Transforming Business: Valuing social and human capital (Coursera)

Offered by Capitals Coalition,
Transforming Business: Valuing social and human capital (Coursera)

The aim of this course is to introduce business employees to social and human capital within the context of the Capitals Approach and human rights. It will provide guidance on how to get started in making positive impacts for people, planet, and society within the business decision-making context.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

This course is an introductory course; no prior knowledge is needed. It is of particular relevance to those working in the domains of strategy, risk, finance, procurement, accountancy, auditing, human resources, and sustainability.
Drawing from the internationally recognized Social and Human Capital Protocol, the course provides a comprehensive introduction to social and human capital issues and their relationship with human rights and sustainability. Over four modules, the course will guide you through the process of understanding and integrating social and human capital issues into business DNA to improve people well-being and tackle inequalities.
In modules 1 and 2, you will be introduced to the concepts of social and human capital and human rights thinking, the Social and Human Capital Protocol, as well as the Capitals Approach. Here, you will be guided through the first stages and steps of conducting a capitals assessment.
In module 3, you will learn about impact and dependency pathways and how to measure and value those connected to your business activities. Finally, in module 4, using the Asses-Commit-Transform-Disclose framework you will learn about how to apply the findings of a social and human capital assessment to make commitments and transform business practices, and how to communicate and report on these elements.
The course features many real-world business examples, such as Natura, Novartis, Kering, Tony's Chocolonely, Jacobs, OFI, to demonstrate why and how other businesses have measured and valued social and capital, and the benefits this has brought to their strategy and management processes. These examples also show how companies make commitments to enact change and transform business practices, providing insight into different actions and commitments you can take.
By the end of the course, participants are expected to have learned about why it is essential to embed social and human capital into business decision-making, and how to get started with a capitals assessment.
This course has been developed by the Capitals Coalition in partnership with Nature^Squared, Social Value International, and the Business Commission to Tackle Inequality.

What You Will Learn

  • How the societal challenges affect businesses and why it is important to include social and human capital in business decision-making.
  • How to identify, measure and value relevant social and human capital impacts and dependencies within your business context.
  • How you can take action, make commitments, and transform business decision-making to respect human rights, tackle inequality and improve well-being.

Syllabus

WEEK 1: Welcome to the course
WEEK 2: Why business cares about inequality: the key concepts of human rights and social and human capital
WEEK 3: How to get started with measuring and valuing impacts and dependencies on social and human capital 
WEEK 4: How to integrate social and human capital into business: commitments and transformation 

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Doing Business in Europe (Coursera) Coursera
ESCP Europe

Doing Business in Europe (Coursera)

Europe is a major world trade partner as well as a place where to acquire significant business experience. This is the reason why this MOOC has been designed with the view to explaining and guiding you in doing business in Europe. Do you really know Europe? How should you consider and approach the European continent? What business lessons can be drawn in a European perspective?

Aug 24th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Influencer Marketing Strategy (Coursera) Coursera
Rutgers University

Influencer Marketing Strategy (Coursera)

Influencer marketing is the practice of engaging internal and industry experts with active networks to help achieve measurable business goals. This course is about strategy. Although there is no all-purpose, one-size-fits-all influencer marketing strategy template, you will learn how to tailor one for a wide variety of B2B, B2C, and nonprofit organizations using the two-step flow model of communication.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
The Factors that Influence the Effectiveness of Boards and the Governance Process (Coursera) Coursera
University at Buffalo,The State University of New York

The Factors that Influence the Effectiveness of Boards and the Governance Process (Coursera)

The third course in this Specialization introduces you to the factors that influence how effective boards of directors will be in carrying out their roles and responsibilities and hence the impact they have in shaping the success of the organization they govern. While this course has been developed with North American culture in mind, we do appreciate that, in other parts of the world, the nature of the factors that influence the effectiveness of nonprofit boards of directors may vary. Nevertheless,it is our hope that much of the course content will still be of value to those in other parts of the world.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Strategy and Sustainability (Coursera) Coursera
IESE Business School

Strategy and Sustainability (Coursera)

Business and environmental sustainability are not natural bedfellows. Business is about making money. Sustainability is about protecting the planet. Business is measured in months and quarters. Sustainability often requires significant short term costs to secure a sometimes uncertain long-term benefit. To some activists, all executives are exploitative, selfish one percenters. To some executives, all activists are irresponsible, unyielding extremists.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Epidemics (Coursera) Coursera
University of Hong Kong

Epidemics (Coursera)

“If history is our guide, we can assume that the battle between the intellect and will of the human species and the extraordinary adaptability of microbes will be never-ending.” Despite all the remarkable technological breakthroughs that we have made over the past few decades, the threat from infectious diseases has significantly accelerated. In this course, we will learn why this is the case by looking at the fundamental scientific principles underlying epidemics and the public health actions behind their prevention and control in the 21st century.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Sustainable Fashion (Coursera) Coursera
Copenhagen Business School

Sustainable Fashion (Coursera)

Sometimes when we say we work with sustainable fashion people look at us like... "Mmmm, is it really possible for something like fashion to be sustainable?" And let's face it, people are right being suspicious. If anything the fashion industry has become increasingly unsustainable over the last decades, using more and more natural resources and creating more and more waste.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Customer-Centric IT Strategy (Coursera) Coursera
University of Virginia

Customer-Centric IT Strategy (Coursera)

Now more than ever, corporations are investing heavily in IT. The quality of these investments affect the daily work of millions, yet it’s not uncommon to see industry surveys where the failure rates for IT projects is over 50%. It’s possible to do better and it’s possible to do so consistently. In this two-week course, we’ll step through major challenges within corporate IT and how to address them with the disciplined use of design thinking, Lean Startup, and agile as a team framework.

Aug 17th 2026
2 Weeks
Managing the Company of the Future (Coursera) Coursera
University of London,London Business School

Managing the Company of the Future (Coursera)

The aim of the course is to provide you with a comprehensive framework for understanding both the traditional principles of management inside companies today as well as the alternative principles that are becoming increasingly important. It provides both theoretical and practical perspectives on the nature of management in today’s organisations.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Sustainability through Soccer: Systems-Thinking in Action (Coursera) Coursera
University of Virginia

Sustainability through Soccer: Systems-Thinking in Action (Coursera)

This course takes learners on a journey through a progression of systems-thinking and sustainability concepts. Using the beautiful game of soccer as an analogy, we'll work together to illuminate real-world interdependencies (such as between climate change and human rights), building the chain of concepts in a fun, accessible way. Soccer nerds and newbies alike will be entertained and, ultimately, rewarded with the epiphanies that come from seeing in systems more clearly.

Aug 17th 2026
4 Weeks