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363-0537-00L 3 Credits BSC , MSC , NDS D-USYS , D-MTEC

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Sustainability Economics

Lecturers & Examiners: Prof. Dr. Lint Barrage, Prof. Dr. Moritz Drupp

VVZ CR n/a

Last Updated: 2026-06-01 11:32:49

Abstract

This course presents an economic perspective and core tools relevant to the private and public management of sustainability. Covered topics include how to define and measure sustainability, dynamic systems, core trade-offs, and essential tools for both business and policy, such as how to quantify consumer demand for sustainability. Applications include climate, energy, and biodiversity.

Objective

After taking this course, students should: - Understand standard definitions of sustainability - Have a sense of the empirical status quo and current trends on key aspects of sustainability - Understand core trade-offs and challenges facing society in achieving sustainability - Have basic competency in the modelling of dynamic systems an intertemporal decision-making - Understand different options for quantifying consumer demand for environmental goods - Understand core costs and benefits for both businesses and society of investing in sustainability (including standard methods for quantifying said costs and benefits) and how to compare them such as via cost-benefit analysis - Understand both the challenges and know some of the main methods used to value environmental systems - Understand the critical importance of innovation and technological progress for sustainability - Have familiarity with key examples including from energy resources, climate change, biodiversity, and air pollution - Understand some of the critiques of standard economic approaches and alternative approaches to sustainability - Be able to think critically and innovatively about sustainability in their future organizations and as citizens

Content

This course introduces the economics of sustainability from both a public/societal and private/business perspective. The course reviews both the conceptual foundations and presents essential tools for the private and public management of sustainability. Covered topics in conceptual foundations include how to define and measure sustainability in different domains (e.g., of the macroeconomy overall, of specific systems such as fisheries, of businesses, etc.), an introduction to dynamic economic and environmental systems and optimization, the characterization of core trade-offs in sustainability (across sustainability goals, different members of society, generations, etc.), the potential roles of the private vs. public sector in ensuring sustainability, and of the critical role of innovation and technological development in sustainability. Covered tools include methods for quantifying consumer demand for sustainability and stakeholder responses to sustainability (e.g., in capital and labor markets), methods for quantifying the economic value of environmental goods, principles of cost-benefit analysis, fundamentals of consumer theory, and an introduction to quantitative methods used to evaluate the costs and effectiveness of sustainability actions. The course will also delve into specific applications such as energy resources, climate change, biodiversity, and air pollution. Course evaluation: at the end of the course, there will be a written exam covering the topics of the course. Prerequisites: It is highly recommended (though not strictly required) that students have completed introductory micro- and macroeconomics before taking this class.

General Information

Language: English
Levels: BSC , MSC , NDS
Frequency: Yearly recurring

Examination

Type: end-of-semester examination
Mode: written 90 minutes
Aids: Keine Hilfsmittel / no aids allowed
Digital: The exam takes place on devices provided by ETH Zurich.

Course Components