Sara
Zanni
Junior Assistant Professor of Business and Management Engineering University of Bologna Core Faculty
Sara Zanni is Junior Assistant Professor at the University of Bologna and member of the Bologna Business School Centre for Sustainability and Climate Change. Experience as practitioner in the field of sustainability measurement at company’s and industrial ecosystems’ level, evaluation the life cycle of products and processes, environmental risk assessment and decontamination of environmental matrices. She completed her PhD in Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering at the Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering (DICAM), University of Bologna in 2017 on testing and validation of innovative biotechnologies for environmental remediation. She was Climate Kic Pioneer in 2015. She is currently Junior Assistant Professor at the Department of Management, University of Bologna, involved in several research projects at national and international level, such as “Flagship Reindustrialise”, financed by EU Commission through the EIT Climate-KIC, and the Observatory “Sustainability Measurement and Management Laboratory (SuMM Lab)”. She has published several scientific articles on international peer reviewed journals and participated in many international conferences. She holds courses and seminars on Business Sustainability, sustainability measurement and Life Cycle Assessment at undergraduate and executive level at the University of Bologna, Bologna Business School and other research entities at national and international level.
COURSES
Every year our society uses the resources that the planet Earth takes about a year and a half to regenerate. This and other empirical evidence of global significance bring the theme of sustainability to the center of the economic, political and social debate. Recent studies show that a sustainability-oriented management approach adopted by some companies leads to a medium-long term competitive advantage over competitors, a success achieved thanks to the ability to innovate the business model and introduce measurement tools to monitor and better manage the value creation process. The course aims to launch a debate on how to introduce sustainability policies and practices within companies.
Hybrid MBAMore and more people maintain that it is society’s needs, not just economic ones, which drive markets. The goal of this course is to transfer the concept that a company managed in a sustainable manner, i.e. that integrates elements of a social and environmental nature in the management of the business, will be more effective in the long run in creating value for itself and its surrounding context.
MBA WeekendOver the last decade sustainability, corporate social responsibility and stakeholder management practices have become paramount for companies as well as for the society at large. Although most companies have developed sustainability programs over the years, as they’re cutting carbon emissions, reducing waste, and otherwise enhancing operational efficiency, we are witnessing a mishmash of sustainability tactics that does not add up to a sustainable strategy. To endure, a sustainable strategy has to cope with the competing – and apparently divergent – interests of all stakeholders: investors, employees, customers, governments, NGOs, and society.
In this context corporate Performance Measurement Systems (PMS) play a key role as they help companies to formalize and implement their sustainable strategies as well as to proactively identify new trajectories that help companies to appropriately reconcile the trade-offs between different stakeholders’ wants and needs.
Sustainability Transition Management
Sustainability Transition Management (Part-time)
In recent decades, sustainability practices and corporate social responsibility (CSR) have assumed primary importance for companies as well as for society in general. Although many companies have developed sustainability programs over the years, reducing carbon missions and the amount of waste by boosting operational efficiency on the other, we are seeing a mixture of sustainability tactics that do not increase sustainable strategies.
The purpose of this course is to start a debate about the role and functioning of modern societies when challenges, opportunities and possible solutions in the field of sustainability emerge. Specifically, the aim of the course is to investigate the links between CSR sustainability and the key role that digital technologies can play as a means of translating sustainability strategies into actual results.
Over the last decade sustainability, corporate social responsibility and stakeholder management practices have become paramount for companies as well as for the society at large. Although most companies have developed sustainability programs over the years, as they’re cutting carbon emissions, reducing waste, and otherwise enhancing operational efficiency, we are witnessing a mishmash of sustainability tactics that does not add up to a sustainable strategy. To endure, a sustainable strategy has to cope with the competing – and apparently divergent – interests of all stakeholders: investors, employees, customers, governments, NGOs, and society.
In this context corporate Performance Measurement Systems (PMS) play a key role as they help companies to formalize and implement their sustainable strategies as well as to proactively identify new trajectories that help companies to appropriately reconcile the trade-offs between different stakeholders’ wants and needs.
Sustainability and Business InnovationGreen Energy and Sustainable Businesses
Every year, our society uses the amount of resources that it takes planet Earth a year and a half to regenerate. This and other global, empirical evidence items bring the topic of sustainability at the center of the economic, political and social debate. Recent studies have shown the way in which a sustainability-oriented management approach adopted by certain companies leads to a medium-long term competitive advantage versus competitors, a success achieved also thanks to the ability to innovate the business model and introduce measuring tools to monitor and manage at best the value creation process. The aim of the course is to start a debate on the possible ways to introduce sustainability policies and practices for companies. In particular, by way of case-studies and traditional lectures, the course will deal with three main topics:
- Business sustainability and triple bottomline
- Sustainability-oriented innovation
- Green business models
The course aims to provide students with an introduction on how to measure sustainability in organizations. Specifically we will highlight how the agri-food sector could benefit from a proper implementation of sustainability measurement processes and practices. The course will have an “hands-on” approach, rooted in Life Cycle Thinking, and developed in accordance with the EU main regulatory frameworks. Students will receive the necessary knowledge for setting up a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for a product, a process or an organization. The course will provide a solid theoretical introduction and but also practical activities which will allow students to deal with the main critical aspects of the LCA methodology (e.g. conceptual model definition, interpretation of results) and acquire a first practical experience of these tools.
Food Innovation and Regeneration“Sustainability,” a much used and sometimes abused word by companies and entrepreneurs. Sustainability means not only “doing the same things better,” but also “doing things differently” and “doing them with others.” These different approaches to sustainability also imply different performance and outcomes for businesses and companies, performance that must be measured, in order to be better managed. This course will address these issues by analyzing how to measure sustainability within enterprises and organizational ecosystems, with a focus on developing management control dashboards, developing key performance indicators, and setting performance targets.
Business Management – Green Management and Sustainable Businesses