Environmental Management for Business MSc

• Dr Paul Burgess

Human population growth and increased resource use per capita is placing unsustainable demands on the global ecosystem. This module explores sustainability using three approaches.  The “Ecosystem Service” approach provides a framework for society to address key environmental issues such as food production, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, and water use.  The “Circular Economy” approach refers to the development of “restorative” industrial systems that are grounded on the lessons of non-linear, feedback-rich ecosystems.  The third approach is to explore the nexus between renewable energy, food, and other ecosystem services using per capita energy and food consumption. This module introduces and critiques the three approaches and examines their application to resolve real-world problems and create commercial opportunities.

• Moving from an “Empty World” to a “Full World”
• The Ecosystem Service Approach (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and UK National Ecosystem Assessment)
• Ecosystem processes and succession; the role of energy; feedback systems; biodiversity and system restoration
• Using an ecosystem approach: quantifying trade-offs and synergies; improving water and nutrient management, reducing greenhouse gases emissions, enhancing stability, resistance and resilience
• Introduction to the circular economy: opportunities for businesses; opportunities for consumers.
• How design, manufacturing practice and management can contribute to a circular economy
• Case study: trade-offs, synergies, and opportunities to enhance well-being and ecosystem service provision in terms of energy, food, feed and wood for a case study area.

On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:

• Critique the “ecosystem services”, “circular economy”, and “per capita energy use” approaches
• Critique associated terms such as “human well-being”, “sustainability”, and “biodiversity”.
• Explain the role of energy and feed-back systems in natural systems
• Explain how an ecosystem service approach can help society to identify and make decisions regarding the use of ecological resources, with a focus on biodiversity, greenhouse gases, nutrient loss, and water use.
• Explain how we can enhance the stability, resistance and resilience of natural systems.
• Explain how the “circular economy” provides commercial opportunities
• Explain how industrial activities such as design and manufacturing can promote a circular economy
• Use a per capita approach to explore the synergies between food, feed, wood, and renewable energy production to guide decision making and identify opportunities in the context of a case-study.

• Dr Rosina Watson

Global sustainability challenges are shaping the way business operates in the 21^st century. Businesses are under increasing pressure from multiple stakeholders (for e.g. shareholders, customers, employees, society) to manage their positive and negative impacts with clear responsibility and strategic intent.  Leading firms are choosing to respond to these challenges by generating sustainable value propositions to ultimately drive competitive advantage. For many this has meant re-engaging at the level of purpose and re-addressing their role in wider society and for human well-being.

This module outlines the major sustainability challenges and explores the capabilities organisations require need to respond positively to them. It will engage students in gaining a better understanding of how corporate action can be best configured to promote responsible and sustainable business strategies. In doing so, it will demand management students (as future business managers and leaders) to reflect on the long-standing debate about whether or not ‘the business of business, is still business?

Watch video: An introduction to the Leading Corporate Sustainability module

The content is organised around the sustainability management ‘compass’ below:



The course content is structured as follows:

Part 1: Setting the context

Context setting

• What is managing corporate sustainability?
• Social and environmental trends

The role of business

• What is the role of business?
• Challenges and opportunities for business

Exploring possible futures

• Playing ‘The Game of Life 2050;’ an interactive future sustainable scenario board game



Part 2: Developing the capabilities

• Creating a vision
• Formulating and implementing strategy
• Innovating
• Working with stakeholders
• Collaborating
• Valuing
• Leading

On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:

1. Identify global environmental and social trends and relate how these present both challenges and opportunities to business
2. Explain why businesses need to respond to these challenges and opportunities and assess the capabilities they require to do so
3. Classify the potential stakeholder groups businesses can work with to develop and implement their sustainability strategies and compare collaboration approaches
4. Consider the role of personal leadership in an organization’s values, strategic direction and ability to execute its sustainability strategy
5. Critically assess the content and reporting of businesses’ sustainability strategies
6. Design and recommend a sustainability-oriented innovation for a selected business.

• Dr Anil Graves

Financial (or investment) appraisal is a decision making process used by institutions and individuals to compare the efficiency of competing projects.  Economic appraisal (or social cost-benefit analysis) is the process of identifying, measuring, and comparing the societal costs of an investment project or programme.  Projects can be judged in terms of their relative monetised net benefits (total benefits minus total costs), including environmental impacts or enhancement; the project with the largest benefit: cost ratio is considered to deliver the most social benefits from the options under consideration.  This module explains the principles of financial and economic appraisal and students will acquire the knowledge and skills in the application of such appraisals.

• Welfare economics and pareto-efficiency; compensation principle and the role of equity.
• Market failures and the role of cost benefit analysis
• Principles and practice of financial and economic appraisal
• Case study application for an afforestation project in a spreadsheet environment
• Efficient provision of environmental goods and services.

On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:

• Explain how economic efficiency and equity can be assessed and used in financial and economic appraisal
• Critically evaluate different financial and economic appraisal metrics such as benefit: cost ratio, net present value, equivalent annual value, and internal rate of return.
• Critically evaluate the choice of an appropriate discount rate
• Undertake a financial and an economic appraisal in a spreadsheet environment
• Use techniques such as sensitivity analysis and Monte Carlo simulation.

• Dr Adrian Williams

Several methods exist to assess the environmental sustainability and impacts of products, services, businesses, projects, policies and economic systems. Each was conceived and developed for specific environmental objectives (see indicative content). A sustainability manager or sustainability consultant must be able to assess critically each of these methods and identify their strengths and weaknesses, and hence to choose which method to adopt when faced with the need to address an environmental issue.

