Rohe- ja ringmajandus ning ressursid

Peamised õppevaldkonnad hõlmavad kestlikkuse ja rohepöörde strateegiaid, ESG ja mõjujuhtimist, ringmajanduse praktikaid, ressursi ja energiatõhusust ning kestlike ärimudelite arendamist.

Õppetöö eesmärk on anda õppijatele oskus lõimida kestlikkuse põhimõtteid strateegilistesse ja operatiivsetesse otsustusprotsessidesse ning kujundada ettevõtlikku mõtteviisi, mis on suunatud keskkondlike ja ühiskondlike väljakutsete lahendamisele. Kõigis õppevormides pööratakse suurt tähelepanu praktilisele ja rakenduslikule õppele, sidudes teoreetilised raamistikud reaalse ärikeskkonnaga.

Õppetöö kaudu arendatavad põhikompetentsid

• Oskus kavandada ja ellu viia kestlikkuse ja rohepöörde strateegiaid
• Ringmajanduse põhimõtete mõistmine ja rakendamine ärikontekstis
• ESG ja mõju hindamise, mõõtmise ning aruandluse oskused
• Kestliku ressursi ja energiajuhtimise kompetents
• Kestlike ja skaleeritavate ärimudelite arendamine
• Probleemilahendus süsteemse ja interdistsiplinaarse lähenemise kaudu
• Kestlikkusega seotud teemade kommunikatsioon sidusrühmadele ja otsustajatele

Meie õppetöö hõlmab nii mikrokraadi „Sustainable and Green Transition: Strategies, Practices and Resource Management“, mis annab õppijatele praktilised tööriistad kestlikkuse lõimimiseks äristrateegiasse, kui ka bakalaureuseõppe suunda „Impactful Entrepreneurship (Sustainability Stream)“, kus üliõpilased arendavad kestlikke äriideid praktilise õppe, meeskonnatöö ja reaalsete äriväljakutsete kaudu.

• Sareen, S., Juhola, S., Czarnecka, A., Kekkonen, A., Martinovska Stojcheska, A., Slavec, A., … Kiss, V. (2026). The prefigurative politics of enactable sustainability transformations in the present. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift - Norwegian Journal of Geography, 1–13.
• Wojtczuk-Turek, A., Turek, D., Edgar, F., Klein, H. J., Bosak, J., Okay-Somerville, B., Fu, N., Raeder, S., Jurek, P., Lupina-Wegener, A., Dvorakova, Z., Gutiérrez-Crocco, F., Kekkonen, A., Leiva, P. I., Mynaříková, L., Sánchez-Apellániz, M., Shafique, I., Al-Romeedy, B. S., Wee, S., … Karamustafa-Köse, G. (2026) Putting Sustainable Human Resource Management and Workplace Eudaimonic Well-being into Cross-Cultural Context. European Management Journal https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2026.03.008
• Fromberg, E. H. E., Bakker, C. A., & Peck, D. (2025). Ecological Design Thinking for a Circular Economy: the impact of the forest metaphor for circular business. Journal of Circular Economy, 3(5). https://doi.org/10.55845/FGTL1893
• Güven, E., & Pesor, R. (2025). Transition to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive: Insights from Refinitiv Environmental, Social, and Governance Data. In Global Environmental, Social and Governance Policy (pp. 157-179). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003582366-11
• Pesor, R., Täks, M., & Kekkonen, A. (2024). Factors shaping Estonian entrepreneurs' green transition awareness. Business Strategy and the Environment, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3927
• Kooskora, M., Kekkonen, A., eds. (2024). Performance Challenges in Organizational Sustainability. Responsible Leadership and Sustainable Management. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-5548-6
• Güven, E., & Pesor, R. (2024). Exploring the effects of ESG scores and carbon emissions on abnormal stock returns: A two-step approach with random forest and panel regressions. In Performance Challenges in Organizational Sustainability: Practices from Public and Private Sector (pp. 185-208). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-5548-6_9
• Kekkonen, A.; Pesor, R.; Täks, M. Stepping towards the Green Transition: Challenges and Opportunities of Estonian Companies. Sustainability 2023, 15, 4172. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054172

Creating Opportunities For Resilience, Entrepreneurship, Sustainability and Training in European Forestry

The CO-FOREST project tackles critical challenges in forestry education by developing innovative, inclusive, and challenge-driven training content and courses. These programs will equip forestry professionals, students, and stakeholders with the necessary skills to address climate resilience, wildfire prevention, pest and disease management, digital transformation, innovation, and entrepreneurship in the forestry sector.

Principal investigator: Aleksandra Kekkonen
Funder: European Commission
Funding: 106 358 EUR

https://www.co-forest.site/

From regional relevance to transnational value: how regional food systems can boost resilience and self-sufficiency in Nordic and Baltic countries

The project aims to contribute to data collection and the development of a comprehensive measurement methodology to map and assess the long-term resilience of regional food systems in the Nordic and Baltic countries, which can also be applied at national and transnational levels. In addition to that, it aims to identify leverage points for actions and to lead to theoretical and practical benefits for coordinated food systems governance by engaging stakeholders in a participatory way and by developing innovative tools and policy recommendations.

Principal investigator: Aleksandra Kekkonen
Funder: European Commission; Estonian Research Council
Number: MOB3PRT27
Funding: 99 950 EUR

https://www.helsinki.fi/en/ruralia-institute/regiofoods

L2BGreen - Learning to be Green: An AI-enhanced multilingual online course for developing a green entrepreneurial mindset

The L2BGreen Erasmus+ project aims to leverage scalable, digital ways of learning as the means to equip people with skills and knowledge on green entrepreneurship.

Principal Investigator: Regina Erlenheim;
Funder: European Commission;
Funding: 64 371 EUR.

https://www.l2bgreen.com/

https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/projects/search/details/101139849

Inclusive and Empowering Leadership in Local Governments: Equal Opportunities and Artificial Intelligence as Drivers of Labour, Well-being and Competitiveness

This project addresses a strategic challenge for Estonia: linking equal opportunities to labour market participation, social well-being, cohesion, economic competitiveness and national security. The study focuses on municipal council members and senior officials, examining how inclusive, empowering and value-based leadership can reduce attitudinal divides, strengthen trust and improve decision-making.

Principal Investigator: Mari Kooskora
Funder: Majandus- ja Kommunikatsiooniministeerium
Funding: 200 000 EUR

Critical Raw Materials Analysis for Estonian Road Map

Critical raw materials are natural resources that are strategically important for the European Union’s economy and are associated with a high risk of supply disruption. These raw materials enable society to benefit from high-tech solutions and support the transition to green technologies, including renewable energy. The aim of the analysis is to support the preparation of the roadmap and to assess the potential of the extraction and valorization of critical raw materials found in Estonia. The analysis will provide an overview of the distribution and value of primary and secondary raw materials in Estonia, suitable exploration, mining and processing technologies, and a general description of the possible environmental impacts of mining and processing. Additionally, the analysis will explore the potential uses of these raw materials in Estonian and European industries, assess their economic prospects and evaluate suitable valorization models to determine under which conditions the use of critical raw materials in Estonia is strategically and economically justified.