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21832 Organisational Sustainability: Analysis and practice
Assessment Task 2 full description
Subject Learning Objectives
Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:
1. Examine contributing factors to the sustainability problems faced by society and the planet
2. Analyse the key elements of human and environmental sustainability which have
implications for organisational decision-makers, including corporate managers
3. Discuss the cultural and strategic challenges faced by organisations in adopting sustainability
strategies and practices in relation to stakeholders
4. Evaluate the relationship between environmental/social risk and corporate performance
5. Apply key concepts and techniques of voluntary reporting, sustainable business models and
certification systems that could progress organisations towards social and environmental
sustainability
Assessment task 2: Case Study Analysis and Report
This task addresses subject learning objective(s): 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. It is weighted 60% of the total
subject assessment marks (40% Individual and 20% Group).
This task is designed to develop your ability to critically analyse sustainability-related issues and
performance in a multi-stakeholder real-life context. You will be required to assess a complex
sustainability challenge posed by an industry partner and develop and propose solutions.
This is a multimodal (written and presentation) two-part task, with both individual and group
elements, and with work occurring both within class tutorials and through self-organised individual
and group work outside of tutorials, as summarised below:
Week In-class activity After-class activity
7: 20 September Briefing on Assessment 2
Teams confirmed
Teams agree on a value chain to work on
and allocate individual work components
Co-development of quality criteria for
individual contributions
Individual work commences
STUVAC Individual work continues
8: 4 October Check-in on individual progress
Informal whole-of-class problem-solving
Peer review of individual work-in-progress
contributions against quality criteria
Survey of teamworking dynamics
9: 11 October Individual work-in-progress due 23:59
Tuesday 10 October before class
Collaboration on team components
commences
Collaboration on team components continues
10: 18 October Check-in on team progress
Informal whole-of-class problem-solving
Teams informally present and receive formative
feedback from their ‘buddy’ teams
11: 25 October Individual speech script/talking points and group PowerPoint presentation due 23:59 Tuesday 24
October before class
Assessment 2 group presentations
12: 1 November Assessment 2 group presentations

2. 2
Individual task: Each member of the team will individually analyse a unique component of the
problem challenge. Initial individual work-in-progress is submitted through Turnitin in Week 9.
Group task: After the individual task is complete, teams will consider and evaluate the individual
analyses through a peer review process and synthesise the collective impact these have on the
problem challenge. Through this evaluation, the team will develop recommendations that respond
to the problem challenge.
Each member’s individual analysis and the teams’ recommendations will be delivered within a single
presentation (all students presenting) in Weeks 11-12 with the individual and group components
submitted beforehand as a speech script or talking points and PowerPoint presentation. These
presentations with individual and group elements comprise the assessable work.
Students will have the opportunity to work on this task during class, and formative feedback will be
provided at various stages of the project from peers, a ‘buddy’ team and instructors.
Background to the challenge
Australia is one of the world’s biggest emitters per capita. In early 2023, the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change, the body of the world’s leading climate scientists (IPCC), released the AR6
Synthesis Report on climate science1
. The report (building on earlier reports) confirms that:
• Global warming is likely to reach 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels (the target of the Paris
Agreement) between 2030 and 2035.
• Limiting warming to 1.5° means achieving net zero global emissions by the early 2050s (or by
the early 2070s to limit warming to 2.0°).
• Limiting warming to 1.5° and 2.0° requires rapid, deep and immediate reductions, and
overshooting is almost inevitable.
The business community is responsible for most global emissions, and it follows that transition to
net zero is an urgent priority. The potential economic opportunity loss from climate impacts is well
recognised; inaction on climate change will be the most significant risk to the global economy over
the next decade2
. The achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 13 (‘take urgent action
to combat climate change and its impacts’) and related SDGs such as 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 provides
the context for action. More recently, the Federal Government’s Climate Change Bill 2022 has
legislated the pledge to cut national emissions by 43% by 2030 (compared with 2005) and to achieve
net zero by 2050.
Your challenge: developing sector strategies to achieve net zero.
Your problem challenge is to work individually and collaboratively to develop and present ideas that
will best enable the achievement of net zero emissions across a value chain of your choice. The
transition to net zero is a complex systems challenge, requiring more radical action and a shift in
focus from individual organisations to value chains and sectors across what will be a whole-of-
economy universal transformation.
1
IPCC Climate Change 2023 Synthesis Report Summary for Policymakers
2
WEF The Global Risks Report 2023