• Life cycle assessment including carbon footprint and water footprint
• Ecological footprint
• Environment impact assessment
 

On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:

• Evaluate the main methods used in sustainability assessments and reports,
• Identify the appropriate methods to assess the environmental issues for specific products, services, systems or policies,
• Critically interpret sustainability claims of products, services and policies on the basis of the environmental assessment methods used.
  
  

• Dr Simon Jude

A critical application of environmental risk management is in the development and appraisal of Policy in Central Government. Policies are developed to manage environmental risks and selection of policy options must be informed by risk based tools and techniques. Doing so demands a comprehension of the technical, organisational and human elements of governing environmental risks and developing environmental policy. This module draws these themes together by introducing core concepts and then illustrating these concepts with case studies and finally application via a group exercise.  Core lectures are supported by multiple case studies, a workshop and module assignment. 

• Risk governance
• Problem definition
• Environmental risk analysis and management
• Implementation within organisations
• Environmental policy development and appraisal
• Policy instruments. 

On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:

• Define the technical, organisational and human features of effective environmental risk governance.
• Explain the environmental policy cycle of implementation and the basics of policy development and appraisal.
• Critically analyse different types of policy instruments, including regulation, economic, voluntary and other measures.
• Identify the appropriate policy instruments to use in different contexts.
• Compare and contrast environmental risk management techniques, selecting tools appropriate to the character of the risk in question.
• Identify the requirements of risk management maturity and the pre-requisites of good corporate risk governance.

• Professor Jim Harris

While technological change is seen as the root cause of many environmental problems, it is simultaneously viewed as the means of solving such problems. This module explores technological change as part of positive sum strategies put forward by ecological modernisers. Theories of technological change are reviewed such as evolutionary, path dependent and long wave and used to formulate technology policy to achieve environmental net gain or transition to a low carbon economy. These are then set in practical contexts such as innovation in manufacturing, ecological restoration or low-carbon living.

• Ecological Modernisation, definition, key aspects, objectives and methodology
• Development of associated policy frameworks, market failure, the role of governments, policies and mechanisms to address this
• Innovation: Technology Development, transfer, adoption and diffusion
• Innovation and sustainability, utility which process offers in this context, drivers and barriers
• Integrated Sustainable Technology Assessment in context
• Clusters, technology road-maps and the development of sustainable technologies.

On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:

• Explain the limitations of selected theories of technological change, e.g. linear, induced, path-dependent, and evolutionary
• Critically summarise the key trade-offs that occur in achieving technological change and economic development alongside environmental protection
• Discuss and present a summary of examples of technological change developed to achieve transition, e.g., to a low carbon economy
• Explain technology options and policy initiatives to stimulate transitions, e.g. to a low carbon economy using examples
• Concisely justify a proposal for an environmentally beneficial initiative.

• Dr Gill Drew

The purpose of this module is to introduce students to the practical issues associated with implementing Environmental Management Systems (EMS) into organisations.  This requires a thorough understanding of the concept of an EMS, as well as the most commonly used frameworks, namely the ISO 14000 series of standards.  In addition, knowledge of the potential barriers and pitfalls during implementation and the practical measures that can be implemented is provided.

• Introduction to the International Standards associated with EMS
• Environmental legislation and voluntary standards
• Developing the business case for EMS
• Barriers to implementation of EMS
• Waste technology and prevention measures
• Energy technology and monitoring
• Water use and technology.

On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:

• Understand and critique the ISO standards.
• Differentiate between voluntary requirements and legal or regulatory requirements of EMS
• Evaluate the likely environmental aspects of an organisation, in terms of energy, waste, water and pollution, and the appropriate control mechanisms.
• Design and implement an audit strategy to check compliance of an EMS with the ISO 14001 standard.  

• Dr Simon Jude

The aim of this module to develop an appreciation of the importance of individual and group attitudes towards the perception of risk and how this may influence views, conduct and actions in the face of a range of risks including the development of communication methods to disseminate information about risk(s) to a range of audiences and how to determine its effectiveness. 

• What is meant by the perception of risk and how it varies with context
• Attitudes towards risk based on psychological, cultural and other dimensions
• The role of various societal groups (the media, NGOs, etc) in risk issues
• Models of the amplification and attenuation of risk
• Understanding the “fright factors” in risk perception and the development of trust
• Horizon scanning and scenario building tools for communicating future risk to individuals and organisations
• Communicating risk messages to individuals, groups and society at large and errors in communication

On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:

• Describe the “non-science” influences in risk assessment and management using sociological and psychological theories relating to risk perception, attitudes and communication;
• Identify and describe drivers that may influence individual or group perceptions and attitudes towards risk in specific scenarios;
• Participate in the discourse on the roles in society of different stakeholders (e.g. the media, NGOs, academics, government) with respect to risk assessment issues and to be able to describe to others why they have the beliefs they hold
• Demonstrate skills in listening to concerns from different individuals/groups towards risks and the ability to enter into dialogue with such groups
• Communicate clearly to a range of audiences the impacts of future risks drawing upon the concepts of horizon scanning and using foresight tools, demonstrating the underlying principles and tensions within such techniques
• Develop effective means of communication to suit specific or general situations and how to demonstrate its effectiveness, and critique methods based on theories and evidence.