Master of Science in Sustainability Management

COURSE SSM1090H – Capstone Project: Sustainable Enterprise

2021-22

Instructors:
Prof. Shashi Kant
Telephone: 416-704-6828
Email: shashi.kant@utoronto.ca
Office Hours: Monday 2.00PM to 4.00PM - groups/students should make prior appointment

Prof. Ashish Pujari

Telephone: 905-628-6684
E-mail: a.pujari@utoronto.ca
Office Hours: Monday 2.00PM to 4.00PM - groups/students should make prior appointment

Teaching Assistant:
Rishabh Nanda
rishabh.nanda@mail.utoronto.ca

Schedule:
Monday: 2.00PM to 5.00PM MScSM Classroom

Course Description:
The course is designed to develop an integrative understanding of creating and managing a sustainable enterprise.
Students (in a group of three or four students) will work on a project related to the design and management of a
sustainable enterprise under the supervision of course instructors. The focus of projects will be on demonstrating
integration, application, and innovation skills to address challenges faced by an organization with a goal to
become a sustainable enterprise.

Course Objectives:
The most challenging task of sustainability managers is to synthesize, integrate, and apply knowledge gained
from different disciplines of science, social science, and management to address real life sustainability challenges
faced by different types of organizations. The second challenge to sustainability managers is to develop solutions
based on knowledge of different members of a group rather than individual’s knowledge. Accordingly, the key
objectives of this course are:

_________________________________________________________________________________________
Master of Science in Sustainability Management Program - University of Toronto Mississauga
All Rights Reserved – Copyright ©2020
Website: www.utoronto.ca/mscsm
 (i) to develop and demonstrate skills in integrating and applying knowledge gained through different
courses of the program to real-life decision-making situations related to sustainability and
sustainable enterprises;
(ii) to develop and demonstrate skills to work effectively in a group-setting;
(iii) to develop and demonstrate skills in analyzing the current state of sustainability and developing a
strategic/management/operational plan to enhance its sustainability efforts; and
(iv) to develop skills in developing organizational interventions and their operational plan.

Course Format:
The class does not meet every week. However, during the weeks when there are no classes, instructors
will be available for consultation. Students are strongly encouraged to make best use of instructors’
time. To make use of instructor’s time effectively, groups/students should make prior appointments.

Some class times are set aside for student presentations. The students complete a number of assignments
over the course of the term, building up to the final capstone project.

Possible Capstone Projects

Selected capstone projects should meet the features identified in the course description and objectives. Some
possible projects are:
(i) developing a strategic plan for a new sustainability enterprise;
(ii) analyzing the current state of sustainability management of a small organization and developing a
strategic plan to enhance its sustainability management;
(iii) analyzing the current state of a sustainability initiative/program, such as value addition to used materials,
GHG reduction, wetland management, green supply-chain management, of a medium or large
organization and developing an operational plan to enhance the initiative/program;
(iv) analyzing the current state of sustainability management in a department/plant/project of an organization
and developing an operational plan to enhance its sustainability management;
(v) any other project with prior approval of course instructors.

Terms of Reference for Capstone Project

(i) The project is to be completed in a group of 3 or 4 students.

(ii) The capstone project report must reflect integrative learning gained in the program.
(iii) The objectives of the project must be clearly written in the report.
(iv) Students are expected to use both primary and secondary sources of data for the project.
(v) Page limit for the project report is 40 pages including cover page, tables, graphs, bibliography, appendix
etc.
(vi) Project report should be written in 1.5 line space with a font size of 12 in Times New Roman

Starting and Approval of Capstone Projects by Course Instructors

The course is a winter term course but we very strongly encourage students to make their groups
and start identifying their capstone projects and host organizations in the fall term. Once students have
basic idea about their project and host organization, they should send a one or two page note explaining
the main objective(s) and methods to the course instructors who will provide comments/suggestions to
make the proposal as an acceptable capstone project. All groups should take the course instructors
approval prior to fully working on the project.

