Sustainable and Social Marketing

Overview

Academic Leads: Dr Sayed Elhoushy and Dr Tana Licsandru

Syllabus: SUM4000U Sustainable and Social Marketing [PDF]

This module examines how marketing can drive social change and sustainability, extending beyond commercial objectives to tackle societal, ethical, and environmental challenges. Topics explored include sustainable marketing and consumer behaviour, corporate social responsibility and ethics, and social marketing and behaviour change strategies, with the aim of developing sustainability and social impact competencies, addressing the green skills gap, and evaluating the impact of social marketing interventions. We focus on these themes to understand their implications for consumer behaviour, business practices, and society at large. 

Course content is subject to change.

Course aims

The module aims to provide students with the opportunity to:

• Understand the key concepts, frameworks, and debates in sustainable and social marketing.
• Build awareness of current sustainability and social challenges and explore alternative approaches to address them.
• Analyse the marketing environment from a triple bottom line perspective, social, economic, and
  environmental, identifying opportunities and challenges for promoting positive social change.
• Develop the skills to critically evaluate and apply sustainable and social marketing principles in designing behavior change interventions that create positive societal impact.

Teaching and learning

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, seminars, practical workshops and field trips. 

Learning outcomes

Academic Content:

• Demonstrate subject expertise in the field of sustainable and social marketing
• Critically evaluate key theories, concepts, and research in sustainable and social marketing.
• Analyse the marketing environment from a triple bottom line perspective (social, economic, environmental) and identify opportunities and challenges for sustainability.

Disciplinary Skills - able to:

• Apply strategic marketing theories to real-world business challenges, critically evaluating their limitations and implications for current challenges.
• Design evidence-based behaviour change interventions that integrate multiple sources, perspectives, and analytical tools.
• Effectively communicate social marketing programmes and behaviour change interventions to multiple stakeholders through simulated pitches and professional reports.

Attributes:

• Demonstrate ethical awareness in the context of marketing and communications.
• Show adaptability and global understanding of how marketing, sustainability and social good operate across diverse cultural and economic contexts.
• Exhibit critical thinking and reflective practice in evaluating the social, environmental, and ethical impact of marketing.

Fees

Additional costs

All reading material will be provided online, so it is not necessary to purchase any books.

For course and housing fees visit our finance webpage

Entry requirements

Course prerequisite:

No formal prior content knowledge is needed.

We welcome Summer School students from around the world. We accept a range of qualifications

How to apply

Have a question? Get in touch - one of the team will be happy to help!

Applications close 25 May 2026