Master in Management for Sustainability Program

Sustainable leadership and effective governance require a new approach to selecting and developing leaders. This involves significant mindset shifts, changes in governance practices and systems, and the adoption of entirely new timeframes for performance indicators.

In this course, students examine how leadership for sustainability demands specific organizational characteristics. They also explore how some companies have successfully embedded sustainable leadership principles and practices, while others have been slow or reluctant to adopt them.

The course is developed and offered in collaboration with B Lab France.

This course focuses on social sustainability and human rights. Understanding social sustainability requires examining the role of business organizations in addressing these issues.

The course explores the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (“the Ruggie Principles”), the European Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, and their implications for leading in social sustainability.

Developing a broader perspective is essential for leading in sustainability. This course introduces systems thinking, focusing on how entities influence one another within a larger whole.

It explores the complexity of Grand Challenges and approaches problem-solving in an interdisciplinary, interconnected manner. The course serves as the foundation for many others in the program.

Many experts agree that addressing climate change is a defining business issue of our time. Its complex impacts directly affect business, society and ecosystems, while many governments are scrambling to mitigate its effects with far-reaching regulations.

This course gives students a thorough understanding of the basic science behind climate change and of how it affects our physical world. It looks at a variety of tools governments have used to reduce and mitigate impacts, examining the risks of both action and inaction and considering current developments in climate change strategies.

This course explores the critical intersection of business and biodiversity, examining how companies impact ecosystems and how biodiversity conservation can be integrated into business strategies.

Students learn practical approaches to managing biodiversity risks and opportunities, while understanding the economic, social and regulatory factors that shape corporate responsibility for preserving biodiversity.

How can companies ensure that their entire supply and value chains integrate environmentally and financially viable practices across the full lifecycle? This course focuses on deploying and governing efficient, resilient, socially responsible and environmentally friendly supply chains.

Students examine technologies such as blockchain, big data analytics and automation to optimize the delivery of products and services, while integrating sustainability into purchasing, procurement and logistics operations.

For nearly all industrial firms, three issues dominate the strategic and operational agenda. Companies that manage these critical environmental challenges effectively stand out in the marketplace.

This course gives students a comprehensive understanding of the main challenges of industrial resource management:

Energy: technology, renewable energy, and building and energy performance

Water: treatment technology, the water cycle, and policy frameworks for managing supply and wastewater treatment

Waste: waste management, landfill engineering, reuse and recycling

How can organizations be set in motion to embrace sustainability? How can thinking about sustainability in business be transformed? How can top management, customers or supply chain partners be persuaded to adopt more sustainable practices?

Activism, understood as direct action in support of or in opposition to a disputed issue, plays a crucial role in this process. This course examines both external and internal forms of activism, identifies effective strategies and tactics, and explores their implications for business organizations.

This intensive course examines a range of technological issues and solutions. New technologies are transforming business practices and industries, offering potential answers to major societal problems, including sustainability.

Exploring both current and future developments in technology is therefore essential to understanding its role in driving change.

This course provides students with the knowledge and critical perspectives needed to address the sustainability and ethical challenges facing organizations in a rapidly changing global environment.

The first part of the course introduces major sustainability issues affecting businesses, including:

Climate change

Biodiversity loss

Social justice

Labor conditions

Global supply chains

Students explore key concepts, frameworks, tools, and standards for assessing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts, and how organizations can rethink their strategies and redesign their business models to support sustainability transitions. Throughout the course, they reflect critically on ecological limits, stakeholder responsibilities, and the ethical role of business in advancing sustainable development.

The second part of the course is devoted to program-specific applications tailored to the needs of each master’s program.

By the end of the course, students will be able to critically evaluate sustainability and ethical challenges, apply relevant ESG frameworks and ethical reasoning to organizational decision-making, and propose practical solutions that contribute to sustainable business practices.

Credited language courses for all levels are included in the program. French is mandatory for all non-French-speaking students.

Native French-speaking students can choose another language (Chinese, Spanish, German; list subject to change).

This course examines the transition from a linear to a circular business model. Business models define the products or services a company offers, its target market and its associated costs. How do these models change when sustainability and circularity take center stage?

Using real case studies, students analyze the main drivers of business models, as well as their positive and negative externalities. A central focus of the course is how to reconcile profit generation with the creation of positive externalities within the circular economy.

This course is an immersive simulation that challenges students to develop and implement a comprehensive sustainability strategy for a business. Participants navigate real-world scenarios, balancing environmental, social and economic factors to drive sustainable growth.

This capstone experience allows students to apply their knowledge and skills in a dynamic, hands-on environment, preparing them for leadership roles in sustainability.

The program includes several company visits, giving students the opportunity to explore firsthand different organizations’ experiences with sustainability and management.

