Business sustainability
Sustainability has long been considered an engineering discipline – materials science, CO₂ emissions, etc., have been matters of calculation. However, the trend is that sustainability is not merely a question of technical calculations but just as much a matter of business. For example, the new EU taxonomy requires companies to report their carbon footprint – not only in the narrow sense of production but also from a broader value chain and societal perspective.
This shift, where sustainability is no longer ‘just’ a task within product development, quality control or production, but also a commercially driven function that spans the entire organisation, its value chains (both upstream and downstream) and its relationship with the wider society, is profoundly shaping and transforming the agenda.
At the same time, sustainability is no longer confined to an abstract ‘save-the-world’ agenda – the ability to report on targets related to environmental, social and governance (ESG) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) will be implemented both directly through legal requirements and indirectly via credit rating criteria.
Many, if not most, Danish companies will be held accountable for new sustainability requirements – either in the form of obligations placed directly on the company itself or as demands from customers who must comply with requirements across their entire value chain.
Business sustainability within the value network
The research area business sustainability within the value network focuses on understanding the implications of the fact that most companies operate within a value chain that impacts their own sustainability. The international GHG Protocol (Greenhouse Gas Protocol) outlines how companies must not only account for greenhouse gas emissions from their own production but also for emissions across their value chain (scope 3). Research in this field explores, among other aspects, possible approaches to analysing sustainability from a value chain and network perspective.
Primary responsible for this research area:
Business sustainability in a societal context
The research area business sustainability in a societal context aims to generate knowledge about the context in which companies must navigate sustainability. Macroeconomic factors such as interest and inflation levels, national and international trade policies, etc., are key components of this research field. At the same time, the research focuses on national and international legislation and other regulations (with the EU taxonomy as a prominent example) as well as the distinction between "soft" and "hard" law.
Primary responsible for this research area:
Business analytics, digitalisation and business development for sustainability
The research area business analytics, digitalisation and business development for sustainability aims to enhance the understanding of the role of various data sources in developing and implementing new sustainable business concepts and models. Digitalisation and data-driven business development are thus central elements of the sustainability agenda. Research in this field will focus on understanding the impact of digitalisation on sustainability while also providing the capability to conduct analyses and describe the business implications. The research area particularly addresses the challenges companies face in utilising internal and external data.
Primary responsible for this research area:
Management and strategy in business sustainability
The research area management and strategy in business sustainability aims to enhance the understanding of how sustainable transformation impacts both strategy and leadership. A broader perspective on a company’s role beyond mere profit maximisation has implications for aspects such as managing existing employees, recruiting new competencies and the ability to lead change. Strategic work within the sustainability agenda also places new and different demands on a company’s ability to grasp the implications of collective action problems, the “tragedy of the commons”, risk management and more.
Primary responsible for this research area:
Markets and marketing for business sustainability
The research area markets and marketing for business sustainability focuses on understanding how sustainability can be applied in marketing and the opportunities and limitations it presents for market approaches and marketing strategies. The emphasis is on how aspects such as brand management, the risk of greenwashing, customer behaviour analysis and sales strategies for sustainable products and services influence businesses.
Primary responsible for this research area:
Metrics for sustainability and reporting
The research area metrics for sustainability and reporting focuses on the critical measurement and reporting that accompany sustainability efforts in businesses. Key concepts in this field include reporting based on life cycle analysis, ISO standards relevant to sustainability, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the EU taxonomy and more.
Primary responsible for this research area: