Overview
Course start date: To be confirmed
Price: £150
Lecturer(s): To be confirmed
Course Code: ENVT021
Level: Non-accredited, non-credit bearing
Assessments/Exams: None. Throughout the course you will be given ideas and questions to respond to in the online discussion area. Participation in online discussion is encouraged, but not compulsory.
Duration: 10 weeks
Estimated Student Study Time: 2 – 5 hours per week are recommended, but time spent is flexible and at your discretion.
Fee: £150.00
Pre-Requisites: No academic qualifications or experience of business and environment are required, only an enthusiasm for the subject.
Delivery: Online Distance Learning
Late Entrants: If this course is not full by the start date then late entrants will be accepted for up to two weeks after the start of the course. As a late entrant you can choose to catch up on the material you have missed or you can skip the missed weeks and concentrate on the material at the point where you join the course, but unfortunately we cannot offer fee reductions or course extensions for late entrants.
Please note: All courses are subject to sufficient numbers of students registering before they are confirmed as running. Therefore, after booking your place you are advised not to purchase any texts until you have received confirmation that the course is running.
Summary
Much is made of the need for businesses to be sustainable but what does this mean?
How can a business be competitive, financially viable and environmentally conscious?
How can companies navigate the short term demands of market economics with the longer term pressures of environmental awareness?
Furthermore, ecological issues are reflected in:
- the goods we purchase as consumers
- our social actions
- our role in the workplace
- our Government’s legislation
This course will introduce you to key topics underlying business and sustainability, as together we will explore these questions and issues.
Whilst good business practice and consumer pressure should provide the drivers for a sustainable approach, it would be naive to suggest that progress on environmental issues would be made without legislation backed up by litigation, and we will visit this during the course through national and international case studies.
In exploring the greening of business, we will also keep in focus the development of ecological management theories and practices along with what is actually happening in sustainable development.
Syllabus Plan
Week 01 – Sustainability and Business Decision Making
Week 02 – Issues in Environmental Management – Beyond the Technical Fix
Week 03 – Life Cycle Assessment and Analysis
Week 04 – Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) : Reporting Sustainability
Week 05 – Managing Organisational Knowledge for Sustainability and Competitive Advantage
Week 06 – Developing Communities of Eco Business Practice
Week 07 – Sustainable Product Innovation
Week 08 – Case Studies of Sustainable Design and Eco Efficiency
Week 09 – Critical Perspectives
Week 10 – Strategy Development and Action Planning and Conclusions