Capturing and reporting data on a company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance is crucial for its credibility among stakeholders, including investors. This data, whether it relates to carbon emissions, human rights violations or compensation transparency, shapes strategy, investment, management and control processes.

This course explores disclosure trends and best practices in ESG reporting and examines how they affect investor decision-making. It also helps students prepare for the “GRI Sustainability Professional” exam, a formal and recognized qualification offered by the Global Reporting Initiative.

Developing, communicating and promoting a work environment that reflects the principles and practices of diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) is no longer an optional business strategy but a fundamental element of business success. This course focuses on the insights, skills and tools needed to build diverse, equitable and inclusive organizations.

The course explores metrics for evaluating and monitoring progress, fostering a cohesive and constructive dialogue on these issues. Case studies include examples of firms making great strides, as well as those still at “the starting gate”.

Impact investing focuses on generating financial returns while also advancing social and environmental aims. This course covers the tools and tactics that make this possible, integrating capital markets and mainstream investment with environmental and social policy objectives.

It also examines the broader domain of sustainable finance, analyzing innovations and their effectiveness across all asset classes and impact themes.

The data revolution has arrived, offering many opportunities to apply information and data management systems to sustainability challenges. This course is designed for students who want to develop both a theoretical and practical understanding of an organization’s data and information management capabilities, and of their significant impact on sustainability strategies and practices.

Going beyond the fundamentals, the course explores advanced concepts, methodologies and technologies essential for addressing complex sustainability challenges in organizations. In doing so, it harnesses the power of data to drive positive environmental, social and economic change.

Sustainable marketing promotes products and services that respect environmental and social issues. But what makes a brand truly sustainable? How are companies developing marketing strategies that are authentic, transparent and impactful?

As consumers become more knowledgeable and demand greater disclosure, companies face new challenges. These include tracking and tracing supply chains, aligning with various sustainability labels and running effective advertising campaigns.

This course explores the global trends and issues that shape sustainability-related success and communication challenges, focusing on the shift from motivation to persuasion.

Sustainability cannot be achieved in isolation, which makes the study of partnerships essential. Cross-sector partnerships bring together various societal actors to address complex challenges.

This course explores the motivations, forms and outcomes of such partnerships. It examines how “wicked” problems can be addressed through collaboration and the roles that business organizations can play.

The course also examines the institutional structure of intergovernmental meetings and the opportunities and limitations for non-state actors to engage in them.

This course equips students with the knowledge and skills required to investigate complex organizational challenges through rigorous research methods. Students learn to identify and analyze business problems, select and apply appropriate research methodologies, and critically engage with academic and professional sources to build robust, evidence-based knowledge.

Emphasis is placed on developing creative solutions to organizational issues and communicating research findings effectively through clear, persuasive, and professional presentation techniques. The course combines a common foundation in research methods with program-specific applications that reflect the research needs and practices of each master’s program.

By the end of the course, students will be able to design and conduct methodologically sound research that supports informed decision-making in organizational and business contexts.

The Career Program aims to help IÉSEG students build and implement their career plan in line with their aspirations, skills and the socio-economic reality of the market.

The objective is to facilitate their integration into the job market, in an environment that allows them to develop personally and professionally.

All students benefit from a credited program tailored to their track or major, taught by a dedicated team of experienced professionals. The Career Program includes collective credited courses, digital resources, and on-demand coaching provided by the Career team for those who need additional support.

A cycle of thematic events fosters connections with companies and helps students build their professional networks. Our teaching approach blends various methods, including digital modules, interactive and blended learning, coaching, peer-to-peer learning, learning by doing, live scenarios, debriefing, and reflection, in line with IÉSEG’s teaching and learning strategy.

Credited language courses for all levels are included in the program. French is mandatory for all non-French-speaking students.

Native French-speaking students can choose another language (Chinese, Spanish, German; list subject to change).

This course gives students a rigorous, economics-based understanding of the fundamental themes underlying business and policy discussions on sustainability. Topics include the theory of the firm, market efficiency, externalities and environmental policy, environmental policy instruments, and the role of information and values in business and policy decisions.

Social entrepreneurship has become a prominent area of entrepreneurship, posing specific challenges to organizations and entrepreneurs. In this course, students study social entrepreneurs and examine the solutions they create to address societal problems, positioning them within the wider context of social innovation. Particular attention is also paid to the role of intrapreneurship.

This course highlights the context where many of our sustainability challenges converge: urban environments. It examines the multiple challenges and environmental issues caused by humans in cities.

Using a systemic approach, the course explores the complexity of urban systems and their interconnections. Students tackle various complex urban problems and learn to apply holistic thinking to address sustainability in city contexts.

This course equips students with the knowledge and skills required to investigate complex organizational challenges through rigorous research methods. Students learn to identify and analyze business problems, select and apply appropriate research methodologies, and critically engage with academic and professional sources to build robust, evidence-based knowledge.