_________________________________________________________________________________________
Master of Science in Sustainability Management Program - University of Toronto Mississauga
All Rights Reserved – Copyright ©2020
Website: www.utoronto.ca/mscsm
Note: Capstone course is not a research paper, and every capstone project will require developing a
strategic plan. Hence, a proposal should be to develop a strategic plan and not to write a research
paper and/or to make recommendations only.

Academic Misconduct:

Students should note that copying, plagiarizing, or other forms of academic misconduct will not be tolerated.
Any student caught engaging in such activities will be subject to academic discipline ranging from a mark of zero
on the assignment, test or examination to dismissal from the university. Any student abetting or otherwise
assisting in such misconduct will also be subject to academic penalties.

Normally, students will be required to submit their course essays to Ouriginal for a review of textual similarity
and detection of possible plagiarism. In doing so, students will allow their essays to be included as source
documents in the Ouriginal reference database, where they will be used solely to detect plagiarism. The terms that
apply to the University's use of the Ouriginal.com service are described on its web site

Course Drop Deadline:

This is a required course of the MScSM program. Please consult with the Program Coordinator and the Program
Director if some unavoidable situation arises and you have to drop a required course of the program

Grading:

Component Dates Weight (%)

1. Project Proposal and its presentation February 7, 2022 10
2. Progress Report and its presentation March 7, 2022 15
3. Discussion with Instructors/Use of Continuing 10
Office Hours
4. Presentation of Final Project April 4 & 11, 2022 25
5. Final Project Report April 18, 2022, 5.00PM 40
Total 100

Reference Books:

Chris Laszlo and Nadya Zhexembayeva.2011. Embedded Sustainability: The Next Big Competitive
Advantage, Stanford Business Books, Stanford.

Peter Senge et al., 2010. The Necessary Revolution: How Individuals and Organizations Are Working
Together to Create a Sustainable World, Crown Business, New York.

_________________________________________________________________________________________
Master of Science in Sustainability Management Program - University of Toronto Mississauga
All Rights Reserved – Copyright ©2020
Website: www.utoronto.ca/mscsm
Course Schedule:
January 10, 2022:

Course Introduction

Course Introduction and Discussion of Expectations

Strategic Planning for Sustainability Management

Required Readings:

1. William R Blackburn. (2007). Chapter 6: Strategic Planning for Focused Sustainability Improvement in
The Sustainability Handbook- The Complete Management Guide to Achieving Social, Economic and
Environmental Responsibility, Environmental Law Institute, Washington DC. (Posted on the Course
Website).
2. A.G. Lafley, Roger L. Martin, Jan W. Rivkin, Nicolaj Siggelkow, (2012), Bringing Science to the Art of
Strategy, Harvard Business Review, Sept. p. 57 (Posted on the Course Website).

Recommended/Group Readings
1. Marc J. Epstein, Adriana Rejc Buhovac, Kristi Yuthas, (2015), Managing Social, Environmental and
Financial Performance Simultaneously, Long Range Planning, February, Volume, 48, pp.35-45

2. Rafael Ramírez, John W. Selsky, (2016), Strategic Planning in Turbulent Environments: A Social
Ecology Approach to Scenarios, Long Range Planning, Vol. 49, Iss. 1, pp.90-102

3. Baumgartner, R. and Korhonen, J. (2010), Strategic thinking for sustainable development, Sustainable
Development, Vol. 18, pp. 71-75.

4. Scrase, J. and Sheate, W. (2002), Integration and integrated approaches to assessment: what do they
mean for the environment?, Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, Vol. 94, pp. 275-294.

5. Coffey, Brian, (2013) Strategic policy, planning and assessment for sustainability: insights from Victoria,
Australia, Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal; Vol. 4, Iss. 1, pp. 56-74.

