About the course

Sustainability is an embedded practice in many businesses. It recognises the long term benefits of acknowledging the social and environmental impacts of production and consumption. While governments encourage responsible social and environmental action, implementation is often left to individual organisations and many of these are under pressure from shareholders driven by a profit-centred return on investment (ROI) model. And so, environmental and sustainable practices often become a HR matter - it’s people that must make the difference.

This course will explore what constitutes sustainability from both ecological and business perspectives. We will investigate the emergence of sustainable approaches to human resources, known as ‘Green HR’, and identify various types of sustainability models.

Examine Green HR in the fashion industry

We will take you on a journey through the fashion industry where we’ll explore the essential features of Green HR, including the value placed on human capital and the necessary balancing of sustainable values and business viability.

Make sustainable business work in practice

Operating a sustainable business is a balancing act. We will examine how sustainability and Green HR can work in practice by examining:

How to change mindsets to balance self-interest and social responsibility
How to identify and overcome barriers to sustainable business
The drivers of change towards a sustainable approach
How to implement a multi-stage approach to sustainability
The role of Green HR in developing, implementing and maintaining sustainable shared values and initiatives.

Throughout the course we identify the internal and external drivers of sustainable practice and cultural change, and explore several critical issues, such as transparency and authenticity.

What topics will you cover?

What is green HR and how relevant is it to organisations becoming sustainable
The nature of sustainability including internal and external drivers toward change and barriers inhibiting change to show the nature of the organisational mindset required to acknowledge the need to move toward sustainability and beyond compliance
Sustainable return on investment (S-ROI) and ‘Triple top line’ (TTL) to demonstrate how sustainability gains can be measured and valued by the business
The role of HR in corporate human sustainability to show operational functions for sustainability within the business including networking and green rewards
Human sustainability to understand the importance of human capital and being inclusive of all stakeholders
Ecological sustainability to distinguish between green practices and organisation-wide sustainability and show how leadership is required to go beyond rhetoric and provide transparency

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and learn at your own pace. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

Available now

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

Define sustainability from an ecological and human resource perspective
Identify the stages of sustainability, and the drivers of change to business sustainability
Define and apply green HR tools and strategies
Develop green HR as a concept for organisations to achieve beyond compliance
Explore the concept of triple top line approach for sustainability
Explore the elements of green HR and the linkages between ecological and human sustainability
Assess the effective of business strategies and approaches to sustainability

Who is the course for?

This course is aimed at professionals and students in disciplines of operations, finance, marketing, or human resources, who wish to learn more about sustainable Green HR practices.

What software or tools do you need?

To take part in this course, you'll need:

A computer or laptop, with access to the Internet.
Computer audio output.
Adobe Reader; and
A computer mouse.

Who developed the course?

RMIT University

One of Australia’s original tertiary institutions, RMIT is a global university, with over 80,000 students, specialising in technology, design and enterprise.

Established1887
LocationMelbourne, Australia
World rankingTop 230Source: QS World University Rankings 2021

Learning on FutureLearn

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Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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What's included?

RMIT University are offering everyone who joins this course a free digital upgrade, so that you can experience the full benefits of studying online for free. This means that you get:

Unlimited access to this course

Includes any articles, videos, peer reviews and quizzes

Tests to validate your learning

A PDF Certificate of Achievement to prove your success when you’re eligible