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Companies have made good progress on decarbonising their operational activities, but attention is
turning to the emissions across the entire value chain – both upstream and downstream – which
arise from an organisation’s products or services, but which fall outside an organisation’s direct
management or ownership. Most of any one organisation’s total emissions (65-95%) are such ‘scope
3’ emissions, and not included within ‘scope 1’ and ‘scope 2’ boundaries, as explained in the
diagrams below. Every organisation’s scope 3 emissions are someone else's scope 1 or scope 2
emissions – this is the challenge and the opportunity.
Source: WRI/WBCSD Corporate Value Chain Accounting and Reporting Standard
[28] Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard
Table [5.1] Overview of the scopes
appliance it produces, and the product retailer can offer
more energy-efficient product choices.
By allowing for GHG accounting of direct and indirect
emissions by multiple companies in a value chain,
scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3 accounting facilitates
the simultaneous action of multiple entities to reduce
emissions throughout society. Because of this type
of double counting, scope 3 emissions should not
be aggregated across companies to determine total
emissions in a given region. Note that while a single
emission may be accounted for by more than one
company as scope 3, in certain cases the emission is
accounted for by each company in a different scope
3 category (see section 5.4). For more information on
double counting within scope 3, see section 9.6.
5.2 Organizational boundaries
and scope 3 emissions
Defining the organizational boundary is a key step in
corporate GHG accounting. This step determines which
operations are included in the company’s organizational
boundary and how emissions from each operation are
consolidated by the reporting company. As detailed in
the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, a company has
three options for defining its organizational boundaries as
shown in table 5.2.
Companies should use a consistent consolidation approach
across the scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3 inventories.
The selection of a consolidation approach affects which
activities in the company’s value chain are categorized
as direct emissions (i.e., scope 1 emissions) and indirect
emissions (i.e., scope 2 and scope 3 emissions). Operations
or activities that are excluded from a company’s scope 1
and scope 2 inventories as a result of the organizational
boundary definition (e.g., leased assets, investments, and
Emissions type Scope Definition Examples
Direct emissions Scope 1 Emissions from operations
that are owned or
controlled by the reporting
company
Emissions from combustion
in owned or controlled
boilers, furnaces, vehicles,
etc.; emissions from
chemical production in
owned or controlled
process equipment
Indirect emissions
Scope 2 Emissions from the
generation of purchased
or acquired electricity,
steam, heating, or cooling
consumed by the
reporting company
Use of purchased electricity,
steam, heating, or cooling
Scope 3 All indirect emissions (not
included in scope 2) that
occur in the value chain of
the reporting company,
including both upstream
and downstream emissions
Production of purchased
products, transportation of
purchased products, or use
of sold products

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As an example, Australian companies mine and export resources for processing in other countries.
The operational emissions for local companies may be comparatively limited, but the scope 3
emissions are enormous and embedded into what is exported, limiting the opportunities for
customers to mitigate what for them are scope 1 emissions. Conversely, changing what is mined (or
manufactured, such as rethinking product design) can lead to far fewer emissions downstream.
There are many challenges in tackling scope 3 emissions. Organisations are likely to have less
control, or even influence over such emissions and data can be limited, and is frequently estimated,
allied to the conundrum that the same emissions can be accounted for by multiple different entities
in the value chain, raising the question of who should be responsible for reducing them. Conversely,
there are many potential business benefits from tackling scope 3 emissions, not limited to risk
mitigation, efficiencies, and new markets and new supply chains.
Rising pressure from consumers (for ‘sustainable’ products and increased transparency) and
investors (reallocating capital in the face of climate risk), regulators, such as the incoming IFRS
sustainability reporting standards and accelerating policy moves (such as the European Green Deal)
aligned with the targets of the Paris Agreement, mean that organisations are increasingly expected
to take responsibility for scope 3 emissions and to set net zero targets which include them3
.
Many organisations are making such pledges, but they are mostly insufficiently robust. As an
example, according to a recent Accenture study4
, almost one third of the 1000+ largest European
companies have already set a net zero target covering scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions to be achieved by
2050 at the latest – but, to illustrate the challenge, only 5% are on track to meet their net zero target
only including scope 1 and 2 emissions.
While many common solutions (such as technologies and supportive regulation) have been
identified, the pathway to net zero will be different for each sector. Some sectors are hard to abate,
but conversely, other sectors have what might be an unexpected role to play.
Outline of the experiential process
This is a live challenge with no right answers. Instead, it requires research and creativity; being
curious and seeking to understand the system and the problem from different points of view.
In summary:
• As a group, choose a value chain to work on collaboratively.
• Individually, analyse the challenges and opportunities for achieving net zero focused on one
entity within the value chain and identify one strategy.
• As a group, prioritise and synthesise your individual analyses into three big strategic ideas to
transform and decarbonise your sector.
3
PwC Australia ESG Trends in 2022; The Sustainability Institute What’s next for Sustainable Business 2022
Trends Report; WBCSD Value Chain Carbon Transparency Pathfinder
4
Accenture Reaching Net Zero by 2050

