PCSB Blended Curriculum

Leading organisations are embedding sustainability into their core business – mitigating risks, increasing resilience, and enhancing value in the short and long term. PCSB is uniquely designed to encourage students to go beyond the practical application of tools and models, to develop new insights and worldviews that can help make sense of sustainability in a systemic way, unleashing the development of profitable opportunities to bring about change within and beyond their organisations.

PCSB blended combines flexibility with cutting-edge content and in-person residentials that support and accelerate networking and that enable students to experience the collegiate experience of Cambridge while still working on very concrete challenges and opportunities. It is the ideal choice for leaders in any sector who want to:  

• network with peers who are equally passionate about building the businesses and societies of the future to exchange idea, challenges and best practice  
• combine studying with work to maximise the opportunity to drive change based on what is being learnt through the course 
• enhance the sustainability and resilience of their organisation or broader industry thanks to a combination of rigorous and interdisciplinary academic research, insights from thought leaders, and practical assignments supervised by industry experts 

“The course is intelligent, insightful and innovative, covering multiple aspects and contexts of sustainability leadership. Once you start the journey, you won't want it to ever end.”

Kishore Ravuri, UN Global Compact Network, Malaysia, PCSB

Stream options

The blended programme is offered in three streams to accommodate a variety of business functions and personal interests. The three streams are taught alongside each other, with dedicated workshop sessions focusing on stream-specific content and opportunities to tailor assignments to stream-related topics. Admitted applicants will elect to study one of the three streams, with all students receiving the same award (a Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainable Business).    

The three streams are:  

Organisational stream: Embedding sustainability within the context of an organisation, from strategy through to operations.   

Value Chains stream: Embedding sustainability across an organisation’s value chain by creating value across the full life cycle of a product (from its conception to its end use). Find out more about the definition and characteristics of a value chain.    

Finance stream: Assessing the role of finance in building sustainable and economic resilience by exploring opportunities, risks and trade-offs when using financial institutions and instruments as a lever for sustainability. More information on stream-specific content and profiles below. 

Taught content and residential workshops

PCSB blended-taught content is delivered primarily through 2 residential workshops, one in July and one in November, each lasting 4 days.   

Workshop 1 focuses on building foundational understanding of the interdependencies between sustainability-related global issues and opportunities as well as the knowledge, systems thinking and leadership skills helpful to drive change in any organisation, but especially businesses. It challenges students by highlighting the assumptions and mental models that currently shape economic systems’ structures, incentives and power dynamics leading to unsustainable outcomes, and by offering alternative narratives. It also equips students to find their own voice and to spot the opportunities that they and their organisations can pursue to contribute to sustainable development in a profitable way. The first workshop is structured around 4 core themes:  

• Concepts for a sustainable future: Understanding sustainability to shape judgement, confidence and influence  
• Concepts for a sustainable future: systems thinking to reshape the future  
• Future-proof business: rethinking organisations, value chains and the financial system  
• Leadership and academic skills to take the next steps  

Workshop 2 provides frameworks, ideas, toolkits and inspiration to help students understand how to start driving change in their organisation in a more concrete and operationalizable way. Additionally, it touches on transversal topics that are shaping business decisions and are deeply interconnected to sustainability, such as AI and geopolitics.   

At the same time, workshop 2 keeps building the leadership, influence and communication skills that students will need to push forward and sustain the change they aim to trigger.   

The themes covered in workshop 2 differ depending on the stream students elect to study when they apply: organisational, value chains, or finance. 

Assignments

PCSB assessment is based on three written assignments: a collaborative group research project and two individual assignments undertaken subsequently, supported by supervision. Further details about assignments can be found on the assignment page.