Challenges of the Social Dimension of Sustainability

This course explores the social dimension of sustainable development, a

pillar widely recognized, yet often ambiguously defined. While

environmental and economic aspects of sustainability are more

concretely established, the social component—concerned with human

well-being, equity, and community resilience—presents complex and

evolving challenges. The course seeks to clarify the concept of social

sustainability by examining its key dimensions, including equitable access

to resources and opportunities, as well as the long-term viability and

cohesion of communities.

Students will engage with a broad range of topics central to social

sustainability, such as (energy) poverty, inequality, health, education,

child labour or social cohesion. The course will also highlight the role of

innovative approaches - such as social innovations, social

entrepreneurship and adaptive management in social innovation projects

- in addressing entrenched social problems and driving meaningful

change.

This course explores the social dimension of sustainable development, a

pillar widely recognized, yet often ambiguously defined. While

environmental and economic aspects of sustainability are more

concretely established, the social component—concerned with human

well-being, equity, and community resilience—presents complex and

evolving challenges. The course seeks to clarify the concept of social

sustainability by examining its key dimensions, including equitable access

to resources and opportunities, as well as the long-term viability and

cohesion of communities.

Students will engage with a broad range of topics central to social

sustainability, such as (energy) poverty, inequality, health, education,

child labour or social cohesion. The course will also highlight the role of

innovative approaches - such as social innovations, social

entrepreneurship and adaptive management in social innovation projects

- in addressing entrenched social problems and driving meaningful

change.

In addition, students will explore frameworks and tools designed to

evaluate, communicate and improve social outcomes in both

organizational and policy contexts, including Corporate Social

Responsibility (CSR) and Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA).

The course also examines common barriers to implementing and

communicating social sustainability, such as misinformation, resistance to

change, fear of innovation, and conceptual misunderstandings. Drawing

on insights from social psychology and sociology, students will explore

mechanisms like bounded rationality, categorization, conformity, the “not-

invented-here” syndrome, and principles of social influence.

Understanding these dynamics is essential for effectively communicating

sustainability initiatives and engaging with diverse social actors.

The course blends conceptual learning with practical application, offering

students opportunities to actively engage through discussions, case

studies, business model canvas, role-playing exercises, design thinking,

scenario-planning and reflective activities after the introductory mini-

lectures. A strong emphasis is placed on systems thinking to help

students understand the interconnected nature of social, economic, and

2

environmental factors. These methods aim to deepen understanding,

enhance critical thinking, and develop the practical skills needed to

analyze complex social sustainability challenges and design effective,

context-sensitive solutions.

3ECTS = 90h:

30h – classes

15h – individual readings and preparation for classes

25h – individual assignment

20h – group assignment

Barron, P., Cord, L., Cuesta, J., Espinoza, S.A., Larson, G. & Woolcock,

M. (2023) Social Sustainability in Development: Meeting the Challenges

of the 21st Century. New Frontiers of Social Policy. Washington, DC:

World Bank. doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-1946-9

Blue, G., Rosol, M. & Fast, V. (2019) Justice as Parity of Participation,

Journal of the American Planning Association, 85:3, 363-376.

doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2019.1619476

Boström, M. (2012) A missing pillar? Challenges in theorizing and

practicing social sustainability: introduction to the special issue,

3

Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy, 8:1, 3-14.

Doi.org/10.1080/15487733.2012.11908080

Eizenberg, E. & Jabareen, Y. (2017) Social Sustainability: A New

Conceptual Framework. Sustainability 9(1), 68.

doi.org/10.3390/su9010068

Gasparin, M., Green, W., Lilley, S., Quinn, M., Saren, M. & Schinckus, C.

(2021) Business as unusual: A business model for social innovation.

Journal of Business Research 125, 698-709.

doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.01.034.

Han, D., Yu, D. & Qiu, J. (2023) Assessing coupling interactions in a safe

and just operating space for regional sustainability. Nat Commun 14,

1369. doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37073-z

Mulgan, G., Tucker, S., Ali, R. & Sanders, B. (2007) Social innovation:

what it is, why it matters and how it can be accelerated. Skoll Centre for

Social Entrepreneurship.

Mzembe, A.N., Lindgreen, A., Maon, F. & Vanhamme, J. (2015)

Investigating the Drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Global

Tea Supply Chain: A Case Study of Eastern Produce Limited in Malawi.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 23,

165–178. doi.org/10.1002/csr.1370

Phillips, W., Lee, H., Ghobadian, A., O’Regan, N., & James, P. (2014).

Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship: A Systematic Review.

Group & Organization Management 40(3), 428-461.

doi.org/10.1177/1059601114560063

UNEP (2020) Guidelines for Social Life Cycle Assessment of Products

and Organizations 2020. Benoît Norris, C., Traverso, M., Neugebauer, S.,

Ekener, E., Schaubroeck, T., Russo Garrido, S., Berger, M., Valdivia, S.,

Lehmann, A., Finkbeiner, M., Arcese, G. (eds.). United Nations

Environment Programme (UNEP).

K_W03 - environmental, social as well as economic challenges at

regional and global levels and understands the interconnections between

them;

K_W06 - appropriate sustainability indicators;

K_W12 – to a deeper degree principles of preparing and writing a

scientific paper;

K_U01 - initiate, actively participate in and lead teams preparing

documents and strategies for implementing the principles of sustainable

development in various types of institutions and bodies at various levels

of management, as well as within civic movements and other social

initiatives;

K_U02 - work interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral based on knowledge

from various subject disciplines and institutional sectors in order to

synthesize new ideas and concepts serving the environment and

sustainable development;

K_U03 - evaluate the actions taken to achieve the Sustainable

Development Goals and write and present reports in this regard;

K_U04 – ask critical questions and find appropriate solutions;

K_U05 - use methods of social communication as well as promotion and

education in activities implementing solutions in the field of environment

and sustainable development;

K_U07 - identify the strengths and weaknesses of standard actions taken

to solve environmental and sustainable development problems;

K_K01 - active participation in resolving conflicts and conducting

negotiations related to the implementation of sustainable development

principles and goals;

K_K02 - communicate effectively, orally and in writing, with the

community and professionals in various fields;

K_K06 - care for the reliability and credibility of their research work;

K_K07 - respecting the rules of intellectual property;

K_K08 - coordinating the work of the team, in particular in terms of the

division of duties and time management;

K_K09 - entrepreneurial thinking and acting in the implementation of the

Sustainable Development Goals

30% - Team project

50% - Individual project

20% - Active participation in classes