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

A Circular Economy of Metals: Towards a Sustainable Societal Metabolism (Coursera) Coursera
Leiden University

A Circular Economy of Metals: Towards a Sustainable Societal Metabolism (Coursera)

Metals are present everywhere around us and are one of the major materials upon which our economies are built. Economic development is deeply coupled with the use of metals. During the 20th century the variety of metal applications in society grew rapidly. In addition to mass applications such as steel in buildings and aluminium in planes, more and more different metals are in use for innovative technologies such as the use of the specialty metal indium in LCD screens. A lot of metals will be needed in the future. It will not be easy to provide them. In particular in emerging economies, but also in industrialized countries, the demand for metals is increasing rapidly. Mining and production activities expand, and with that also the environmental consequences of metal production. In this course, we will explore those consequences and we will also explore options to move towards a more sustainable system of metals production and use.

Nov 30th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Beyond Silicon Valley: Growing Entrepreneurship in Transitioning Economies (Coursera) Coursera
Case Western Reserve University

Beyond Silicon Valley: Growing Entrepreneurship in Transitioning Economies (Coursera)

The path for entrepreneurs to grow their companies outside of well-developed entrepreneurial ecosystems like Silicon Valley is challenging. Most markets around the world do not look like Silicon Valley, and they never will. But there are other models to support new businesses. In transitioning markets (where entrepreneurs do not have much access to private sector financing), government officials, donors, and business leaders are experimenting with creative approaches to support the growth of entrepreneurs. Northeast Ohio, whose largest city is Cleveland, is one such community. During our time together in this course, we will be exploring some of these innovative approaches.

Nov 23rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Impact from Digital Transformation: Full course (Coursera) Coursera
EIT Digital

Impact from Digital Transformation: Full course (Coursera)

This course is about what you can do when everything around you seems to be moving due to digital change. It is about how to handle the disruptive process that tends to unfold in industry nowadays due to digitalisation. The way to handle this is what is here referred to as "Digital Transformation" and at the core of it, it is about understanding how the new business landscape is evolving and heading for a new position in that landscape. It is about corporate strategy.

Nov 23rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Foundations of Professional Identity (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Foundations of Professional Identity (Coursera)

Many find themselves frustrated in their careers by lack of preparation for dealing with predictable dilemmas that regularly arise in the world of work. Two in five professionals fired in their jobs after college are terminated for lying, or misuse of technology. Easy to avoid! Or is it? What if you find you have to compromise your values to keep your job? What if they ask you to lie or cheat, even though you know if you are found out you will be fired? What if you find out the company is breaking the law?

Nov 23rd 2026
4 Weeks
Introduction to Sustainability (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Introduction to Sustainability (Coursera)

This course introduces the academic approach of Sustainability and explores how today’s human societies can endure in the face of global change, ecosystem degradation and resource limitations. The course focuses on key knowledge areas of sustainability theory and practice, including population, ecosystems, global change, energy, agriculture, water, environmental economics and policy, ethics, and cultural history.

Nov 23rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Impact from digital transformation: A Nano course (Coursera) Coursera
EIT Digital

Impact from digital transformation: A Nano course (Coursera)

You believe that a lot of industries will fundamentally change due to digital power the upcoming 5 to 10 years? You believe that what often today have been called "disruption" might happen to an industry of your specific interest? You believe in the value of becoming able to predict how that kind of change will evolve in order to do digital transformation and thereby avoid ending up with big problems in the future? Then this course is for you.

Nov 23rd 2026
4 Weeks
Global Diplomacy: the United Nations in the World (Coursera) Coursera
University of London,SOAS University of London

Global Diplomacy: the United Nations in the World (Coursera)

The course offers a well-researched and broad-ranging primer to the United Nations system. Consisting of an introduction to the complex UN family and its history, and a series of ‘snapshots’ of key UN functions, which are used to explore important UN themes and help learners develop important analysis, communication, and policy-based skills.

Nov 23rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Game Theory (Coursera) Coursera
Stanford University,The University of British Columbia

Game Theory (Coursera)

Popularized by movies such as "A Beautiful Mind," game theory is the mathematical modeling of strategic interaction among rational (and irrational) agents. Beyond what we call `games' in common language, such as chess, poker, soccer, etc., it includes the modeling of conflict among nations, political campaigns, competition among firms, and trading behavior in markets such as the NYSE.

Nov 23rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Today’s Music Industry (Coursera) Coursera
West Virginia University

Today’s Music Industry (Coursera)

This course provides an engaging and methodical insight into the past and present cultural and commercial music industry developments, directions, and trends. It will equip the students with the knowledge and skills necessary to appreciate, understand and more productively participate in today’s music industry field.

Nov 23rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Planning: Principled, Proposing, Proofing, and Practicing to a Success Plan (Coursera) Coursera
Michigan State University

Planning: Principled, Proposing, Proofing, and Practicing to a Success Plan (Coursera)

According to Steven Blank a business startup, or any new venture startup is essentially a proto-type. Thus the startup process essentially becomes a learning process to refine that business proto-type into a scalable, replicable finished 'product'. At the end of this course learners will be able to: complete a business model summarizing assumptions about what value they will offer to whom, and how they will make money; systematically test and validate these assumptions within the constraints of their available resources, and; use these validated assumptions to generate financial projections that are based on actual resources and efforts expended.

Nov 23rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Innovating with the Business Model Canvas (Coursera) Coursera
University of Virginia

Innovating with the Business Model Canvas (Coursera)

Have you ever gotten really excited about reading or writing a business plan? You might have started out excited, but I’m going to bet you didn’t stay that way. Let’s be honest- business plans are boring and mostly ignored. In this course, you’ll learn key tools from the worlds of design thinking and Lean Startup to approach the Canvas with thoughtfulness, focus, and above all a test-driven approach to business model innovation.

Nov 23rd 2026
2 Weeks