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Week 7 in-class activity (group)
• Teams (of six) confirmed via Canvas People.
• As a team, select a value chain within a sector and identify who are the key
stakeholders/entities across the value chain. Each team within a tutorial selects a different
value chain or part of a value chain. Teams must specify their value chain and focus using the
sign-up sheets provided on Canvas. Each team will then be matched with a ‘buddy’ team to
provide formative peer feedback.
• The starting point might be a focal organisation, or the end-user and point of purchase
decision, or, conversely, raw material production.
• Defining and representing the value chain is part of the challenge, and an opportunity for
creative approaches. What are the stakeholders/entities involved? What are the
relationships/interdependencies? Note that different entities may have different
perspectives on what constitutes the value chain.
• Each person selects one (different) stakeholder/entity to examine in depth.
Week 7 after-class activity (individual)
• Conduct research on: 1) the material ethical and/or sustainability issues or priorities for your
stakeholder/entity; and 2) the key challenges and opportunities for achieving net zero from
your perspective.
• Identify one strategy for your stakeholder/entity that could enable transformation to net
zero across the value chain, drawing on the perspectives discussed in the subject and your
own research. For example, you might select a new compliance mechanism or standard
(including accounting/reporting to tackle the data problem), regulation, operational eco-
efficiency, sustainability-oriented innovation such a critical decarbonisation technology or
business model innovation, new forms of collaboration through the value chain, advocacy
and communication, or changes in consumer behaviour. In addition, feel free to explore
other ideas such as a place-based or regional initiative.
• Consider whether your proposal is a radical or incremental change.
Capture your research and thinking as work-in-progress report and include your references. Note
that while this is ungraded, it is compulsory and should be submitted through Canvas by 23:59
Tuesday 10 October, week 9.
You should address the following questions:
1. What are the material ethical and/or sustainability issues or priorities for your
stakeholder/entity?
2. What is the strategic intervention to enable net zero across the value chain?
3. How will this idea help move the whole value chain toward achieving net zero?
4. What are the broader potential social, ecological and commercial benefits for your
stakeholder/entity and across the value chain?
5. If this strategy were to be implemented, which stakeholders/entities in the value chain will
likely be affected? How will they be affected? What are their likely forms of cooperation
(shared value benefits)? What are their likely forms of resistance (costs and burdens)?
Week 8 outside of class activity (individual/group)
• Everyone presents their key idea for strategic transformation in a roundtable format within
their value chain team. The team provides peer feedback: team members listen, take their

