| Course | SUS-7000 Designing a Business Case for Sustainability |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 1 |
| Paper type | Module 1 written assignment: the meaning and importance of sustainability |
| Length | About 556 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | Master of Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for SUS 7000 Module 1
Paper, Ink and Electricity: What Sustainability Means for a Commercial Printer
Student Name
Master of Business Administration, Thomas Edison State University
SUS-7000: Designing a Business Case for Sustainability
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
Paper, Ink and Electricity: What Sustainability Means for a Commercial Printer
Defining Sustainability
The most widely used definition describes sustainable development as meeting today's needs in a way that leaves future generations able to meet theirs (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). For a business, that idea is usually broken into three dimensions: environmental, the resources it uses and the waste it produces; social, its effects on employees, communities and customers; and economic, its ability to stay profitable over time. Senge et al. (2010) argue that these dimensions cannot be managed separately, because they are parts of larger systems: food, water, energy and materials systems in which every organization is embedded.
For our printer, sustainability means running a profitable business while using less paper, energy and solvent per job, producing less waste, treating our 140 employees and our Elizabeth neighbors well and helping clients meet their own sustainability goals.
Seeing the System
Senge et al. (2010) urge leaders to see the systems they are part of rather than isolated problems. Our business sits in several.
The flows connect, and a change in one ripples through the others, often in ways no single department sees. Spoilage wastes paper, ink and the electricity used to print it. Solvent use affects worker health and our permit obligations. And the packaging we print ends up in shoppers' recycling bins or landfills, which is why our retail clients increasingly ask what it is made of.
| Flow | What goes in | What comes out | Who else is affected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper | 9,000 tons a year, 30 percent recycled content | About 1,100 tons of trim and spoilage | Forests, mills, recyclers |
| Ink and solvents | Petroleum-based inks; press wash solvents | Volatile organic compounds; hazardous waste | Workers, neighbors, regulators |
| Electricity | 6.2 million kilowatt-hours | Carbon emissions from the grid | Utility customers, climate |
| Client relationships | Orders for packaging and signs | Products that shoppers discard | Retail clients, shoppers, landfills |
Why Sustainability Matters to Us
Three reasons make sustainability a business issue, not a public relations one. First, our two largest clients, a national home goods chain and a regional supermarket group, now score suppliers on sustainability, and one has told us that suppliers without a plan to reduce emissions will not be considered for its next packaging contract. Second, costs: electricity is our third largest expense, and spoilage costs us about $1.4 million a year in paper alone. Third, regulation and risk: tightening limits on volatile organic compounds could require costly equipment if we do not reduce solvent use first.
Porter and Kramer (2011) argue that companies can create shared value by finding business opportunities in social and environmental problems, rather than treating them as costs. Our clients' demand for recyclable, lower-carbon packaging is such an opportunity.
What Sustainability Is Not
Sustainability is not a single project, such as installing solar panels, or a marketing claim. Senge and colleagues warn against treating it as an add-on; it changes how the business works. For us, that means looking at every job's paper, energy and waste, not only at a few visible projects.
Conclusion
For a commercial printer, sustainability means managing paper, ink, energy and relationships as connected systems. It matters because our clients, our costs and our regulators are all moving in the same direction, and the printer that moves first will keep its customers and may win some of its competitors'.
References
Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2011). Creating shared value. Harvard Business Review, 89(1/2), 62-77.
Senge, P., Smith, B., Kruschwitz, N., Laur, J., & Schley, S. (2010). The necessary revolution: Working together to create a sustainable world. Broadway Books.
World Commission on Environment and Development. (1987). Our common future. Oxford University Press.
SUS 7000 Module 1 instructions, in plain terms
SUS-7000 sets six written assignments, one of them a midterm that supplies the opening of the final business case, plus three forums, two live sessions and the final paper itself. The guidelines ask for answers of 500 to 1,000 words to each question, in your own words, with examples from your own experience. This first assignment covers the meaning and importance of sustainability. Expect to define sustainability, apply systems thinking from Senge and colleagues to an organization you know, and explain why sustainability matters to it. Choose an organization you know well, since later assignments build the business case for it, and map the flows of materials, energy and people that sustainability touches.
How this SUS 7000 Module 1 example is built
The paper defines sustainability from a widely used source and its three dimensions, linked to the course text's systems view. A table maps four flows through the printer, with inputs, outputs and others affected, and the text explains how they connect. A section gives three business reasons sustainability matters, with research on shared value. A short section says what sustainability is not, and the conclusion ties the pieces together. A short section explains what sustainability is not, a single project or a marketing claim, so the definition rules things out as well as in. Each flow names who outside the company is affected. The conclusion names who is moving: clients, costs and regulators.
SUS 7000 Module 1 rubric: what earns full marks
Mentors grade written assignments on whether answers show the student thinking about the material and applying it, in their own words, with examples from their own experience. Papers that map an organization's flows and connections show systems thinking in practice. Business reasons backed by specific figures, such as spoilage costs and client requirements, demonstrate understanding beyond definitions. Staying within 500 to 1,000 words while covering the question shows discipline. Specific figures, such as tons of paper and kilowatt-hours, show the student has looked closely at the organization. Explaining what sustainability is not shows a precise understanding of the concept. Clear writing in the student's own voice, with a personal example, is what the guidelines ask for.
Common SUS 7000 Module 1 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Students lose points by repeating textbook definitions without applying them, by describing sustainability only as environmental or by listing green projects without explaining why they matter. Others exceed the word range. Define sustainability in your own words. Map your organization's flows. Give business reasons with figures. Use an example from your own work. Choose the organization you will use all term, and map its flows before writing about why sustainability matters to it. Give at least one business reason with a figure, such as a cost or a client requirement. A free first sample on your own SUS-7000 written assignment is available on request.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Thomas Edison State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
More SUS 7000 and Master of Business Administration sample papers
- SUS 7000 Module 2: Midterm Assignment: The Opportunity and the Value Case for a Lower-Carbon Printer
- SUS 7000 Module 3: Written Assignment: Engaging Clients, Workers and Neighbors in the Printer's Program
- SUS 7000 Module 4: Final Project: A Business Case for Sustainability at an Elizabeth Printer
- NEG 7310 Module 6: Discussion: What to Say About a Used Rooftop Unit's Leak History
- GSM 7300 Module 6: Final Paper: Strategic Entrepreneurship
- SOP 7200 Module 4: Location, Capacity and Forecasting Problems
- HRM 7600 Module 6: Redesigning Performance Management
SUS 7000 Module 1 questions, answered
Where can I find a free SUS 7000 Module 1 sample paper?
Sustainability is defined for a commercial printer, with a map of its flows, in the assignment above.
What are the three dimensions of sustainability?
Environmental, social and economic.
What does systems thinking add to sustainability?
It shows how an organization's flows of materials, energy and relationships connect within larger systems.
How long should SUS-7000 written answers be?
Five hundred to 1,000 words for each question, in the student's own words.
What textbook does SUS-7000 use?
Senge and colleagues' The Necessary Revolution: Working Together to Create a Sustainable World.