Business sustainable development

Assessment task title: Individual essay

Due date: Monday 13th April

Details of task: There is increasing focus on the role of business in contributing to and addressing sustainability issues. This assignment

seeks to get you quickly engaged with the business interface of a sustainability issue that you are most familiar and/or interested in. The

intent is to encourage independent research, critical thinking and broadly improve your contextual knowledge of the business sector.

Write a brief essay about a significant sustainable development issue of your choice impacting the business sector (e.g. climate change,

deforestation, water scarcity, biodiversity loss, waste/e-waste, poverty, human rights, modern slavery, inequality etc). You are expected

to:

• Describe the issue (e.g. definition, cause and effects), outlining its evolution and highlighting key events that have defined the

issue to date. Address the physical / factual dimensions of the issue (e.g. size, scope or scale of the issue) as well as the societal /

regulatory / legal cxontext, if appropriate, for how the issue has evolved (e.g. global agreements, national laws/regulation). Do not

focus on any particular industry at this stage of the essay. (12%)

•Evaluate the interface / interactions of business with respect to the issue. How is business contributing to the issue? How

is business impacted by the issue? How is business responding? You may choose a specific industry, or industries, to focus on for

this section. Do not choose one specific organisation but you can provide examples from several organisations in the industry you

have chosen. (18%)

•Provide a commentary, critique and conclusions about the current trends and future responses to the issue and potential

implications for business. (5%)

•Written expression: grammar, quality of references, essay structure and logic. (5%)

Release dates: N/A

Word limit: 1500 words (excluding reference list and tables)

Value: 40%

Presentation requirements: N/A

Estimated return date: 3 weeks after submission date

Hurdle requirements for assessment item: N/A

Individual assessment in group tasks: N/A

Criteria for marking:

AttributeWeighting (total 30%)

Sustainability issue12%

Business interface18%

Future implications5%

Grammar, quality of references, essay structure and logic5%

Marking rubric is available on Moodle.

Referencing requirements: You are required to tully reference all sources drawn upon, whether published or unpublished, using the

Harvard or APA style of referencing. As a guide, aim for at least 10 academic (peer-reviewed) references.

See the following webpages:

https://www.monash.edu/rlo/research-writing-assignments/referencing-and-academic-integrity/citing-and-referencing

http://guides.lib.monash.edu/citing-referencing/

To build your skills in citing and referencing, and using different referencing styles, see the online tutorial Academic Integrity:

Demystifying Citing and Referencing at http://www.lib.monash.edu/tutorials/citing/

Additional information: Learning objectives assessed

1. An understanding of leading-edge thinking and practice in the highly dynamic field of corporate sustainability management