Sustainable Business

Learning Outcomes addressed

As this is a summative submission of formative work, all learning outcomes are addressed

1. Critically assess the processes by which organisations innovate to sustain and improve their performance.
2. Critically evaluate and select suitable business processes to facilitate sustainability within a business organisation that operates in a global context.
3. Have the competencies to be a digitally literate professional.

Contents
ASSESSMENT SPECIFICATION 2
Summary Diagram of Assessment 3
Detailed Assessment Guidance 3
WORKED EXAMPLES 5
STRUCTURE AND STYLE OF SUBMISSION 8
Assessment Criteria 9
Electronic Submission of Coursework 9
RUBRIC FOR ASSESSMENT 9

The first coursework can appear quite detailed as we include worked examples for students. Do read first the assessment specification and look at the table summary of what you must do. After that, the detailed assessment guidance and worked examples are to help you understand task requirements fully and in addition, Seminars and Workshops will support you in this first coursework.

ASSESSMENT SPECIFICATION

The coursework which is first assessment on the module requires you to:

1. Complete the online tests available in the Online Test Area of Blackboard. These tests are designed to help prepare you for the Class test in Week 8 through ensuring you have understood key concepts and terms used in sustainability. In order to complete the tests, you must a) Follow Weekly directions on essential reading and b) ensure you watch the videos recommended each week.
2. Submit your preliminary research for the Portfolio Report following the guidance below on how to formulate this. (approx. 750 words)
3. Submit a list of Search Terms with explanation that you have used to date, to explore social media data sets in an aspect of Sustainable Business of your own choosing, together with screen shots of your TAGS Spreadsheet showing the search term page and summary of your results. You should explain how you have found the search terms you have used to date and how you intend develop this. (approx. 250 words)
It is recommended that you also read the portfolio assessment briefing, so you have a clearer idea of requirements overall on the module.

Guidance on the coursework tasks is provided below and you are supported in this in Seminars. The module leader will also reply to specific assessment queries either on the module Discussion board or through email.

Summary Diagram of Assessment

TASK
SUMMARY OF TASK
RATIONALE
Complete 8 short on line tests by the coursework deadline
You find these on Blackboard under Assessment/Online Tests
These build up your knowledge of the module material to help in the Week 8 In Class Test
Preliminary Research for your final Portfolio Report
You research and answer five structured questions centred on a company and sustainability aspect of your own choice.
This ensures all students get a really good start in working towards the final Portfolio and enables us to give feedback to help you ensure you submit the best report you can at the end of the module.
Search Terms with Explanation
This is covered in the module Workshops. This is the work you need to do to ensure you collect a large data set around any area of Sustainability of interest to you (this can be different to your focus in your report work).
This ensures you manage to collect a large data set for analysis in the second half of the module. Working with large data sets develops your digital competencies.

Detailed Assessment Guidance

1. Online Tests: 10 of the 25 module marks for this assessment

Online tests consist of four weekly tests from week 1 to week 4. Each On-line Test will state the material that the test is based on which will include the set text, lecture material and video resources. You will have TWO attempts at each test if needed. All tests need to be completed by the Coursework deadline but you can take them at any time before this deadline.

2. Portfolio Report Preliminary Research: 10 of the 25 module marks for this assessment

You are working towards submission in December of a 1250 word report (excluding references, tables and diagrams) evaluating a selected aspect of either Social or Environmental performance in your chosen company.

This coursework asks you to undertake preliminary research for this final report, based on answering the questions set out below. These questions have been structured to support students in producing high quality evaluations. Feedback on this will help you improve your final report. A worked example for all questions is provided for all students to ensure you understand what is expected

Question 1
State the Company you have selected, state the SECTOR of your company and name at least two other companies in the same sector that you may use in your evaluation of performance in your chosen company. Please ensure that all Company names are accurate, for example, with a multinational such as Coca Cola, you should use the Coca Cola Company, not a subsidiary as the most recent reports across the business are held on the company site , not the UK site. Provide Website addresses for all Companies you list in the question in your reference list at the end of this coursework.

Question 2
Provide brief information on your chosen Company’s position in External Ranking of Sustainability Performance. To start, see for example https://yearbook.robecosam.com/companies/ but do look for other External Ranking systems for your chosen company. Ensure you explain ranking or awards for your company and cite the awarding body or organisation.

