UVA-MOD-0157Y Rev. Nov. 5, 2013

This syllabus was prepared by Andrea Larson of the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the

University of Virginia. Copyright 2011 by the University of Virginia Darden School Foundation, Charlottesville,

VA. All rights reserved. To order copies, send an e-mail to sales@dardenbusinesspublishing.com. No part of this

publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by

any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of the Darden

School Foundation.

SUSTAINABILITY, INNOVATION, AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

GBUS 8060

Syllabus

Course Description

The purpose of this course is to provide

students with practical information on the growing

frontier of innovation and entrepreneurial activity at

the nexus of business and natural systems. The term

sustainable business refers to competitively

advantageous strategies and practices that firms adopt

to grow revenues, cut costs, improve market share,

enhance brands, and redesign products and processes

to reduce or eliminate adverse environmental and

health impacts. Students will study the trends and

science driving growing demand for clean technology

and lifecycle product designs. Students will look at the

drivers of corporate innovation, strategic shifts, and

new markets; learn skills to identify market

opportunities; and understand the tools, concepts, and

frameworks used by companies currently pursuing

sustainable business opportunities. Through the use of

articles, technical notes, cases, and guests, the course

examines company strategies and practices while

providing history and frameworks for context and comprehension.

About Darden School of Business

Course Syllabi

The Darden Graduate School of

Business Administration is regularly

recognized as having one of the

world’s premier teaching faculties

within business education. Darden

Business Publishing is pleased to

provide current Darden course syllabi

for verified faculty members. They

provide instructors with context as to

how cases used in a particular sequence

achieve the learning outcomes of the

teaching teams at the Darden School.

Use the modules in these course syllabi

as a reference for updating the case

materials within your school’s

programs.

-2- UVA-MOD-0157Y

Course Objectives

Provide information, frameworks, and tools for identifying and pursuing sustainable

business opportunities

Inform students of the changing dynamics of nature–human interdependencies globally

Examine examples of innovators implementing successful green strategies

Course Instructor

Darden Course Instructor Cases by This Author

Andrea Larson Larson cases

Course Outline

Class Materials Topic

“The Business Case for Environmental Sustainability” (UVA-MOD-0157)

1 “Nike: Moving Down the Sustainability Track Through Chemical

Substitution and Waste Reduction” (UVA-ENT-0098)

New Conditions,

New Opportunities

“The New Strategic Frontier: Environment, Sustainability, and

Entrepreneurial Innovation” (UVA-ENT-0041)

“Human Domination of Earth’s Ecosystems” by P. Vitousek, H. Mooney, J.

Lubchenco, and J. Melillo, Science 277 (July 1997)

Book: Drucker, P., Innovation and Entrepreneurship (New York:

HarperBusiness, 2006)

Book: Hawken, P., The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of

Sustainability (New York: HarperBusiness, 2010).

Book: Braungart, M. and W. McDonough, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the

Way We Make Things (New York: North Point Press, 2002)

2 “Coastwide Labs: Product and Strategy Redesign in Commercial Cleaning

Products” (UVA-ENT-0096)

Challenges of an

Anthropogenic

Earth

Book: The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability, preface

and chapters 1–4

“Tragedy of the Commons” by Garrett Hardin, Science 13 (December

1968)

3 “Walden Paddlers” (UVA-ENT-0027) Entrepreneurship

and the Innovation

Process

“An Overview of the Historical Context for Sustainable Business in the

United States, 1960–2000” (UVA-ENT-0034)

4 “Walden Paddlers” (UVA-ENT-0027) (continued) Frameworks,

Tools, Supply

Chains

-3- UVA-MOD-0157Y

“Green Supply Chains” (UVA-ENT-0136)

“The Path to Sustainable Business: Environmental Frameworks, Practices,

and Related Tools” (UVA-ENT-0033)

“The Natural Step” (UVA-ENT-0039)

Graedel, T. and Allenby, B., Industrial Ecology (AT&T/Pearson Education,

2002), chapters 1–2

“Real Estate and Building Design” (UVA-MOD-0158)

5 “Frito-Lay North America: The Making of a Net-Zero Snack Chip” (UVA-

ENT-0112)

Off-Grid

Facilities

“Corporate Greenhouse Gas Accounting: Carbon Footprint Analysis” (UVA-

ENT-0113)

6 “East West Partners: Sustainable Business Strategy in Real Estate and Ski

Resorts” (UVA-ENT-0093)

Real Estate,

Resorts,

Ecosystem

Services

Markets

Aspen Skiing Company’s Testimony before the U.S. House of

Representatives, Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Energy

and Mineral Resources, Oversight Hearing: “Toward Climate Change on

Public Lands” comments on March 15, 2007, by Auden Schendler, Aspen

Skiing Company

“Greening the Piste” by D. C. Smith, Refocus (November/December 2004):

28–30

Guests: Aaron Revere, Darden MBA, formerly Director, EWP

Sustainability Program, now Director of Real Estate, Tredegar

Corporation/Falling Springs, Richmond, VA; and James Parker, Darden

MBA, Manager, Tredegar/Falling Springs

Visit these websites to obtain a basic understanding of markets for

ecosystem services; also visit Falling Springs site

Links: Falling Springs

http://www.ecosystemmarketplace.com/pages/dynamic/web.page.php?page_

name=e_markets_intro&section=about_us

http://www.ducks.org/Conservation/EcoAssets/1311/EcologicalServices.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_goods_and_services

