Company Walk’n’Talk: Learning by Sharing about Corporate Sustainability Practices
In this activity, students learn about corporate social responsibility practices by networking, sharing, and discussing good practice examples.
 

By: Lisa Hollands (Vechta University) and Shirin Betzler (Osnabrück University)

Session type: Single session, Undergraduate/TT level, Medium size

Topics:

• Corporate social responsibility

• Critical thinking

Introduction to the teaching example:

This exercise introduces students to businesses that have embraced sustainable practices through networking and group discussions in the classroom. Students are meant to be encouraged, empowered, and supported in the development of pleasant feelings toward transformation for sustainability. The purpose is to expose students to alternatives to conventional unsustainable consumption and production, encourage critical thinking about businesses, and extend their perspectives on initiatives for sustainable change. The exercise also hopes to spark students' interest in initiatives and business concepts that are sustainable. A variation of the exercise also aims at improving students' capacity to educate themselves and locate a variety of reliable sources of information.

Students choose Company Cards that showcase a company's sustainability initiatives. Following that, they talk about their designated company in pairs for a couple of minutes and then trade the presented cards. Both students move on to the next conversation partner in the room. Presenting a company that the other person already knows about should be avoided to bring variety and movement into the activity. Students then evaluate what they have learned in a group discussion. In a variation, students can also create their own Company Cards based on their favorite organizations or companies they’ve worked at. After conducting some background research on the organizations and filling out the blank card(s) the exercise proceeds as outlined above.