understanding how businesses and other organizations can tackle these varied problems by developing the ability and means to positively impact on social and environmental dimensions through their operations. To accomplish this, students select courses in the major that examine how to improve business sustainability via the various business functions (i.e., the activities of finance, supply chains, marketing, and strategy). A second group of courses allows students to comprehensively understand various sustainability issues, ranging from poverty to climate change (alternatively, students may elect to take additional courses in business sustainability). A third integrative component involves the core course and a more action-oriented SMU X course to develop or design business and value propositions that are more sustainable in social or environmental ways.

Students are required to complete the following courses:

  1. Sustainability Management and Governance
  2. SMU-X Sustainability Project*:
    1. Sustainable Entrepreneurship Practicum or
    2. Corporate Sustainable Product and System Design

Students are required to complete 6 CUs of Sustainability Management Second Major Electives. These must include 2 CUs from the following:

  1. Finance/ Finance for Law
  2. Financial Accounting/ Financial Accounting for Law
  3. Marketing
  4. Management Communication
  5. Management of People at Work
  6. Operations Management
  7. Strategy

Students may fulfil the remaining requirement by completing 4 CUs of other Sustainability Management Major Electives (at least 2 CUs from Basket A and the remaining CUs from Basket A or B), such as:

Basket A (At least 2 CUs)

  • Sustainable Finance
  • Sustainable Operations
  • Sustainable Marketing
  • Sustainable Entrepreneurship
  • Sustainable Shipping and Ports
  • Organisational Aspects of Sustainable Innovation
  • Sustainability Study Mission (Asian Studies or Globalisation) ^
  • Sustainable Growth in ASEAN: Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia (0.5 CU course)

Basket B

  • Sustainability Accounting and Reporting
  • Climate Change: Global and Local Solutions
  • Technological Innovations Enhancing Urban Sustainability
  • Heated Debates: Climate Justice
  • Sustainable Cities
  • Economics Development in Asia
  • Development Economics
  • Macroeconomics of Income Distribution
  • Development, Underdevelopment, and Poverty
  • The Politics of Water in Asia
  • Politics of Food Security
  • Environmental Politics and Policy
  • Sociology of Food
  • Social Entrepreneurship Challenge in the Indo-Pacific
  • Sustainability Law and Policy (0.5 CU course) / Sustainability Law (mutually exclusive courses)

* For students who take both Sustainable Entrepreneurship Practicum and Corporate Sustainable Product and System Design, one course will fulfil the SMU-X Sustainability Project requirement and the other will fulfil Basket A.

^ Students may enrol in multiple Study Missions but only one of the sections may be used to count towards a Sustainability Management Second Major elective. Business Study Mission (Germany) offered in AY2019-20 Term 1 could be used to fulfil the requirement.


Learn more about BBM curriculum

Current students may refer to the Course Catalogue on OASIS for the most updated list of electives available and their course attributes.

Academic Advisor

Any questions about our major? Please contact our academic advisor:

Associate Prof. Ted Tschang:     tedt@smu.edu.sg

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