GSE823 Corporate Environmental Management
About this Unit
Next offering: Semester 2, 2009 (Unit is offered in alternate years)
Offered: D2 - Day; Second Half-Year (Block mode delivery)
Convenor: Dr Bob Staib
Prerequisites/Corequisites: None
Credit points: 4
This unit addresses environmental management within the corporation. Roles and responsibilities to implement and manage good corporate environmental outcomes are discussed. Discussions cover the: establishment of a corporate environmental strategy; practical aspects of establishing and maintaining an environmental management system to ISO 14001 (planning, implementation, review and continual improvement etc); processes to support corporate environmental management including managing environmental information and risk, environmental auditing, implementing methods for cleaner production and waste minimisation, environmental accounting, life cycle assessment; and people aspects of environmental management: changing the corporate ethos and interacting with stakeholders.
Teaching Staff
Convenor: Dr Bob Staib
GSE Visiting Fellow, Staib Consulting
Phone: 0412 274 777
Email: rstaib@wix.com.au
Classes
Classes are conducted in block modes. Dates to be advised.
Unit web page
There is no web page for this unit.
Learning Outcomes
Contextual knowledge
- Ability to analyse the corporate environmental ethos of an organisation and develop a strategy for change directed at improved environmental outcomes.
- Understand the importance of cultural, scientific, social, economic, ethical, and legal issues in environmental management.
- Understand the roles of environmental compliance, auditing, ecological sustainability, environmental management and environmental accounting.
- Ability to develop a corporate environmental strategy for an organisation.
- Understand the nature and significance of environmental data.
- Ability to plan, implement and evaluate environmental auditing within an organisation.
- Ability to critically evaluate different approaches to cleaner production methods, waste minimisation life cycle assessment and risk..
- Understand the importance of developing positive interactions with stakeholders, neighbours and the wider community.
- Ability to develop and / or evaluate an environmental management system using ISO 14000, or an equivalent standardised approach.
Personal skills
- Demonstrate an effective grasp of the international literature relevant to corporate environmental management.
- Work effectively as part of an interdisciplinary team to address environmental management issues and policy development.
- Obtain key information from experts in short face-to-face sessions.
- Write cogent and clearly structured policies, plans or reports addressing any of the above aspects of environmental management within an organisation.
- Communicate effectively in a panel interview situation your understanding of environmental management for an organisation.
- Deliver a clear and well-structured oral presentation of a prescribed duration on a defined theme related to environmental management within an organisation.
- Manage your own learning through effective use of time and resources.
Teaching and Learning Strategy
Schedule of Lectures
| Date | Course Structure |
|---|---|
| Mailing of material to Students | |
| Introductory 2 hour overview an discussion on Assignment 1 | |
| Block 1 | |
| Assignment 1 Due | |
| Block 2 | |
| Block 3 | |
| Assignment 2 Due (in-class assessment) | |
| Assignment 3 Due |
Relationship between Assessment and Learning Outcomes
| Assessment | Description | Marks | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assignment 1: Individual Report |
2000 word individual report of the analysis of the environmental goals of an organisation | 20% | |
| Assignment 2: Syndicate Presentation and Interview |
Environmental management case study: 20 minute presentation to panel on the initial case |
15% | |
| 20 minute interview by panel of a development in the case. | 15% | ||
| Assignment 3: Individual Report |
2500 word individual report of the development and evaluation of an Environmental Management System | 50% |
To pass this unit students must:
- Attend at least 80% of the classes;
- Attempt all three assignments shown below;
- Engage in class discussions and presentation;
- Pass Assignment 3; and
- Pass the course overall.
The assignment topics for assignments 1 and 3 will be included in the Study Guide and the case study for Assignment 2 will be provided during the course.
Assignments submission is to be in accordance with standard GSE requirements.
GSE standard requirements will apply to work that is submitted late in terms of acceptance, extensions of time and penalties.
There are no formal end of term exams for this Unit.
Required and Recommended Texts/Materials
Textbook
Staib, R. (2005), Environmental Management and Decision-making for Business, Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Readings
Welford R (Ed.) (1998) Corporate Environmental Management 1: Systems and Strategies Earthscan, London
Welford R (Ed.) (1997) Corporate Environmental Management 2: Culture and Organisations Earthscan, London
Limited copies of the above books are in the library.
Other reading material and reference sources will be included in the Study Guide to be distributed at the start of the term.
Plagiarism
The University defines plagiarism in its rules: "Plagiarism involves using the work of another person and presenting it as one's own." Plagiarism is a serious breach of the University's rules and carries significant penalties. You must read the University's practices and procedures on plagiarism. These can be found in the Handbook of Postgraduate Studies or on the web at: http://www.student.mq.edu.au/plagiarism/
The policies and procedures explain what plagiarism is, how to avoid it, the procedures that will be taken in cases of suspected plagiarism, and the penalties if you are found guilty. Penalties may include a deduction of marks, failure in the unit, and/or referral to the University Discipline Committee.
The GSE recommends that students familiarise themselves with the information contained on the Georgetown University Honor Council website which discusses plagiarism in an easy to understand and comprehensive manner.
University Policy on Grading
Academic Senate has a set of guidelines on the distribution of grades across the range from fail to high distinction. Your final result will include one of these grades plus a standardised numerical grade (SNG).
On occasion your raw mark for a unit (i.e., the total of your marks for each assessment item) may not be the same as the SNG which you receive. Under the Senate guidelines, results may be scaled to ensure that there is a degree of comparability across the university, so that units with the same past performances of their students should achieve similar results.
It is important that you realise that the policy does not require that a minimum number of students are to be failed in any unit. In fact it does something like the opposite, in requiring examiners to explain their actions if more than 20% of students fail in a unit.
The process of scaling does not change the order of marks among students. A student who receives a higher raw mark than another will also receive a higher final scaled mark.
For an explanation of the policy see:
http://senate.mq.edu.au/rules/Guidelines2003.doc or
http://senate.mq.edu.au/rules/detailedguidelines.doc
Student Support Services
Macquarie University provides a range of Academic Student Support Services. Details of these services can be accessed at http://www.student.mq.edu.au.
Advice for Students with Disabilities/Health Conditions
The Equity Support Unit (ESU) provides support and assistance to students with a disability/health condition in aiming to ensure that they do not experience disadvantage in reaching their academic potential. Service provision is determined on a case-by-case basis following an assessment of a student's needs and the provision of supporting documentation. Service provision is also dependent on the availability of resources.
To register with ESU, download an Advice of Disability/Health Condition form from http://www.reg.mq.edu.au/academic-index.html. This form must be completed annually, irrespective of whether a disability/health condition is temporary, long-term or permanent. Students wishing to request support services from the ESU should make an appointment to see a Disability Advisor immediately after enrolling at Macquarie University.
Phone: (02) 9850 6494/7497
Fax: (02) 9850 6063
TTY: (02) 9850 6493
Email: equity@mq.edu.au
In person: Level 2, Lincoln Building (C8A), Macquarie University
Website: http://www.sss.mq.edu.au/equity