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Cases

Ohjelma
Bike Lease Finland

Bike Lease Finland

Leasing and maintenance of employee bicycles, digital services.

Ohjelma
Excelence Solutions

Excelence Solutions

Consulting and data analytics, expert services and consulting.

Ohjelma
Finnish Timber Oy

Finnish Timber Oy

Ecological log buildings and construction site processes, project business.

Ohjelma
Green Scape

Green Scape

Customized green wall services for B2B clients, service business.

Ohjelma
Marine Craft

Marine Craft

Customized motorboats, project delivery, manufacturing industry.

Ohjelma
Scandinavian Design

Scandinavian Design

Leasing and maintenance of company bicycles, digital services.

Task

Setting ESG Goals



In this task, the student analyzes the responsibility of a case company from an ESG perspective and sets 3–5 concrete goals for the company. They design metrics for each goal to track progress and assess the realism of the goals as well as their business impact. Through this task, the student learns to translate sustainability thinking into practical terms and connect it to management decision-making. At the same time, their understanding of how ESG goals can be transformed into measurable and actionable measures as part of the company's daily operations is strengthened.

Learning objectives

After completing the task, the student:
1. Can identify the key ESG themes (environment, social responsibility, good governance) for the case company.
2. Can set concrete and measurable sustainability goals for the case company.
3. Can design appropriate metrics for monitoring ESG goals.
4. Can evaluate and justify why certain sustainability goals are realistic and impactful given the company's situation.

Step by step

  1. Objective:
    The objective of the assignment is for the student to be able to define concrete sustainability targets (ESG: environment, social responsibility, good governance) for the case company and suitable metrics for them. In addition, the goal is to practice assessing whether the targets are realistic and genuinely impactful given the company’s situation.

    Material:

    • The case description of the selected case company in the learning material.

    • The assignment is based on the information in the case description and on justified assumptions about the company’s operations and resources.

    Assignment steps (instructions for the student):

    1. Briefly describe the starting situation of the case company
      Select a case company and write a short general description (5–8 sentences) of the company:

      • what it does and in which industry it operates

      • who its main customers are

      • what kind of environment it operates in (e.g. local, national, international)

      • what the case description tells about the company’s responsibility work so far (e.g. individual actions, mentioned values).

    2. Identify the most important ESG themes for the case company
      Reflect based on the case description and your justified assumptions which responsibility themes are emphasised:

      • environment (E): e.g. energy consumption, waste, logistics

      • social responsibility (S): e.g. employee well-being, customer safety, equality

      • good governance (G): e.g. transparency, ethical guidelines, risk management.
        Write briefly why these themes are important for this case company and which operations they relate to.

    3. Set 3–5 concrete ESG targets
      Define a total of 3–5 clear targets for the case company that relate to the ESG themes you identified. Write for each target:

      • what you want to achieve (e.g. “reduce energy consumption by 10% within two years”)

      • which area (E, S or G) the target primarily relates to

      • within what timeframe the target is to be achieved (e.g. 1 year, 3 years).

    4. Create indicators to monitor the targets
      Plan 1–2 indicators (KPIs) for each target that management can use to track progress. Under each target, write:

      • what the indicator is (e.g. “electricity consumption kWh / unit produced”)

      • where the data comes from (e.g. invoices, systems, surveys)

      • how often the indicator can realistically be reported (e.g. monthly, quarterly).

    5. Justify the realism and impact of the targets
      Write an assessment (approx. 1–1.5 pages) explaining why the ESG targets you selected are both realistic and impactful for the case company. Reflect for example:

      • what kind of resources and competence the company likely has

      • what kinds of benefits can result from achieving the targets (financial, reputational, employee well-being)

      • whether the targets relate to legal requirements, customer expectations or competitive advantage.

    6. Prepare a concise summary for management
      Finally, write a short summary (5–7 sentences) as a “management memo” in which you explain:

      • the key ESG targets you propose and the related indicators

      • why these particular targets should be set as the first step

      • what you consider to be the single most important action the company should start immediately.

    Submission and evaluation:
    Submit a text of approximately 3–4 pages showing:

    • a brief description of the case company’s starting situation

    • the key ESG themes identified and their significance for the case company

    • 3–5 concrete targets and the indicators linked to them

    • justification of the realism and impact of the targets

    • a concise summary suitable for presentation to management.

    Evaluation focuses on how well you:

    • link ESG thinking to the concrete operations of the case company

    • set clear and measurable targets

    • ensure that the indicators are justified and usable

    • provide logical and case-relevant reasoning on realism and impact.

    Recommended working time: approximately 60–75 minutes, individually or in pairs.

Tasks by audience and theme

University of applied sciences

Polytechnics and higher education studies.

68 tasks