Hands-on sustainability: designing an engaging undergraduate sustainable business course

Abstract

Purpose This paper outlines the active learning methods used to develop and deliver a sustainable business course to undergraduate students. Moreover, the paper aims to investigate the effect of the sustainable business course on the students’ engagement in sustainable consumption. Design/methodology/approach From a pedagogical perspective, the paper describes the active learning methods applied in a newly introduced sustainable business course via numerous distinctive assessment techniques. On the empirical front, the research investigates the impact of the sustainable business course on the students’ engagement in sustainable consumption. To test such impact, an online survey was distributed among students who completed the sustainable business course, and as a control group for comparison, students who did not take the course. Findings The research results indicate a positive relationship between completion of the sustainable business course and engagement in sustainable consumption. Furthermore, the data revealed that female students exhibited more engagement in sustainable consumption than male students. Research limitations/implications The study contributes to the literature on student-centered pedagogy, active learning techniques and the relationship between sustainable business education and engagement with sustainable consumption. Practical implications The study contributes to the literature on student-centered pedagogy, active learning techniques and the relationship between sustainable business education and engagement with sustainable consumption. Pedagogically, the nonconventional course curricula and assessment methods described in this study can be used as a reference by instructors aiming to integrate active and experiential teaching methods into their sustainable business curricula. For decision makers in higher education who are working in line with the global direction to achieve sustainability, this research provides preliminary evidence that students’ engagement with sustainability is influenced by their course curricula. Originality/value By depicting innovative approaches to teaching sustainability in business, the research enriches the field of sustainable business pedagogy which remains under-researched in many countries. Furthermore, the research goes further by investigating the effect of the course on students’ sustainable consumption. This acts as evidence of the effectiveness of teaching sustainable business in changing future leaders’ perspectives and priorities to include environmental and social aspects, which has become a global goal. Accordingly, the research has the potential to encourage more business schools to make sustainable business education mandatory.