GV2CSR-Corporate Social Responsibility Consultancy

Module Provider: Geography and Environmental Science
Number of credits: 10 [5 ECTS credits]
Level:5
Terms in which taught: Spring term module
Pre-requisites:
Non-modular pre-requisites:
Co-requisites:
Modules excluded:
Current from: 2023/4

Module Convenor: Mr Jim Ormond
Email: j.k.ormond@reading.ac.uk

Type of module:

Summary module description:

This module introduces students to critical analyses of corporate social responsibility and environmental governance. The module encourages students to play the role of sustainability consultants, drawing on the module convenor’s extensive experience in this area. As such, students will gain employability and professional development skills alongside the more intellectual content of the module.

Aims:

• To combine academic critical thinking; corporate examples and practical exercises to build new insight and understanding on the role of corporations in environmental and sustainable governance. 


• To provide students with a practical insight into what a career working in corporate social responsibility and sustainability is like. 

Assessable learning outcomes:

By the end of this module, students should be able to: 

• Outline what corporate social responsibility is and why it matters;


• Conduct a critical analysis of real-life corporate social responsibility strategies;


• Assess the impact of corporate social responsibility strategies in the context of development geographies;


• Understand the importance of corporate social responsibility within the wider context of climate change and global sustainable development priorities.

Additional outcomes:

Students will gain an understanding of the role of an environmental consultant, including the professional standards and expectations of someone performing this role and the employment opportunities available in the field of corporate social responsibility.

Outline content:

The lecture course will introduce the concept of corporate social responsibility, discuss its history and evolution, analyse the corporate social responsibility strategies of corporations from a geographical perspective, introduce methodologies for measuring the impact of corporate activities and set this material in the context of the carbon economy and the sustainable development goals.

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:

The module will consist of weekly lectures with practical exercises each week based on case studies of corporations. Students will evaluate a company over the course of the term and this will form the basis of the coursework for the module. 

Contact hours:

	Autumn	Spring	Summer
Lectures		20
Guided independent study:		80
Total hours by term	0	100	0
Total hours for module	100

Summative Assessment Methods:

Method	Percentage
Written assignment including essay	100

Summative assessment- Examinations:

Summative assessment- Coursework and in-class tests:

The course is assessed through two course work assignments:

1. A pre-recorded powerpoint presentation is to be submitted half-way through the course which counts for 25% of the course mark. The presentation is a maximum of 5 minutes. The presentation is designed to capture learnings from the first section of the course, and relates to the company choosen by the student.


2. An essay is submitted at the end of the course, and accounts for 75%. The essay relates to the company choosen by the student and is a maximum of 2,000 words

Formative assessment methods:

Students will be given opportunities to complete small, practical tasks each week. They can check their understanding of key concepts though these tasks.

Penalties for late submission:

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of five working days;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than five working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/cqsd-old-site-documents/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf
You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Assessment requirements for a pass:

A mark of 40% overall

Reassessment arrangements:

Resubmission of coursework 

Additional Costs (specified where applicable):

1) Required text books: 

2) Specialist equipment or materials: 

3) Specialist clothing, footwear or headgear: 

4) Printing and binding: 

5) Computers and devices with a particular specification: 

6) Travel, accommodation and subsistence: 

Last updated: 30 March 2023