Multiple Choice Questions
Slide 2
Hans Carl von Carlowitz introduced the German term for sustainability „Nachhaltigkeit“ in 1713 concerning a
sustainable management of what?
• The natural resource wood
• The natural resource water
• The natural resource wheat
• The artifical resource plastic
What is the basic idea behind sustainability?
• That we live in a world of limited resources
• That we want to keep the world as it is
• That we want to get the maximum out of earth’s resources
• That we live today like we lived yesterday
The model in “Limits to Growth” took 5 variables into account. Which of the following was not one of them?
• World population
• Industrialization
• Food production
• Water supply
Autorin: Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons
Slide 3
What The „Our Common Future“ report was also known as?
• The Brundtland Report
• The Sustainability Report
• The WCED Report
Who was Chair of the WCED as well as Norwegian Prime Minister?
• Gro Harlem Brundtland
• Gro Harlem Haaland
• Gro Harlem Ødegaard
Sustainable development is defined as: “Development that meets the needs of the present without?
• Compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”
• Destroying the world“
• Forgetting about the needs of others”
Autorin: Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons
Slide 4
Which of the following was not listed as one of the biggest problems we are facing as humanity?
• Climate change
• Species extinction
• Economic collapse
• Overpopulation
What is an example for a species which is on the edge of extinction that we as humanity depend upon?
• Bears
• Honey bees
• Whales
• Spiders
Autorin: Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons
Slide 5
What’s the huge accumulation of plastic waste in the northern pacific called?
• Plastic island
• Great pacific garbage patch
• Plastic waste ship
In the year 2010 alone, how many tons of plastic garbage were disposed in the world’s oceans?
• 8 Million
• 800.000
• 8 Billion
• 80 Million
Autorin: Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons
Slide 6
How many goals for sustainable development (SDGs) are there?
• 17
• 18
• 15
• 19
Which of the following is not a SDG?
• Clean Water and Sanitation
• Reducing inequality
• Stopping Species Extinction
• Affordable and Clean Energy
What’s an example of a model proposed to further the SDG model?
• The car traffic model
• The wedding cake model
• The closed circle model
• The Brundtland model
Autorin: Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons
Slide 7
Why would governments allow businesses to have detrimental impacts on people and the planet?
• Reducing regulations attract businesses
• Tax on harming activities are higher
• Higher regulations attract businesses
Why are some businesses now more powerful than ever?
• Because some multinational companies have more resources than small
countries and are free to move them around the globe as they wish
• Because lobbying got more powerful
• Because some CEOs are married to powerful politicians
• Because people just listen to CEOs more than they listen to politicians
Why do countries let companies cause so much pollution?
• Because countries reduce regulation to attract businesses
• Because companies pay the governments money so they can cause pollution
• Because some countries don’t really care
• Because some governments don’t really know that the companies are polluting the environment
Autorin: Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons
Slide 8
Business models are defined as…
• fundamental structures for how companies create, deliver, and capture value.
• a plan for the operation of a business, identifying sources of revenue and details of financing.
• products or services the business plans to sell.
On the road to sustainability, what should systems not do?
• Encourage the minimization of consumption, or impose personal and institutional caps or
quotas on energy, goods, water, etc.;
• Be designed to maximize societal and environmental benefit, rather than prioritizing economic growth;
• Be designed to provide fulfilling, rewarding work experiences for all and that enhance human
creativity and skills;
• Emphasize delivery of product ownership, rather than experience;
Autorin: Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons
Slide 9
Circular economy…
• creates entrance barriers for young companies.
• aims to decouple growth from the consumption of finite resources.
• is a synonym for recycling.
• means the tire market.
How can we cope with the limited resources on earth?
• Less consumption
• Higher prices
• Greenwashing
In a circular economy, how are products ideally designed?
• With the whole product life cycle in mind
• With the amount that can be sold in mind
• With the benefits of the product for the users in mind
• With its usability for children in mind
Autorin: Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons
Slide 10
What recent development in the landscape of organizations could be observed?