6. Clarke-Sather, Abigail R; Hutchins, Margot J; Zhang, Qiong; Gershenson, John K., (2011), Development
of social, environmental, and economic indicators for a small/medium enterprise International Journal of
Accounting and Information Management; Bingley Vol. 19, Iss. 3, pp. 247-266. (Posted on the Course
Website)

7. Martin, Roger, 2014, The Big Lie of Strategic Planning, Harvard Business Review, 92(1/2), p.78-84

8. Johan Frishammar and Vinit Parida, 2019, Circular Business Model Transformation- A
Roadmap for Incumbant Firms, California Management Review 2019, Vol. 61(2) 5–29

January 17, 2022

_________________________________________________________________________________________
Master of Science in Sustainability Management Program - University of Toronto Mississauga
All Rights Reserved – Copyright ©2020
Website: www.utoronto.ca/mscsm
Office Hours – Please make appointment

January 24, 2022

Office Hours – Please make appointment

January 31, 2022

Office Hours – Please make appointment

February 6 & 7, 2022

Submission of Proposal of Capstone Project (Only PPT)– February 6, 2022 5.00PM

and Presentation in the Class on February 7, 2022

Format:
• Powerpoint presentation
• Content: Title, organization, key project objectives, key contact(s), primary and secondary
research plan, potential challenges and strategies to address them, timeline, etc.
• Presentation time: 10 minutes
• Q/A: 5 minutes
• Your project proposal in the form of an extended version of Powerpoint slides must be
submitted to instructors which will be graded.

February 14, 2022

Office Hours – Please make appointment

February 21, 2022

Holiday –Family Day and Reading Week

February 28, 2022

Office Hours – Please make appointment

March 6 & 7, 2022

Submission of Progress Report (Only PPT) – March 6, 2022 5.00PM

Presentation of Progress Report by all Groups – March 7, 2022

Format:
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Master of Science in Sustainability Management Program - University of Toronto Mississauga
All Rights Reserved – Copyright ©2020
Website: www.utoronto.ca/mscsm
 • Powerpoint presentation
• Content: Title, organization, key project objectives, primary and secondary research activities,
initial findings, next steps, timeline, etc.
• Presentation time: 10 minutes
• Q/A: 5 minutes
• Your project progress report in the form of an extended version of Powerpoint slides must be
submitted to instructors which will be graded.

March 14, 2022

Office Hours – Please make appointment

March 21, 2022

Office Hours – Please make appointment

March 28, 2022

Office Hours – Please make appointment

April 3 & 4 , 2022

Submission of Final Project (only PPT) – April 3, 2022 5.00PM

Presentation of Final Project: 4 to 6 Groups – April 4, 2022
(Groups presenting on April 2 will be decided after March 7, 2022)

Format:
• Powerpoint presentation
• Content: Title, organization, key project objectives, primary and secondary research analyses,
complete findings and recommendations, etc. This presentation should not be a repeat of
progress report presentation. This presentation must demonstrate significant progress since the
March 7 progress report presentation and should present completed findings and fulsome
discussion.
• Presentation time: 20 minutes
• Q/A: 10 minutes
• Your Powerpoint slides must be submitted to instructors.

April 10 & 11, 2022

Submission of Final Project (only PPT) – April 10, 2022 5.00PM

Presentation of Final Project: 4 to 6 Groups – April 11, 2022
(Groups presenting on April 9 will be decided after March 7, 2022)

Format:
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Master of Science in Sustainability Management Program - University of Toronto Mississauga
All Rights Reserved – Copyright ©2020
Website: www.utoronto.ca/mscsm
 • Powerpoint presentation
• Content: Title, organization, key project objectives, primary and secondary research analyses,
complete findings and recommendations, etc. This presentation should not be a repeat of
progress report presentation. This presentation must demonstrate significant progress since the
March 7 progress report presentation and should present completed findings and fulsome
discussion.
• Presentation time: 20 minutes
• Q/A: 10 minutes
• Your Powerpoint slides must be submitted to instructors.

April 18, 2022, 5.00PM

Submission of Final Project Report

Format:
(i) Page limit for the final project report is 40 pages including cover page, tables, graphs,
bibliography, appendix etc.
(ii) Project report should be written in 1.5 line space with a font size of 12 in Times New Roman
(iii) Submit only PDF version of the report to instructors.

_________________________________________________________________________________________
Master of Science in Sustainability Management Program - University of Toronto Mississauga
All Rights Reserved – Copyright ©2020
Website: www.utoronto.ca/mscsm