Interdisciplinary Programs
Sustainability Studies
Open Textbooks and Concordia Courses
| Open Textbook Title | Potentially Relevant Courses |
| Environmental Biology | BIOL 205, LOYC 205 |
| Sustainability: A Comprehensive Foundation | BIOL 205, LOYC 205 |
| Introduction to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) | BIOL 205, LOYC 205 |
| Environmental Science | LOYC 240 |
| Environmental Biology | LOYC 320 |
| The Sustainable Business Case Book | MANA 369 |
| Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainability: Canada | MANA 369 |
| Sustainability, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship | MANA 374 |
Description and Access
Environmental Biology
Includes: In-chapter exercises
May suit: BIOL 205 / LOYC 205 Introduction to Sustainability
Sustainability: A Comprehensive Foundation
With Sustainability: A Comprehensive Foundation, first and second-year college students are introduced to this expanding new field, comprehensively exploring the essential concepts from every branch of knowledge – including engineering and the applied arts, natural and social sciences, and the humanities. As sustainability is a multi-disciplinary area of study, the text is the product of multiple authors drawn from the diverse faculty of the University of Illinois: each chapter is written by a recognized expert in the field.
Includes: In-chapter exercises
May suit: BIOL 205 / LOYC 205 Introduction to Sustainability, LOYC 240 Global Environmental Issues and Ecological Justice
Introduction to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The purpose of these resources is to introduce students to and provide them with, a foundational understanding of the key concepts of sustainable development and sustainability. This course will introduce the 2030 Agenda and the sustainable development goals (SDGs), their history, development, purpose, and implementation.
Includes: In-chapter exercises
May suit: BIOL 205 / LOYC 205 Introduction to Sustainability
Environmental Science
This textbook is intended to provide the core elements of a curriculum for teaching environmental science at the introductory level in Canadian colleges and universities. This book is suitable for students beginning a program in environmental science, environmental studies, or sustainability. It is also appropriate for arts students who require a science elective, and for science students who require a non-major elective.
Includes: In-chapter exercises
May suit: LOYC 240 Global Environmental Issues and Ecological Justice
Environment Biology
Environmental Biology enables students to develop a nuanced understanding of today’s most pressing environmental issues. This text helps students grasp the scientific foundation of these issues so that they can better understand the world around them and their impact upon it. This open textbook covers the most salient environmental issues, from a biological perspective. The text is designed for an introductory-level college science course. Topics include the fundamentals of ecology, biodiversity, pollution, climate change, food production, and human population growth.
Includes: In-chapter exercises
May suit: LOYC 320 Biodiversity on Earth
The Sustainable Business Case Book
The Sustainable Business Case Book by Gittell, Magnusson and Merenda is one of the first of its kind. It combines the the theory of sustainability with key concepts, analytical information and contextual information with a collection of cases which provide insights, perspective and practical guidance on how sustainable businesses operate from different business functional area perspectives.
Includes: In-chapter exercises
May suit: MANA 369 Business and Sustainability
Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainability: Canada
This textbook, Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainability: Canada, is a collection of information gathered from a diverse range of academic disciplines, including psychology, social psychology, business, and entrepreneurship. The aim is to connect social and environmental issues to current business practices to create more awareness of innovating, developing, and funding to create sustainable solutions to cultural, social, and environmental issues. When reading the chapters in this book, keep in mind, how the topic relates to social entrepreneurship and social/environmental responsibility.
Includes: In-chapter exercises
May suit: MANA 369 Business and Sustainability
Sustainability, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship
This book is suited for the Entrepreneurship or Innovation course with an emphasis on Sustainability or for a course devoted entirely to Sustainability. This book offers students and instructors the opportunity to analyze businesses whose products and strategies are designed to offer innovative solutions to some of the twenty-first century’s most difficult societal challenges.
Includes: In-chapter exercises
May suit: MANA 374 Sustainable Management