Question 3

State the aspect of either Social or Environmental Performance you are going to evaluate for your chosen company and provide evidence of at least two years of data on your chosen aspect. This could be in the form of tables from company reports or tables of your own table construction based on gathering data from company reports. Ensure you explain the sources of your data tables and cite the reports used which should then be listed in the reference list at the end of the Coursework.

Question 4

Find TWO academic sources to support your evaluation. These could either be academic sources on the Company OR on your chosen aspect of social or environmental sustainability. For each of your chosen sources, provide an annotation as follows:

Key findings of the source: State the main findings of your source – for Research papers this will require a summary of the discussion within the paper

Role in performance evaluation: Outline how you will use the paper in evaluating performance of your chosen aspect of sustainability for your chosen company

An example of this is provided below to help you.

Question 5

Find TWO non-academic sources to support your evaluation. Ideally, try and find one source that supports positive views of your company performance and another source that is more critical of your company performance (either in your chosen sustainability aspect or more generally on sustainability performance). Provide a brief annotation for these two sources:

Key findings of the source: State the main findings of your source and state if supportive or critical of your company performance

Role in performance evaluation: Outline how you will use the source in evaluating performance of your chosen aspect of sustainability for your chosen company

You should submit your work with properly referenced sources. If you provide the full reference in the body of the text for Questions 4 and 5, do exclude this from your Word count. Each source should be referenced using the Westminster Harvard Guide which is Essential Reading of the module Reading List in Week 1.

WORKED EXAMPLES
Q 1 and 2 – (Suggested word count: 100 words)
The chosen company is the Coca Cola company in the Beverages Sector, comparisons would be with PepsiCo and the Dr Pepper Snapple group. Coca Cola US are ranked 39th in the RobescoSAM index used by Dow Jones but subsidiaries in other regions perform better. Coca Cola has been listed in the top fifty companies for diversity and has won awards previously for economic empowerment of women (Coca Cola Awards and Rankings 2015). Ranking the Brands (2019) tracks several indices, Corporate Knights for example, ranks the Company 48th in the top 100 Sustainable Corporations.

Question 3 – suggested word count 50 – 100
The chosen is aspect relates to Good Health and Well being (Sustainable Development Goal 3). The company’s 2018 Sustainability report cites Obesity Concerns and Category Perceptions as the number one priority on their materiality matrix with data presented on pages 15 – 20). The 2017 sustainability report also ranks this as the number one priority (p 7) with some basic statistics but more available in the Coca Cola update on 2017 progress.
Example Data Table (not included in Word Count)

Data Category
Sugar Reduction
Sales of Sugar Free products
Drinks Dispensers and packaging
Market
2017
300 products reduced (no detailed information)
UK – half of sales in Grocery Stores low or no sugar
Coca Cola “Freestyle” – 70% of choices reduced or zero sugar
Improved Coca Cola Zero launched in 20 markets including US.
2018
400 products reduced and a clear statement of support that recommended daily intake of added sugar not to exceed 10% of total calorie intake

Portfolio now claims 95% no and low calorie
New products using smaller cans for example to “make it easier” to control calorie intake.
16 national sugar reduction pledges in the EU
63 000 tons of sugar removed in Mexican market.

Academic Source – suggested word count for two sources: 250 – 300
This example would be appropriate for a chosen aspect of sustainability related to Health and Well being. Note that the Word count overall here for the academic reference(111) omits both the reference and annotation headings. Do note that the chosen article is from a journal in the Business area as advised to you in Week 2 seminars.
Iivonen, K. (2018). Defensive Responses to Strategic Sustainability Paradoxes: Have Your Coke and Drink It Too!. Journal of Business Ethics, 148(2), 309-327.
Key findings of the source: This is a case study of the Coca Cola company using discourse analysis of public documents from the company to explore the tensions between the company’s core business and social goal of obesity reduction. The paradoxical tension between these two is recognised and explored in the paper and contributes towards understanding of organisation responses and Strategic and Sustainability Paradoxes.
Role in performance evaluation: The research contents here point to very recent explorations of Sustainability tensions and paradoxes and so provide a source of insight in the evaluation of performance of the Company related to Good Health and Well being. In particular, the exploration of whether companies can embrace sustainability paradoxes which might threaten the core business.
Non Academic Source Suggested word count for two sources: 250- 300
Nestle, M. (2015) Coca-Cola says its drinks don’t cause obesity. Science says otherwise The Guardian,11 August Available from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/11/coca-cola-obesity-health-studies [Accessed 21 August 2019].
Key findings of the source: This article reports on a scientific study claiming that studies to date linking diabetes to consumption of sugar in drinks have been flawed. However, this study by Mayo Clinic was funded by the Coca Cola company and the problems with company funded scientific publications are highlighted in the article.
Role in performance evaluation: Overall this piece reflects negatively on the Company, not on its performance, but on its actions in funding scientific research that appears to provide positive support for the Company. This will help evaluation of performance in providing an example of wider issues that need to be taken into account beyond analysis of Company published data.

