Playing the Role of a Sustainability Consultant

Overview

Students act as sustainability consultants, creating a written report and video pitch in which they analyze a company’s sustainability practices and recommend improvements.

Why Use This?

This activity helps students step into a professional role and practice making evidence-based recommendations. They develop essential skills in research, analysis, written communication, and persuasive speaking—all of which are valuable beyond the classroom.

How Does It Work?

Students first examine 10 key areas of corporate social responsibility (CSR) for their chosen company, such as the company’s mission and vision, stakeholder engagement, marketing initiatives, and ethics training. They analyze how the company addresses these areas and then make recommendations for improvement.

After completing the written report, students record a short video pitch presenting their key findings and recommendations to the company’s shareholders and board of directors. The pitch helps them practice clear, concise communication tailored to a professional audience. Click the tabs below to see the basic parts of this activity:

Paper Instructions
Video Instructions
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Part 2: Written Paper

You will be responsible for a substantive paper of 6 to 7 pages. These pages will be typed and single-spaced, using 12-point Times New Roman or Calibri or a similar font. In addition to the 6 to 7 pages, include one page where you list your sources (for example, the company’s website, any other links or readings you used).

Your paper should include the following:

  • The Ten Key Items listed below
  • Clearly demonstrate a firm understanding of each of the drivers of CSR behavior of the company based around its existing strategy and identify which of the drivers are most important for the company.
  • An analysis on how the company is addressing its stakeholders and how they could do a better job. Your recommendations must be realistic for the company to pursue.
  • Optional (this information may or may not be available to you): Are there any discrepancies between what the company is saying and what it is actually doing? How would you go about addressing these discrepancies?

You will be graded based on your critique of the company’s existing CSR practices and any recommendations on how to improve them.

Part 3: Video Pitch

The video pitch assignment is closely tied to your written paper. In your video pitch, you, in your role as the hired sustainability consultant, are expected to talk for about 5-8 minutes about the findings in your written term paper.

Your video clip should be prepared for a target audience of the key stakeholders (including the shareholders) and the Board of Directors of your Fortune 500 company.

Items to address in paper and video.
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Ten Key Items to Address

The following table lists the 10 key items that you should address in this assignment:

Item Name Key Questions Associated with the Item
1. Vision and mission How do the company’s vision and mission statements align with CSR values?
2. Implementation of CSR practices How can the company’s CSR practices be divided into these three (3) focal areas:
(1) supply chain (pre-firm production, such as raw materials extraction, supplier manufacturing, outsourcing);
(2) operations (internal production including all aspects of the value chain, such as transportation, logistics, and design); and
(3) consumption (post-firm production and/or consumption and recycling)?
3. Stakeholder engagement Do existing CSR practices allow a two-way avenue of communication between the company/corporation and its broader set of stakeholders?
4. Integrated reporting Does the company perform risk and environmental audits that are integrated with its financial reporting?
5. Marketing initiatives How is the marketing department of the company shaping the strategic CSR of the company?
6. Sustainability initiatives What sustainability initiatives has the company taken so far in the areas of:

  • Energy consumption
  • Carbon emission reductions
  • Water consumption
  • Waste management and recycling
  • Transportation
  • Supply chain management
  • Community and educational outreach
  • Workforce/employee retention
7. Performance metrics Does the firm encourage rewards and pursue measures that align the firm’s production and social responsibility goals?
8. Ethics code and training Does the firm have a comprehensive ethics code and ethics training for its employees and a code of conduct for its suppliers to encourage CSR throughout the firm and its supply chain?
9. Activism and advocacy How strong is the firm’s activism and advocacy to help project its identity?
10. Corporate governance Does the existing corporate governance culture reinforce CSR throughout the firm?

*This assessment was designed by Dr. Sakib Mahmud for one of his courses to help students better understand the role of a sustainability consultant.

Keep In Mind

  • Adapt this example for any field by replacing “sustainability consultant” with another professional role, such as marketing strategist, data analyst, or policy advisor, to fit the course topic.
  • Offer tips, examples, and technology recommendations to help students create a clear and engaging video pitch.
  • Suggest students choose a company they are personally interested in or familiar with, which can make the assignment more engaging and meaningful for them.

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