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market-based_instruments

7 “Method: Entrepreneurial Innovation, Health, Environment, and Sustainable

Business Design” (UVA-ENT-0099)

Health, Healthy

Homes, and

CPG Innovation

“Method Products: Sustainability Innovation as Entrepreneurial Strategy”

(UVA-ENT-0159)

“B Corporation: A New Sustainable Business Model” (UVA-ENT-0155)

“Environmental Health: Chemicals in Breast Milk” (UVA-ENT-0078)

-4- UVA-MOD-0157Y

“Toxic Chemicals: Responding to Challenges and Opportunities” (UVA-

ENT-0043)

Guests: Drummond Lawson, Director, Sustainability Strategy, Method; and

Josh Handy, Sr. Director of Industrial Design, Method

8 “Project FROG: Sustainability and Innovation in Building Design” (UVA-

ENT-0158)

Green Buildings

“Rating Environmental Performance in the Building Industry: Leadership in

Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)” (UVA-ENT-0053)

Book: Innovation and Entrepreneurship, chapter 2

Guest: Mark Miller, Founder and Board Member, Project FROG

“Environmental Sustainability as Corporate Strategy” (UVA-MOD-0159)

9 Guest: Will Teichman, Darden MBA, Office of Environmental

Sustainability, Target Corporation

Sustainability

Strategy at

Target Corp.

Corporate Responsibility Website

“Look Who’s Stalking Wal-Mart,” BusinessWeek

“Target Puts Recycling Bins in all Its Stores,” Reuters

“Target Discontinues the Sale of Famed Salmon,” Greenpeace.org/News

“Target, CVS Put Plastic Bags in the Bull’s Eye, Pay for Reusables,” USA

Today.com/Money

“Why Sustainability Is Now the Key Driver of Innovation” (HBR article)

10 “REI: Sustainability Strategy and Innovation in the Outdoor Gear and

Apparel Industry” (UVA-ENT-0162)

Sustainability

Strategy at REI

Kevin Hagen Interview

Guests: Kevin Hagen, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility, REI; and

Kirk Myers, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, REI

“Innovations in Materials and Energy” (UVA-MOD-0160)

11 “Meeting the Challenges to Sustainability Through Green Chemistry” by P.

Anastas, Green Chemistry 5 (April 2003)

Green Chemistry

& Materials

Innovation

Anastas, P. and Warner, J., Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice (New

York: Oxford University Press, 2000), pp. 1–55

“Green Engineering and Sustainability” by P. Anastas, Environmental

Science & Technology 37 (December 2003)

“Lifecycle Approaches for Assessing Green Chemistry Technologies” by R.

Lankey and P. Anastas, Industrial Engineering & Chemical Research 41

(2002)

WarnerBabcock Institute website

Guests: Dr. John Warner, Founder/President and Chief Technology Officer,

Warner Babcock Institute; Dr. Amy Cannon, Founder/Executive Director,

Beyond Benign Foundation

-5- UVA-MOD-0157Y

12 “Natureworks: Green Chemistry’s Contribution to Biotechnology,

Innovation, Commercialization, and Strategic Positioning” (UVA-ENT-

0089)

Biomaterials:

New Platforms

for Fuels and

Materials

“Gevo” (UVA-ENT-0161, pending publication)

Gevo’s SEC IPO filing

“A Primer on Cellulosic Biofuels: ‘Super Bugs,’ Energy Crops, and

Everything in Between,” Thomas Wiesel Partners (June 2008)

“Exploring Trends in Bioproducts, Biofuels, and Biochemicals: Clean

Tech’s Next New Frontier?” Thomas Wiesel Partners (April 2010)

“Star Investor Vinod Khosla Responds,” Wesoff and Kholsa,

Greentechmedia.com (March 2010)

Guest: Patrick Gruber, Entrepreneur/Founder, NatureWorks (Cargill); CEO

of Gevo

13 “Calera: Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Sustainability” (UVA-ENT-

0160)

Carbon

Sequestration

“Biomimicry: Using Nature’s Models as Sustainable Design Inspiration for

Company Strategy and Products” (UVA-ENT-0154)

“Climate Change” (UVA-ENT-0157)

Critique and Vinod Khosla reply: http://www.grist.org/article/2010-03-08-

vinod-khosla-tom-friedman-no-amount-sequestration-coal-clean/

“Peabody coal investment in Calera”: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-

releases/peabody-energy-acquires-equity-interest-in-calera-corporation-

88811457.html (March 2010)

Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times editorial: “Dreaming the Possible

Dream”: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/opinion/07friedman.html

(March 6, 2010)

“Concrete Is Remixed With Environment in Mind”:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/science/earth/31conc.html?pagewanted

=2

Guests: Brent Constantz, Founder, Calera; Aurelia Setton, Vice President of

Business Development, Calera

14 Visit www.mbdc.com—review website information thoroughly Cradle to Cradle

Read release on California Green Products Innovation Institute:

http://www.mbdc.com/news_detail.aspx?linkid=5&sublink=19&nid=36

Design

Listen to William McDonough’s TED talk:

http://www.ted.com/talks/william_mcdonough_on_cradle_to_cradle_design.

html

Finish reading Cradle to Cradle

Guest: Ken Alston, CEO, McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry

15 Student Presentations, Final Comments, Student Evaluations