Sustainability has moved to centre stage in recent years generating much public discussion and increased the focus on firm impacts and responsibilities and consumer choice processes. Increased awareness of the significant environmental degradation, decline of natural systems and resources along with community, national and global social inequalities has placed a focus on sustainable business practices. For many marketing has been perceived as part of the problem rather than the solution to issues such as pollution, over consumption, the depletion of natural resource, unhealthy lifestyles, and human rights abuses. However, markets provide a coordinating mechanism through which change takes place. Importantly marketing systems provide the crucial link between market participants including individuals, households, managers, and firms.

 

This course aims to promote an understanding in the organisation, within the context of a capitalist market economy, of:

• changing consumers attitudes and behaviour, including current unsustainable lifestyles and consumption and the emergence of new forms of consumption
• how marketing can create value sustainably
• the role of marketing and marketers in meeting net zero objectives
• incorporating sustainability into marketing activities and strategies; in order to respond to opportunities and threats that arise from both social, economic and environmental change – such as climate change
• ethical issues in marketing decision making, behaviour, and practice

 

And provide an introduction to:

• the principle ‘tool kits’ employed by practitioners in pursuing sustainable business
• contemporary best practice in sustainability in marketing, including the role of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Circular Economy, and stakeholder communications

 

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Identify the impact of social, economic and environmental change and the opportunities and threats these pose to individuals and the organisation
2. Apply sustainability thinking into marketing actions, including innovation, planning and implementation
3. Differentiate how consumption decisions underpin both positive and negative social and ecological impacts
4. Devise marketing tactics to drive sustainable consumption behaviour
5. Defend effectively both verbally and in written form proposed sustainable marketing tactics to a broad range of stakeholders

Research-Led Teaching

Teaching in this course takes place through three processes. Firstly, the content of the course is assembled drawing where appropriate on the latest academic and industry research, along with industry practice. Secondly, students will be required to examine and evaluate scholarly research to draw out the important concepts, models and theory and apply these to contemporary practice. Finally, summative assessment in the course requires the student to undertake independent research. This may involve secondary research and the collection, evaluation, and interpretation of quantitative and qualitative data.

Field Trips

Nil

Additional Course Costs

Nil

Examination Material or equipment

N/A

Required Resources

The course Wattle site that sets out your weekly readings, questions designed to guide your reading, and other useful resources. Readings will be accessible via eBooks available through the library or provided via Wattle. All resources, including readings, assignment briefs and marking rubrics are provided on the course Wattle site at the beginning of semester.

Recommended Resources

N/A

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

·       In-class discussions and forum posts

·       Sustainable Principles Test is designed to give students feedback on their progress with course concepts and principles.

·       Participation and Reflection Workbooks assessment Items may incorporate the following forms of feedback:

• Written comments
• Verbal comments
• Feedback to the whole class, to groups, to individuals.

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Introduction to the course - Reconciling Marketing & Sustainability?	Introduction to the course and assessment Defining sustainable marketing Drivers of the transition
2	Stakeholders in Marketing & Shared Responsibility	Marketing stakeholders Sustainable market orientation Shared responsibility Input-output analysis LCA
3	Consumption I: Waste	Sources of Waste Waste Hierarchy Ecological footprint Overshoot day
4	Consumption II: Consumerism, Identity and Socialisation	Does sustainability matter to consumers? Why we consume the way we do Agency Vs Context
5	Consumer Behaviour, Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning	The Consumption Process Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning
6	New Models of Consumption, Conscious Consumption.	Value P2P Sharing Economy -C2C Behavioural change
7	Innovation in Sustainable Production Systems	Circular economy Scale
8	Sustainability in Supply Chains and Marketing Channels	Supply chain management Ethical sourcing Industrial symbiosis
9	Sustainable Product & Service Design & Innovation	Design-for-sustainability (DfS) Biomimicry Product - service systems Product stewardship
10	Communicating Sustainability I: Packaging, Eco-labels and Eco-costs/ Price	Sustainable Packaging Eco-Labeling Eco-costs
11	Communicating Sustainability II: Brands, Products & Services	Promoting sustainable products & services Sustainable branding Greenwashing, Astroturfing, Signalling Misleading and deceptive advertising issues in advertising
12	Communicating Sustainability III: False, misleading and ethical advertising	Future directions Circular cities Green / net zero jobs

Tutorial Registration

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage. https://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/timetabling].

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Sustainable Principles Test - Part A (10%)	10 %	25/03/2024	28/03/2024	1,2
Sustainable Principles Test - Part B (10%)	10 %	22/04/2024	06/05/2024	1,3
Participation, Engagement and Reflection Workbook (40%)	40 %	*	27/06/2024	1,2,3,4
Pathway to Sustainability (40%)	40 %	30/05/2024	27/06/2024	1,3,4,5

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website Students may choose not to submit assessment items through Turnitin. In this instance you will be required to submit, alongside the assessment item itself, hard copies of all references included in the assessment item.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

The course will be taught using a flipped delivery mode, with asynchronous pre-recorded lecture content on Wattle, and a live learning event delivered with a room-based face to face attendance.

