Sustainable Supply Chains

Course information

Learning outcomes

After completing the course, the students are able to:
•  Recognize the different elements of the triple bottom line i.e. economic, environmental and social
sustainability in the context of supply chains
• Develop environmental and social sustainability strategies and practices into different stages and
functions within a supply chain
• Identify and overcome supply chain sustainability implementation challenges
• Evaluate how sustainability strategies impact supply chain performance from environmental, social
and economic viewpoints
• Recognize industry differences and challenges in implementing supply chain sustainability

Content

The course topics include the triple bottom line in supply chain context, i.e. environmental, social and economic sustainability. Topics include benefits of sustainability in supply chains, environmental issues in purchasing and supply, sustainability in logistics, circular economy approaches to supply chains, social sustainability in supply chains, sustainability certifications and implementation issues. Different environmental sustainability perspectives are discussed, such as emissions reduction, water sustainability and biodiversity conservation. Both organization and industry perspectives are discussed on the course.

Teacher

Katri Kauppi

Study material

Several academic articles, details will be given in the syllabys.

Workload

• Lectures
• Independent work
• Group work
• Exam

Prerequisites

No prerequisites.

Evaluation

• Exam
• Assignments (group & individual assignments)

Teaching time and location

The teaching time and the location of the course can be found in the Sisu information system.

1. The link leads to Completion methods tab of the course page
2. From the top of the page (Version drop-down menu), check that academic year 2026-2027 is selected  
3. From the blue bar, choose the right teaching and open the Groups and study events tab to see the teaching time and location of the course. To see exam times, click Exam.

Exam instructions at the Open University

The teacher has four (4) weeks to grade the exam submissions starting from the exam date.

Online learning environment for the course  

MyCourses online learning environment is a tool for both students and teachers for communication and managing everyday course work. You need an Aalto User ID to log in to the course's MyCourses workspace and participate in teaching.

Digital workspace of the course:
MyCourses

More details on completing the course will be available at MyCourses closer to the start of the course.

Registration and course fee

Registration for Open University courses is done via the link below: 
Course registration

Registration for this course starts on 10.8.2026 at 9.00  
Registration for this course ends on 5.9.2026 at 23.59

It is not possible to register before the registration period has started or after it has ended.

The number of participants is limited to 10.

This course is organized by the Aalto University School of Business.

The course fee is paid upon registration for each course at a time and it is binding. Familiarize yourself with registration and payment rules as well as other guidelines for students:
Registration, payments and rules