3. Search Terms with explanation: 5 of the 25 module marks for this assessment

The examples below explore another aspect of sustainability (carbon emissions). This is deliberate as you do not have to explore the same aspect of sustainability as covered in your report – you can if you want to but you can also use the opportunity to explore another aspect of interest to you.

You need to first create a table of Search terms you used on Twitter, set out as follows:

Attempt
Twitter Search term/Comments
Twitter Synonyms found/Comments
TAGs search terms and results
1

LEAVE BLANK for first attempt
2

3

4

Explanation

This needs to report on a) findings with simple Twitter Searches and b) brief commentary on findings to date using TAGS. Findings on Twitter MUST comment on the type of organisations/people using the hashtags you searched on in simple Twitter. Do also comment on any interesting findings. For the TAGS results, comment on the number of Tweets you have collected and state the period of data collection.

EXAMPLE OF A COMPLETED TABLE WITH EXPLANATION

Attempt
Twitter Search term
Twitter Synonyms and related hashtags found
TAGs search terms and results
1
Sustainable logistics
None, this search term found an account with this name

2
Greenlogistics
#greentec
#ZeroEmissions
#greenlogistics
#gogreen
#greenlog
#greenlogistics
Results – only 5 tweets for 2nd- 8th January so tried #ZeroEmissions which provided 368 tweets for the same period.
3
#zeroemissions
#carbonneutral
#EVs (Electric Vehicles)
#ZeroEmissions OR #zeroemissions OR #sdg13 OR #greenlogistics 604 tweets: Left to run updating every hour for a few days
4
N/A
N/A
One further search on wider terms to ensure a data set of 2000+
#carbonneutral OR #sdg13 OR #EV OR #gogreen OR #greenlog OR #ZeroEmissions OR #zeroemissions OR #greenlogistics which collected 4725 Tweets so this Archive was duplicated and saved

“The first search found a single account of that name and inspection of the Tweets from this account contained no hashtags so for the second attempt, #greenlogistics was used. Several Tweets from different accounts used this and from the table, key synonyms were found and two of these were tried in TAGS with #ZeroEmissions being the most successful.

Exploration of further synonyms resulted in combinations of terms separated by the OR operator with the third attempt on this collecting the most Tweets so far. To collect a more substantial data set, the table shows the collection of terms used, all related to environment or logistics which collected nearly 5000 tweets so appropriate to use for data visualisation. Assessment of the conversations found using a simple Twitter search on the above terms showed the Social Media data collected were from a) Organisations or Individuals campaigning on these issues; b) Business Organisations publicising products or services and events.

The TAGS Spreadsheet results periods of data collection are shown in the screen shots of the TAGS Readme/Settings sheet below.”

You will need to paste these screenshots in. Suggested word count excluding table is up to 250 words but as here (175 words) you can reduce this and write more in your draft report plan.

STRUCTURE AND STYLE OF SUBMISSION
YOU NEED TO SUBMIT ONE DOCUMENT IN PDF OR MS WORD FORMAT AS FOLLOWS

Style
Single-spaced, 12-point text, standard margins.
Annotated References should be in a single list in Alphabetical order. Do not keep web references separate, do not forget the access dates for the latter.

Structure
Report Structure/Layout:
• Title page – should indicate your draft report title
• Your work will then consist of two sections, one headed “Draft Report Plan” Word count: XXX” and the other headed “Search Terms Word count XXX”
• Two – three pages on your draft report plan(circa 750 words) with word count stated in the heading
• Search Terms with commentary and Screenshots of your TAGS Spreadsheet (circa 250 words) with word count stated in the heading

Assessment Criteria

The marking rubric to be used for this assessment is on the module Blackboard site in the Assessment Area.