Emphasis is placed on developing creative solutions to organizational issues and communicating research findings effectively through clear, persuasive, and professional presentation techniques. The course combines a common foundation in research methods with program-specific applications that reflect the research needs and practices of each master’s program.

By the end of the course, students will be able to design and conduct methodologically sound research that supports informed decision-making in organizational and business contexts.

This course gives participants an in-depth understanding of entrepreneurship, new business development, and business plan writing.

Through lectures, testimonials, fieldwork, and group assignments, participants are confronted with the how, where, when, with whom, and why of starting and developing new business activities.

As part of an international and multicultural team, participants work on an operational business plan with one of two aims:

The creation of a new venture (NVC track)

The acceleration of new business for an already established SME (NBD track)

The course thus goes beyond theory: hands-on experience is gained through out-of-class fieldwork covering all steps of the entrepreneurial decision-making process, for example idea generation, feasibility analysis, industry study, market analysis, marketing plan, production plan, product development, and financial statements.

In doing so, participants acquire entrepreneurial knowledge and behaviors that support innovative solutions and new value creation.

This course equips students with the analytical tools and strategic perspective to understand how geopolitical dynamics impact global business environments. Through an interdisciplinary approach, students explore the influence of political risk, international relations, and global power shifts on trade, investment, supply chains, and corporate strategy.

Emphasis is placed on real-world cases and interactive discussions to help students assess geopolitical risk and adapt business decisions accordingly. By the end of the course, participants will be able to integrate geopolitical thinking into strategic planning, enabling responsible and resilient decision-making in complex international contexts.

Particular attention is given to the social impact of geopolitical shifts, encouraging students to consider how business decisions can promote inclusive growth, ethical practices, and long-term societal resilience.

This is a modular, asynchronous course designed to give participants a comprehensive and integrated understanding of AI and its transformative impact on business strategy. Bridging technical knowledge and strategic insight, the course guides learners through a rich curriculum that explores how AI drives innovation, enhances operational efficiency, and creates sustainable competitive advantages.

The learning journey culminates in real-world case studies that demonstrate how leading organizations have successfully integrated AI into their strategies, operations, and innovation processes. These examples provide actionable insights and help bridge theory and practice.

Crucially, the course also addresses the broader societal and environmental impacts of AI, placing ethical, ecological, and workforce considerations at the heart of strategic decision-making. By the end of the course, participants will understand not only how AI works, but also how to deploy it responsibly and strategically for long-term business success in complex, dynamic environments.

Creativity is one of the critical components of an organization’s ability to survive and thrive in today’s competitive and dynamic markets. This course gives participants a rich understanding of how creativity can be fostered and managed in a work setting.

They will acquire knowledge of the various theoretical conceptualizations of creativity (how to define it), its antecedents (what makes you and others more creative) and its outcomes (what impact it has), as well as of design thinking techniques and tools to lead teams through the creative journey.

Here are some of the questions we will address:

How do creative ideas happen?

How can we foster our creativity and the creativity of those around us?

What are the paths of creative development of individuals who succeed in their creative endeavors?

What are the implications for fostering and managing creativity in the workplace?

What are the obstacles to creativity?

What is the nature of creativity in teams and organizations?

During the course, a variety of teaching and learning techniques (including design thinking) will be used to help participants think critically and imaginatively about different perspectives on creativity.

To make learning a shared experience between participants and the instructor, the course integrates real challenges and practical experiences of creativity: projects, presentations, experiential exercises, and critical reflection on the course materials.

This advanced course offers a comprehensive exploration of how organizations can effectively manage, measure, and align performance at individual, team, and organizational levels. It begins by clarifying the concept of performance management: what it is, what it is not, and what characterizes effective strategic performance practices.

Students will examine the challenges of defining and measuring performance accurately, and how to align performance indicators with broader strategic goals such as employee engagement, retention, and organizational growth. Throughout the course, they will work with a range of human resource management tools applicable at the various stages of the performance management cycle. Legal, ethical, and reporting considerations, as well as software solutions, are also addressed to provide a holistic understanding of modern performance systems.

A key focus of the course is the social dimension of performance management. Students will explore how to design systems that are valid, reliable, and fair for all employees, with a strong emphasis on eliminating bias and supporting diversity, inclusion, and social justice.

The course encourages critical assessment of whether performance systems genuinely enable all individuals, regardless of background, to demonstrate their full potential. This includes addressing how organizational culture, leadership behaviors, and system design can unintentionally disadvantage certain groups, and how such challenges can be effectively mitigated in practice.

Credited language courses for all levels are included in the program. French is mandatory for all non-French-speaking students.

Native French-speaking students can choose another language (Chinese, Spanish, German; list subject to change).

4- to 6-month internship or work experience anywhere in the world. Alternatively, students can opt for a consulting project or a thesis.