Summary - Sustainability Economics

2025 – 2026


Sustainability
Economics
Prof. Cathy Macharis

HOC 3 — Inequality
HOC 4 — History of Economic Theory & Sustainability
HOC 5 — Degrowth, Postgrowth and Ecological Macro
HOC 6 — Green Deal & EU Climate Policy
HOC 7 — Circular Economy
HOC 8 — Sustainability Reporting
HOC 9 — Sustainable Business Models
HOC 10 — Sustainable Sourcing
HOC 11 — Sustainable Technologies
HOC 12 — Finance: a regenerative future
HOC 13 — Regenerative Leadership

,TABLE OF CONTENTS

• EXAM STRUCTURE AND OVERVIEW OF THE MATERIAL TO KNOW
• Side note — HOC1 & HOC2 (concepts you DO need to know)




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• 3. INEQUALITY (HOC3) (Fransolet — 37 slides)
• 3.1. WHAT ARE SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL INEQUALITIES?
• 3.2. THE FRAMEWORK OF SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL JUSTICE
• 3.3. THE FIVE SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL INEQUALITIES
• 3.4. THE 5 INEQUALITIES LINKED TO THE 4 DIMENSIONS
• 3.5. FROM INEQUALITIES TO JUST TRANSITION POLICIES
• 3.6. EXAM — SAMPLE QUESTIONS HOC3




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• 4. HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THEORY & SUSTAINABILITY (HOC4) (La Gioia)




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• 4.1. ECONOMIC SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT
• 4.2. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE (MC only)
• 4.3. ENVIRONMENTAL VS ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS
• 4.4. NEW PARADIGMS (WPO version only)
• 4.5. EXAM — SAMPLE QUESTIONS HOC4
• 5. DEGROWTH, POSTGROWTH AND ECOLOGICAL MACRO (HOC5) (Van der Slycken)
• 5.1. WHAT IS ECONOMICS ABOUT?
• 5.2. DIVERSE ECONOMIES VS. THE "GROSSLY DISMAL" PERSPECTIVE
• 5.3. DEGROWTH AS PART OF THE PLURIVERSE
• 5.4. Transformative policy proposals — 5 pathbreaking reforms
• 5.5. ECOLOGICAL MACRO MODELS




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• 5.6. EXAM — SAMPLE QUESTIONS HOC5




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• 6. GREEN DEAL & EU CLIMATE POLICY (HOC6) (Wyns)




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• 6.1. A CONCISE HISTORY OF HUMANS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
• 6.2. INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE AGREEMENTS
• 6.3. EU INSTITUTIONS AND HOW EU POLICY IS MADE




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• 6.4. EU CLIMATE POLICY 1990-2050




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• 6.5. EXAM — SAMPLE QUESTIONS HOC6
• 7. CIRCULAR ECONOMY (HOC7) (Kalimo + Merckx)
• 7.1. ORIGINS AND MEANING OF "CIRCULAR ECONOMY"
• 7.2. CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN EU LAW AND POLICY
• 7.3. SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT POLICY AND ESPR




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• 7.4. EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY (EPR)
• 7.5. THE CE GOVERNANCE TOOLBOX (Merckx)
• 7.6. CILAB — A PRACTICAL EXAMPLE FROM THE TEXTILE SECTOR
• 7.7. THE 10 R-STRATEGIES OF CIRCULARITY
• 7.8. CILAB — A CIRCULAR TEXTILE LAB




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• 7.9. EXAM — SAMPLE QUESTIONS HOC7
• 8. SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING (HOC8) (Van Leeuwe/PwC — 56 slides)
• 8.1. WHY IS SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING IMPORTANT?
• 8.2. ESG THEMES AND HOW TO REPORT ON THEM


Sustainability Economics — HOC3-13 4

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• 8.3. CSRD — INTRODUCTION AND KEY CONCEPTS
• 8.4. HOW DO COMPANIES REPORT? — THE ESRS STRUCTURE
• 8.5. KEY CONCEPTS OF ESRS
• 8.6. CSRD WAVE 1 INSIGHTS — THE FIRST BATCH
• 8.7. SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING IN PRACTICE
• 8.8. EXAM — SAMPLE QUESTIONS HOC8
• 9. Sustainable Business Models (Vermeiren — 35 slides)
• 10. Sustainable Sourcing (Thomassen — 51 slides)
• 11. Sustainable Technologies (105 slides)
• 12. Finance: a regenerative future (Snick — 39 slides)
• 13. Regenerative Leadership (Weaving Wolves — 35 slides)
• Tutorials (WPOs)




Sustainability Economics — HOC3-13 5

, EXAM STRUCTURE AND OVERVIEW OF THE MATERIAL TO KNOW

The exam consists of 20 multiple-choice questions and 2 open questions, each with three sub-questions: a
concept question, an application question and a reflection question. Not all material weighs equally — some
chapters come up only via multiple choice, others are the sources for the open questions. The overview below
indicates exactly what you need to know for each part.




Sustainability Economics — HOC3-13 6