Electronic Submission of Coursework
Unless explicitly stated otherwise in writing by the module leader, all coursework on this module is submitted via Blackboard only. It will automatically be scanned through a text matching system (designed to check for possible plagiarism).
To submit your assignment:
• Log on to Blackboard at http://learning.westminster.ac.uk;
• Go to the relevant module Blackboard site;
• Click on the ‘Submit Coursework’ link in the navigation menu on the left-hand side, or as advised by the module teaching team;
• Click on the link for the relevant assignment;
• Follow the instructions.
• You will be given details by the module teaching team about how and when you will receive your marks and feedback on your work.

REMEMBER:
It is a requirement that you submit your work in this way. All coursework must be submitted by 13.00 (1pm) on the due date. If you submit your coursework late but within 24 hours or one working day of the specified deadline, 10% of the overall marks available for that element of assessment will be deducted, as a penalty for late submission, except for work which is marked in the range 40 – 49%, in which case the mark will be capped at the pass mark (40%). If you submit your coursework more than 24 hours or more than one working day after the specified deadline you will be given a mark of zero for the work in question. The University’s mitigating circumstances procedures relating to the non-submission or late submission of coursework apply to all coursework.

The next pages show the Rubric used to assess this coursework

RUBRIC FOR ASSESSMENTCOURSEWORK RUBRIC GUIDE FOR STUDENTS ON WHAT IS ASSESSED – for the 60% weighted WRITTEN Submission of the Coursework
Assessment Item and weighting
Needs to improve < 30
Borderline 30-39
Acceptable 40 – 49
Good 50 -59
Very Good 60-69
Excellent 70-79
Outstanding 80+

Search Terms and Explanation 35%
Worth 5 of the coursework marks
One or no search terms presented, explanation does not report as instructed on a) findings with simple Twitter Searches and b) findings to date using TAGS. To improve, you need to follow instructions carefully.
You have at least one Search term but do not report as instructed and there is little indication of how further search terms were or will be identified.
You have presented at least two search terms, and an explanation is present, but you have not followed assessment instructions precisely and there is a lack clarity of how further search terms were or will be identified. This needs to be addressed to improve.
At least three search terms are presented, explanation may cover either Twitter or TAGs well but not both, general need for more consistency as some elements requested have not been addressed.
At least four search terms are presented, explanation covers both Twitter and TAGS and follows instructions but you could improve in highlighting findings and future work more clearly.
Several search terms presented, explanation conveys findings on both Twitter and TAGS searches and highlights interesting results and conveys how you are going to develop these. To improve here, greater insight and originality are needed.
Several search terms presented with comprehensive report including insightful commentary on findings and excellent reflection on how to develop.
Questions 1 to 3
10%
Either Absent or with insufficient information not following tasks set
To improve, you need to work through suggestions made in seminars on how to develop this.

Very general answers, tasks are followed only in one question at most. To improve you need to comprehensively follow guidance.
Chosen company is clear but sector and or competitors may have issues and chosen sustainability aspect needs more focus particularly as data to be used is unclear. To improve, these issues need to be addressed.
Company, competitors and sectors show good business understanding, sustainability focus could improve and data sources may need more depth for a good evaluation in the portfolio
Company, competitors and sectors show good business understanding, sustainability focus clear and data sources adequate but may need more depth for a good evaluation in the portfolio
All three questions have clear answers showing business understanding and understanding of focus needed for assessing sustainability performance. Data sources are clear and data shows promise for later evaluation of performance. Further refinements could make this even better
All three questions have clear answers showing insightful business understanding and understanding of focus needed for assessing sustainability performance. Data sources are clear and detailed with excellent explanation.
Questions 4 and 5 Annotated List Presentation and Structure, including following Westminster Harvard (WH) 15%
Very poor presentation and structure, word count not indicated, annotation structure not followed. Westminster Harvard not followed. You need to improve in all the above.
The work overall has poor presentation and structure, word count is not indicated, annotation structure not followed. WH not followed. These need to be addressed to improve.
Acceptable presentation and structure through many areas for improvement. You have attempted to follow annotation structure required. Several improvements needed in referencing to adhere to WH, word count may be unclear. These issues need to be addressed to improve.
Good standard of presentation, follows the annotation structure mostly, WH standard followed but some areas for improvement. Word count present.
Very well presented, follows the annotation standard, minor errors in following WH, clear Word count included. To improve, presentation/structure you need to aim for a more professional look overall.
Excellent presentation, clear word count, very high standard of referencing, annotation structure followed. However, some minor improvements could make this even better.
Professional presentation, word count clear, perfect WH format for referencing and annotation structure followed.
Ability to recognise quality Academic and non academic Sources 10%
Limited recognition of type of sources, sources found show little effort.
Some effort in finding sources, but not all instructions followed
Fair variety of sources but annotation shows improvements still needed in recognising types of sources eg Academic paper types
Good range of sources with an attempt made to identify type though some problems with distinguishing these may be present.
Very good range of sources, clear recognition of types of source presented
Excellent range of sources, clear recognition of types and evident that the student has prioritised well
Outstanding range of sources, clear recognition of types of source presented and evident that student selection is an excellent match for their performance evaluation
Questions 4 and 5 Quality of Annotation 30%
Either missing or not done for all sources presented, writing is confusing for the reader and does not convey contents of the source. You need to address this to improve.
Your work is inconsistent across sources, what is present lacks clarity in many areas and does not adequately convey the contents of the source in many places. to improve, you need to be more consistent and write in better academic style
Acceptable attempt in annotation, but may not adequately convey the contents of the source or the role of the source which is needed to improve.
A good attempt at annotation, writing mostly conveys contents of the source, good summary of the source and role of the source shows some understanding but could improve.
A very good attempt at annotation, clearly has understood sources used and summarised these well, and thought through role of the sources, to improve, show further insight into the source content.
An excellent attempt at annotation, excellent understanding of sources used and summarised, and thoughtful consideration of source role, minor improvements could make this even better.
An outstanding attempt at annotation, excellent understanding of sources used and summarised these well, understanding of source role is insightful.