Attendance at seminars, while not compulsory, is expected in line with "Code of Practice for Teaching and Learning," Clause 2 paragraph (b). Where students will not be able to attend a seminar they should advise the Convenor and discuss how to address the learning materials instead.

Examination(s)

Sustainable Principles Test (1 x10%) - Administered through Wattle in week 6 with a limited release window with results provided within 1 day.

Assessment Task 1

Sustainable Principles Test - Part A (10%)

Individual assessment

Details: Online during seminar, 20 MCQs- Wattle based exam in Week 6 based on readings, activities and guiding questions for weeks 1-5 inclusive.

Due: Week 6 - TBC

Return of marks: within 1 day.

Assessment Task 2

Sustainable Principles Test - Part B (10%)

Individual Assessment

Task - students' will prepare a written discussion examining a current issue in sustainable marketing

Brief: A detailed briefing document and associated resources are available on Wattle.

AI USE: the use of AI such as ChatGPT to generate an essay or report is not allowed as it is akin to plagiarism. Students are required to demonstrate achievement of critical, analytical and synthesis skills in high quality works

Rubric: A marking rubric will be available on Wattle

Due: Sunday 22nd April 2024 - 11pm (23:00)

Return of marks with feedback: Monday 6th May 2024

Assessment Task 3

Participation, Engagement and Reflection Workbook (40%)

Individual Assessment

Details: Sustainable marketing practice is more than a single action, and requires continuous engagement to monitor, preserve and improve upon performance. Sustainability is about maintaining a consistent state so that progress is experience as a cumulative sequence of events. To model, explore and engage this central premise of the course, the MKTG2002 student experience is build on the bedrock of recurrent engagement and activity within the classroom spaces, and the broader learning environment. To support your development as sustainable marketers, we are provide an assessment task that is premised on routine acts and activity.

As it is vital to have active interaction with others to learn marketing, and to be exposed to the ideas of sustainable practice, and to understand the interaction between your views and those of others, we are using an ongoing weekly assessment task, submitted in periodic reporting increments for feedback, and to provide a benefit for all students in preparing for, attending and fully participating in the seminar and tutorial environments.

To assist you in preparing for the weekly tutorials and for the final assessment task, a question set workbook will be provided to enable you to prepare in advance of class, and to document, and reflect on, intra-class activity from the tutorial/seminar.

The suggested length for each question is 250 words, - this will be a written response to question/s on the set readings or cases. It is essential that you read and think about the assigned material before class, and prepare your answers in advance - you both listen to others and make your own contributions during tutorial discussions. To demonstrate your in-class case learnings, you will make additional notes in class on your prepared answers, pointing out errors that you have made or noting important or interesting points that you missed. This demonstrates that you have continued to learn during the class, and are actively thinking about the relationship between your preparation and the class discussion.

Weighting: Total 40 marks.

Brief: Please see detailed assignment brief on Wattle.

Due: Wattle submissions approximately fortnightly commencing Week 4 (eg Weeks 4, 6, 8 and 10)

Return of marks with feedback: within 2 weeks of due date

Assessment Task 4

Pathway to Sustainability (40%)

Individual Assessment

Students will select one of three possible essay topics for their final assessment piece. One topic will be the option to negotiate your own topic.

Brief: Please see detailed briefing document and associated resources on Wattle.

AI USE: the use of AI such as ChatGPT to generate an essay or report is not allowed as it is akin to plagiarism. Students are required to demonstrate achievement of critical, analytical and synthesis skills in high quality works

Rubric: A marking rubric will be available on Wattle

Due: Final assessment due 4pm Thursday, 30 May 2024 - submitted via Turnitin link on Wattle.

Return of marks with feedback: with the release of final grades

Learning Outcome 3: Differentiate how consumption decisions underpin both positive and negative social and ecological impacts

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of our culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically. This means that all members of the community commit to honest and responsible scholarly practice and to upholding these values with respect and fairness. The Australian National University commits to embedding the values of academic integrity in our teaching and learning. We ensure that all members of our community understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with. The University has policies and procedures in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Visit the following Academic honesty & plagiarism website for more information about academic integrity and what the ANU considers academic misconduct. The ANU offers a number of services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. The Academic Skills and Learning Centre offers a number of workshops and seminars that you may find useful for your studies.

Online Submission

Sustainable Principles Test will be administered via Wattle.

Written assessment will be submitted using Turnitin - see assessment briefs for details. The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Submissions of the Participation and Reflection Workbooks (40%) may use Turnitin or Wattle assessment submission.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof.

Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item.

All requests for extensions to assessment in RSM courses must be submitted to the RSM School Office with a completed application form and supporting documentation. The RSM Extension Application Form and further information on this process can be found at https://www.rsm.anu.edu.au/education/education-programs/notices-for-students/extension-application-procedure/

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Returning Assignments

Please see relevant assessment task details above

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure The Course Convener may grant extensions for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

Unless specified otherwise in the assignment requirements, resubmissions are permitted up until the due date and time, but not allowed afterwards

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information. In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service — including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy. If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes. Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students