AD3TRS: Transitions to Sustainability

Module code: AD3TRS

Module provider: School of Agriculture, Policy and Development

Credits: 20

Level: Level 3 (Honours)

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Professor Simon Mortimer, email: s.r.mortimer@reading.ac.uk

Module co-convenor: Professor Martin Lukac, email: m.lukac@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s): This module is only available to BSc Environmental Management students. (Open)

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 20 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

The module aims to expose students to latest professional practice in the Environmental Management and Sustainability sector. Using a lectures, case studies and field visits, we will examine the motivations for businesses and organisations to improve their sustainability performance, the tools and processes available to achieve this and how transitions towards more sustainable practices are achieved.

To encourage and enable students to:

• understand how business and organisations address sustainability issues, measure their impacts and respond to drivers such as policy and regulation and pressure from consumers and the wider public
• examine and critically appraise innovation and leading practices in sustainable development in a number of case studies
• place their own understanding and experience in a broader multidisciplinary perspective of issues relating to sustainability.
• develop further their skills in researching cross-cutting issues relating to sustainability, including skills of critical reasoning, analysing, evaluating and synthesising

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Explain sustainable business/governance models, their underlying principles and their relationship with organisations, products and services
2. Explain major policy and legislation and their implications for organisations, products and services
3. Explain major and relevant tools, techniques, systems and practices, their application and how they can be used to develop sustainable products and services and improve sustainability performance
4. Identify and propose ways to improve the sustainability performance of businesses and organisastions and the principles of change management

Module content

1. An overview of the history of environmental, social and economic impacts from human activities.
2. Sustainable business/governance models and their underlying principles
3. Relevant policy and legislation and their implications for businesses and organisations
4. Current tools, techniques, systems and practices employed to improve sustainability performance.
5. Sustainability audits and Environmental Management Systems
6. The circular economy, lifecycle thinking and life cycle analysis
7. Case study examples of innovation and other leading practices 
8. The role of effective communication with internal and external stakeholders
9. Sustainability as an objective for businesses and organisations and managing change
10. Managing transitions to sustainability and understanding barriers

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The course will be taught through weekly lectures followed by discussion seminars.  Guest speakers will illustrate key components using case studies illustrating professional practice.  Some case study material will be presented using online or video material.

Students will attend a residential field course to gain experience of a number of innovative case studies in the areas of urban sustainability and the circular economy. This content is designed to enhance the understanding of how policy and other drivers influence the work of professionals in this sector and how management practices and strategies are employed to achieve their aims. There will be no cost for the field course for students enrolled on the BSc Environmental Management & Sustainability programme apart from travel to the UK exit point (e.g. ferry port).

Study hours

At least 44 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

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

Assessments with numerical marks

• 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 three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/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.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Reassessment

Additional costs