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own notes, and provide feedback and ask questions using the quality criteria developed in
class.
Week 9 in-class activity (individual/group)
• Individual work-in-progress analysis is submitted through Canvas by 23:59 Tuesday 10
October.
• As a team you then discuss all ideas that have been presented with an aim of synthesising
and prioritising the collective impact these have on the problem challenge to create three
big strategic ideas for transforming the value chain and setting the pathway for rapid
decarbonisation of your sector.
Create a PowerPoint presentation. With a maximum of 20 slides and 3 mins/person individual plus 5
mins for the group component, the suggested structure is:
1. Introductory slide which is a visual representation of your value chain and the components
that you collectively examined.
2. A second slide summarising the dynamics of the challenge for your value chain and sector.
3. Each person’s individual analysis and recommendation.
4. The group recommendations and reflections, including sequencing and any necessary
drivers and strategic and cultural barriers and how these can be overcome.
Items 1, 2 and 4 are ‘group’ elements. It is suggested that one or two people present these on behalf
of the group. Add supporting text and references in the Notes Page view of your slides.
Week 10 in-class activity (group)
Team members continue to collaborate to develop the PowerPoint presentation.
Week 10 outside of class activity (group)
Teams informally present and receive formative feedback from their ‘buddy’ teams.
Week 11 and Week 12 in-class presentations (tutorials and lecture slot)
• Each member’s individual analysis and the group’s recommendations will be delivered
within a single in-class team presentation (all students presenting).
• Non-presenting teams participate in the class by active listening and asking questions to
identify any cross-sector barriers or drivers and suggest recommendations as a class on how
to enable universal decarbonisation most effectively and a just transition to serve the needs
of future generations.
Length: It is expected that all students will speak for a maximum of three minutes, with an additional
five minutes allocated to the group recommendations and reflections, followed by a five-minute
Q&A.
Submission: The finalised individual talking points/speech script plus a single PowerPoint
presentation should be submitted via Turnitin through Canvas. All components for all groups are due
23:59 Tuesday 24 October (week 11). The PowerPoint presentation should comprise a maximum of
20 annotated slides with supporting text and references added in the Notes Page view.

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Assessment criteria and rubric
Individual task questions
1. What are the material ethical and/or sustainability issues or priorities for your
stakeholder/entity?
2. What is the strategic intervention to enable net zero across the value chain?
3. How will this idea help move the whole value chain toward achieving net zero?
4. What are the broader potential social, ecological and commercial benefits for your
stakeholder/entity and across the value chain?
5. If this strategy were to be implemented, which stakeholders/entities in the value chain will
likely be affected? How will they be affected? What are their likely forms of cooperation
(shared value benefits)? What are their likely forms of resistance (costs and burdens)?
Individual in-class presentation assessment criteria
• Identifies key human and ecological sustainability issues facing the impacted organisations
and communities
• Demonstrate relationship between ecological/social risk and organisational performance in
critical analysis and recommendations
• Discuss the cultural and strategic challenges implicated in adopting recommendations
Criteria (A) Exceeds
Expectations
(B) Meets expectations (C) Doesn’t meet
expectations
Identifies key human and
ecological sustainability
issues facing the impacted
organisations and
communities
Multiple perspectives
including industry
frameworks/tools are
used to develop a
sophisticated analysis
of both current and
emerging/future
ethical and/or
sustainability issues
facing the entity
examined
At least two
perspectives used to
correctly identify core
ethical and/or
sustainability issues
facing the entity
examined
Minimal, inaccurate, or
no critical analysis of
the core ethical and/or
sustainability issues
facing the entity
examined
Relates to task question 1.
Demonstrate relationship
between ecological/social
risk and organisational
performance in critical
analysis and
recommendations
Comprehensively
demonstrates the
substantive impact of
your strategic
intervention (including
an attempt at
quantification) in
terms of the goal of
net zero and broader
social, ecological and
economic benefits,
applying multiple
ethical/sustainable
concepts, relevant data
and/or theoretical
models
Competently
demonstrates the
substantive impact of
your strategic
intervention in terms
of the goal of net zero
and broader social,
ecological and
economic benefits,
applying some
ethical/sustainable
concepts, relevant data
and/or theoretical
models
Minimal, or no critical
analysis of the
substantive impact of
your strategic
intervention in terms of
the goal of net zero
and broader social,
ecological and
economic benefits

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Relates to task questions 2, 3 and 4
Discuss the cultural and
strategic challenges
implicated in adopting
recommendations
Comprehensively
identifying which
stakeholders and/or
entities in the value
chain will most likely
be affected and
describes the impact
fully including their
likely forms of
cooperation and/or
resistance and
providing
recommendations to
maximise the
effectiveness of your
strategic intervention
Demonstrate principles
of social responsibility
by competently
identifying which
stakeholders and/or
entities in the value
chain will most likely
be affected and
describes the impact
fully
Minimal, or no critical
analysis of which
stakeholders and/or
entities in the value
chain will most likely be
affected
Relates to task question 5.
2C Group Presentation and Slides (20%)
Group task questions/elements
1. Introductory slide which is a visual representation of your value chain and the components
that you collectively examined.
2. A second slide summarising the dynamics of the challenge for your value chain and sector.
3. Each person’s individual analysis and recommendation.
4. The group recommendations and reflections, including sequencing and any necessary
drivers and strategic and cultural barriers and how these can be overcome.
Group in-class presentation assessment criteria
• Articulate the contributing factors to the sustainability challenge posed.
• Synthesis, prioritisation and proposed roadmap/sequencing of individual recommendations.
• Justification of overall recommendations.
• Collaboration and cohesion in presentation.