• Boundaries between the organizational types are increasingly blurring
• More non-profit organizations are founded
• More for-profit organizations are founded
• More government bodies are founded
What is an example of a hybrid organization?
• Non-profit organizations who adopt market tactics to improve their access to resources
• An organization that operates in two markets at the same time
• Acompany consisting of two subsidiary companies
Autorin: Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons
Slide 11
What is Greenwashing?
• The practice of falsely promoting an organization’s environmental efforts;
• Spending more resources to promote the organization as green than are spent on
production of the actual product;
• The dissemination of all information regarding an organization’s environmental strategies,
goals, motivations, and actions.
What would prevent firms from Greenwashing?
• Comparable standards and measures for reporting
• Governments promoting organizations as green
• Bad press about Greenwashing
• A list of Greenwashing firms published by the government
Autorin: Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons
Slide 12
Why do companies that ensure human rights in their supply chains have a competitive disadvantage?
• Because this incurs extra costs on them
• Because other companies who don’t ensure human rights get an advantage through tax gaps
• Because profitable business can’t be done without violating some human rights
What are supply chains referred to?
• As the whole process of making and selling commercial goods
• As the way of the product from the manufacturer to the seller
• As the whole process of advertising the product
• As the chain of events leading to the development of a new product
Autorin: Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons
Slide 13
What is not true about manufacturing in the textile industry?
• That it creates around 60 million jobs worldwide
• That it is not very work intensive
• That the biggest part is situated in low wage countries
• That it leads to chemical contamination of surface and ground water
What is an example for a typical manufacturing country in the textile industry?
• Brasil
• Canada
• Russia
• India
Autorin: Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons
Slide 15
What is the Attitude Behavior Gap with regard to sustainable products?
• The reported willingness to buy sustainable products exceeding the amount of sold sustainable products
• The comparably low share of sustainable products sold in comparison to their non-sustainable
counterparts
• The comparably low willingness to buy sustainable products if they are more expensive than their
non-sustainable counterparts
Autorin: Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons
Slide 16
What is corporate socio-political activism?
• The expression by a corporation of a stance on some matter of current social or political debate,
with the primary aims of influencing people.
• Attempts by corporations to influence government policy to make it favourable for firms
• A management concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their
business operations and interactions with their stakeholders.
Autorin: Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons
Slide 17
Why is it important to engage all employees in the sustainability transformation?
• Each employee knows his or her job best and probably has great ideas of how to improve
products and processes
• The feeling of being left out could lead to bitterness among the employees
• Involving everybody would show how important sustainability is to the company
• Involving everybody improves the company’s image amongst the stakeholders
Autorin: Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons
Slide 18
On which domain does the European Action Plan for Financing Sustainable Growth NOT focus?
• Environment
• Social
• Market
• Governance
What does the Disclosure Regulation require European companies to do?
• To be transparent in dealing with environmental risks
• To be discreet about their environmental pollution
• To be transparent about their spendings on fossil fuels
• To be discreet about their sustainability strategy at company and product level
Autorin: Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons
Slide 19
What is not a pillar of sustainability?
• People
• Oceans
• Profit
Autorin: Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons
Slide 20
To be required to adhere to the non-financial reporting directive, a company must have more than
how many employees?
• 500
• 1000
• 50
• 100
The non-financial reporting directive does NOT require companies to publish reports on what?
• Environmental protection
• Social responsibility and treatment of employees
• Anti-corruption and bribery
• Vehicle fleet
Can companies choose to publish reports on financial and non-financial performance separately?
• Yes
• No
Autorin: Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons
Slide 21
Many organizations structure their impact logic in the form of which logic?
• IOOI
• EAAE
• OUUO
• FWWF
What do companies currently usually only report in their impact logic?
• Inputs and outputs
• Inputs and outcomes
• Impacts and outcomes
• Outputs and impacts
Autorin: Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons
