The goal of Dr. Moon's project was to develop a new class related to sustainability reporting. This class aligns closely with several of GT's strategies outlined in the Sustainability Next plan. Namely, the new course is devoted to teaching students how to read and interpret sustainability reports, including topics like GHG accounting, third party assurance, and the importance of third-party intermediaries. These skills align with Strategy 1. The class will also have an experiential component which aligns with Strategy 3 through case studies and guest presenters.
Throughout the implementation of the project, the specifics of Dr. Moon's class changed, though the end goals did not. The biggest change is that he elected to use a textbook, which was not yet available when he initially applied for the grant. He decided to use the textbook because it brought the key concepts into a cohesive package that facilitated the comprehensive nature of the course. The book is titled “Business Sustainability Reporting & Analysis”, authored by Patricia Dechow and Richard Sloan (ISBN 978-1-61853-655-6).
As the class had not started yet, there wasn't a way for him to directly report on the impact. However, Dr. Moon explains that it has changed how he views companies' sustainability reports and gave him a better understanding of the evolution of the accounting industry (which is pushing more and more in to the sustainability reporting space).
A post describing the class was displayed in the Scheller College (outside the Anderson Center for Sustainable Business) during SDG week.
"I'm learning a lot about sustainability reporting through the development of this class. For example, one thing I had not considered was the relevance of international regulation to US companies, such as the CSRD. I think students will benefit from the global perspective this aspect of the class will offer.... As for my approach to teaching, I took part in the Course Design Studio in 2023 (and one day in 2024), focusing wholly on the development of this class. I plan to incorporate many of the techniques discussed in that workshop into my course, such as reflections and collaboration through tools we have at GT (e.g. Padlet)."