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Criteria (A) Exceeds
Expectations
(B) Meets expectations (C) Doesn’t meet
expectations
Articulate the contributing
factors to the sustainability
challenge posed.
Comprehensive
analysis of the drivers
which explain the
nature of the challenge
for the chosen value
chain/sector
Competent analysis of
the drivers which
explain the nature of
the challenge for the
chosen value
chain/sector
Minimal or no critical
analysis of the specifics
of the challenge for the
chosen value
chain/sector
Relates to task questions/elements 1 and 2.
Synthesis, prioritisation and
proposed
roadmap/sequencing of
individual recommendations
Sophisticated
argument as to the
coherence/connection
between the three big
group ideas presented
plus a detailed
roadmap
Some discussion of the
coherence/connection
of the three big group
ideas presented plus
suggestions on
sequencing
Minimal, or no
discussion of
coherence/connection
and sequencing
Relates to task question/element 4. Note: For consideration here is how
your ideas will work together in the real world and the extent to which your
ideas leverage each other to maximise their impact. Conversely, there may
be little coherence between the ideas, but you still support them. If so,
explain why this is so.
Justification of overall
recommendations
Powerful argument
provided as to why
these three big group
ideas are the best
Mature reflections on
the challenge set
Reasonable argument
provided as to why
these three big group
ideas are the best
Some reflections on
the challenge set
Superficial or
uncompelling
arguments, or no
justification of the
three big ideas
Relates to task question/element 4. Note: Consider how you can build a
powerful argument in support of your three ideas. Are they feasible? It
might be relevant to discuss the ideas that were rejected or outline how
you developed and strengthened your ideas as a group. Include any
relevant contextual factors that you identify which are drivers and barriers
to the take-up of your ideas.
Collaboration and cohesion
in presentation
Presentation
demonstrates a
compelling argument
due to coherence
between individual and
group elements,
polished delivery
indicating rehearsal,
and a capacity to
respond to Q&A
collectively
Presentation
demonstrates a good
argument with
generally good
coherence between
individual and group
elements and
competent delivery
Presentation lacks
coherence and logical
flow due to repetition
or disconnection
between elements
and/or inconsistent use
of PowerPoint
template
Relates to task question/element 4. Note: Your team presentation
combines both individual and group elements which are assessed
independently. You will need to work together to best present these as a
logical and well-structured argument.

10. 10
Resources on the transition to net zero
There are numerous resources on this complex challenge. This is a research exercise, but some
starters follow.
Start with the Australian climate Leaders
Coalition Scope 3 roadmap
The coalition has around 50 CEO members. It
includes both major emitters, perspectives
from many different sectors, and publicly listed,
private and NGO organisations. Tackling scope
3 emissions was the CLC’s key project in 2022.
McKinsey Sustainability net zero transition
webinar and report and short introductory
video
A big picture introduction to the scale of
change required.
McKinsey podcast: Taking the first steps toward
net zero
A good introduction to the challenge and
opportunity of net zero.
WRI/WBCSD Greenhouse Gas Protocol
Corporate Value Chain explainer video and
Scope 3 Accounting and Reporting Standard
A great resource which explains the significance
of scope 3 emissions and provides guidance on
identifying emissions in the value chain and
approaches to reduce emissions.
Net Zero Tracker Net zero commitments by countries, regions
and organisations.
Climate Action Tracker Analysis of country level policies and pledges on
emissions.
The B Team Radical Collaboration for Climate
Action
A generic model of how organisations can
reduce emissions across the value chain
(operations, supply chain, products and
services, sector leadership, advocacy etc).
Natural Capital Partners Climate Imprint Model Like above – a generic model of how
organisations can reduce emissions across the
value chain.
UNFCCC Climate Action Pathways Roadmaps for climate action organised into
broad themes, such as water, transport, and
industry. Each theme covers multiple sub-areas.
Industry includes ‘light industry’ such as FMCG,
fashion and retail.
UNFCCC Race to Zero and 2030 Breakthroughs
report
UN-backed global initiative for all non-state
actors and so includes cities, regions etc. as well
as organisations. Members pledge to reach net
zero as soon as possible and by 2050 at the
latest, including scope 3.
IPCC Special Report: Global Warming of 1.5 °C:
Chapter 2 Mitigation pathways
A lot of technical detail! Some insights
organised into broad themes (energy, industry,
building, transport, land use and agriculture
starting in section 2.4.
BCG-WEF Net Zero Challenge including The
Supply Chain Opportunity report
Analysis of the transition to net zero for eight
value chains accounting for >50% of global
emissions.
Mission Possible Partnership Action Sectors
And other World Economic Forum (WEF) sector
initiatives
The Action Sectors outline collaboration for net
zero within seven sectors/value chains.