Detailed Assessment Guidance

1. Online Tests: 10 of the 25 module marks for this assessment

Online tests consist of four weekly tests from week 1 to week 4. Each On-line Test will state the material that the test is based on which will include the set text, lecture material and video resources. You will have TWO attempts at each test if needed. All tests need to be completed by the Coursework deadline but you can take them at any time before this deadline.

2. Portfolio Report Preliminary Research: 10 of the 25 module marks for this assessment

You are working towards submission in December of a 1250 word report (excluding references, tables and diagrams) evaluating a selected aspect of either Social or Environmental performance in your chosen company.

This coursework asks you to undertake preliminary research for this final report, based on answering the questions set out below. These questions have been structured to support students in producing high quality evaluations. Feedback on this will help you improve your final report. A worked example for all questions is provided for all students to ensure you understand what is expected

Question 1
State the Company you have selected, state the SECTOR of your company and name at least two other companies in the same sector that you may use in your evaluation of performance in your chosen company. Please ensure that all Company names are accurate, for example, with a multinational such as Coca Cola, you should use the Coca Cola Company, not a subsidiary as the most recent reports across the business are held on the company site , not the UK site. Provide Website addresses for all Companies you list in the question in your reference list at the end of this coursework.

Question 2
Provide brief information on your chosen Company’s position in External Ranking of Sustainability Performance. To start, see for example https://yearbook.robecosam.com/companies/ but do look for other External Ranking systems for your chosen company. Ensure you explain ranking or awards for your company and cite the awarding body or organisation.

Question 3

State the aspect of either Social or Environmental Performance you are going to evaluate for your chosen company and provide evidence of at least two years of data on your chosen aspect. This could be in the form of tables from company reports or tables of your own table construction based on gathering data from company reports. Ensure you explain the sources of your data tables and cite the reports used which should then be listed in the reference list at the end of the Coursework.

Question 4

Find TWO academic sources to support your evaluation. These could either be academic sources on the Company OR on your chosen aspect of social or environmental sustainability. For each of your chosen sources, provide an annotation as follows:

Key findings of the source: State the main findings of your source – for Research papers this will require a summary of the discussion within the paper

Role in performance evaluation: Outline how you will use the paper in evaluating performance of your chosen aspect of sustainability for your chosen company

An example of this is provided below to help you.

Question 5

Find TWO non-academic sources to support your evaluation. Ideally, try and find one source that supports positive views of your company performance and another source that is more critical of your company performance (either in your chosen sustainability aspect or more generally on sustainability performance). Provide a brief annotation for these two sources:

Key findings of the source: State the main findings of your source and state if supportive or critical of your company performance

Role in performance evaluation: Outline how you will use the source in evaluating performance of your chosen aspect of sustainability for your chosen company

You should submit your work with properly referenced sources. If you provide the full reference in the body of the text for Questions 4 and 5, do exclude this from your Word count. Each source should be referenced using the Westminster Harvard Guide which is Essential Reading of the module Reading List in Week 1.