11. 11
McKinsey Sustainability timeline to net zero
and McKinsey Quarterly sector resources (scroll
down)
Analysis of the transition to net zero for eight
sectors.
University of Oxford Net Zero sector resources Analysis of the transition to net zero for ten
sectors.
WBCSD: Projects (top tab) Numerous diverse relevant projects (such as
plastics and packaging value chains, tires,
mobility decarbonisation, built environment
decarbonisation, value chain carbon
transparency.
McKinsey & Co Making supply-chain
decarbonisation happen
Outlines the challenge of tackling scope 3
emissions.
McKinsey Sustainability Innovating to net zero
and Climate technologies for net zero
A focus on transformational technologies.
Science Based Targets Initiative sector guidance This initiative is focused on guidance to set
‘science-based targets’ meaning that they are
aligned with the latest climate science
necessary to meet the Paris Agreement. There
are a series of standards at varying level of
development which are great resources for
understanding emissions across value chains.
Science Based Targets Initiative Value Change in
the Value Chain: Best practices in scope 3
greenhouse gas management report available
under Resources
Another good resource setting out tactics to
reduce scope 3 emissions.
EY Net Zero Centre EY’s general resources
Club of Rome Race to Zero Dialogues The Club of Rome is an international not-for-
profit membership organisation of thought-
leaders focused on global issues.
Transition Pathway Initiative tool An investor-led initiative which evaluates and
tracks the quality of companies’ management
of the transition and planned carbon
performance.
SBC Value chain guide A useful template resource from the New
Zealand Sustainable Business Council

12. 12
Q&A
Q: What do you mean by sector, value chain and stakeholders/entities?
The essence of this challenge is to understand the need for a systems perspective with the goal of
reducing emissions across a whole sector. There are limitations in what can be achieved by single
organisations, or even a category (such as airlines).
By sector, we mean a large segment of the economy defined by related business activity, product or
service. Hence the ‘aviation’ sector as an example. Value chain refers to the assemblage of entities
and their interdependencies or other relationships needed to produce and deliver a product or
service. This might well be better conceived of as a system rather than ‘chain’:
• What is required to produce a product or service?
• What are the raw materials used?
• Where and how are they processed?
• Where and how is the product manufactured?
• Who are the customers and how do they buy it?
• How is the product or service used?
• What happens to it then?
• How is the product or service transported through each stage?
There are examples of specific value chains in the provided resources. The SBC value chain guide
(also provided) provides templates for both products and services.
In the case of aviation, the value chain includes raw material production, airframe and engine
manufacturers, fuel manufacturers, airlines, leasing companies, airport infrastructure, air traffic
control and other ground services, technical support, travel agents and platforms etc.
The value chain concept is important for this challenge because scope 3 emissions are specifically
defined as ‘indirect’ emissions resulting from value chain activities, meaning that they are a
consequence of the activities of any specific organisation, but over which that organisation has no
direct control.
It gets more complicated, in that if our goal is to reduce emissions across a value chain or the
broader sector, there are likely to be other actors or enablers (‘stakeholders’) implicated, such as
industry bodies and member-based organisations, policy makers and regulators, finance actors and
civil society.
To extend our example, the Clean Skies Coalition, a Mission Possible Partnership, is a ‘global, cross-
value-chain coalition working to facilitate the transition to net-zero flying by 2050’. You can see the
range of its membership in the figure which follows.

13. 13
To bring all this together, your task is to work as a group on a value chain (or part of a value chain)
within your chosen sector, and to select key entities to work on individually. You might ‘zoom-out’ to
look at a whole value chain, or ‘zoom-in’ to parts of the value chain. You might stick with the entities
between which there is an exchange relationship or include other actors which you think are pivotal
(or have potential to be so) in the collective effort of reducing emissions.
It’s up to you to define your problem area but think forward to your presentation. You will need to
present your value chain and justify what you examined within that.
Q: Should our focus be on scope 3 emissions only?
No – we are taking a systems view of the emissions across a value chain. While many companies are
actively reporting on and managing their scope 1 and scope 2 emissions, we can’t assume that they
are minimising emissions, for all kinds of reasons – the limits of current technology, current business
models, sector norms, first-mover disadvantage with costly new technologies, motivation etc. These
emissions represent scope 3 emissions for entities upstream and downstream in the value chain.
Taking the perspective of an individual organisation in the value chain, the question is: what are the
total emissions (both direct and indirect) associated with its products or services, and how can they
be reduced? The organisation could:
• Work with existing suppliers to improve current processes
• Switch to alternative (reduced emission) suppliers
• Work with its immediate customers to redesign products
• Work across the sector to develop a transformational technology (such as zero-emission
hydrogen-fuelled aircraft in the case of aviation)
• Work to influence the behaviour of millions of final consumers on how they use and dispose
of a product
As individuals and households, we do have scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions – we just don’t report them!
We burn petrol or diesel in our vehicles and might use gas to cook with (scope 1); we use electricity
(scope 2); we purchase food, household products and travel, and there are further emissions
associated with water and waste treatment and the ‘full life’ impact of our vehicles and housing.
Returning to our example, do you think the aviation sector will work to shift consumer behaviour by
removing short-haul flights in favour of zero-emission high speed rail?

14. 14
Overall, this task is all about understanding these interdependencies between the many
entities/stakeholders involved in what needs to be a collective effort to reduce emissions.
Q: How does assessment 2A (the individual work-in-progress) relate to assessment 2B (the
individual speech script/talking points and presentation), and to assessment 2C (group PowerPoint
pack and presentation)? How are these components marked?
This assessment has both individual and group elements. The significance of the group element is
the opportunity to learn from each other, and to learn more than can be achieved individually, when
there are no easy answers to the challenge you have been posed. Each person brings a perspective
from their individual analysis, as the basis for the group exploration and recommendations.
The individual work-in-progress (2A) is not graded but ensures that everyone in the group has
conducted their own research and will be able to contribute to the group learning. The exact form of
what you submit is up to you, but the report should respond to the questions posed. Your team
peers will assess your ideas against quality criteria developed in class.
This work will then form the basis of what you present in class (2B) which forms the 40% individual
assessment. In addition, one or more member of the group will present your group
recommendations (2C) noat the same time, which forms the 20% group assessment.
Q: Can you clarify what I need to submit and when and their structure?
2A
The intent of 2A is that it is a work-in-progress towards your in-class presentation in week 11/12,
which is what will be assessed. It captures your analysis and ideas, and the materials (as references)
you have drawn-on, and it is a proof point of your individual work before you come together again as
a group.
2B
A reminder that the 40% individual assessment is in-class, but instructors will access what has been
submitted overall for reference and clarification when finalising grades. Submit your individual
speech script or talking points. Please ensure that what you submit closely reflects what you intend
to say. If you submit a speech script, the word count should correspond to the 3-minute limit. Please
include references with the script or talking points.
2C
This is the single PowerPoint pack for each group with annotated slides (Notes Page view) which
includes everyone’s individual analysis plus the group recommendations. Again, please include
references in the notes and/or as a final slide in the pack.
Only one person in each groups needs to submit the PowerPoint pack because this is set up as a
group assessment item in Canvas. Be careful to finalise your pack before uploading. Once one person
has uploaded the pack, nobody else in the group can do so!
Please submit the pack as a PowerPoint file (not a PDF) so that instructors can read your notes.