Environmental Management Tools (6 cr)

Objectives (course unit)

After completing the course the student:
- Knows the principles of environmental management systems and understands how different organizations can benefit from pursuing for sustainability in their operations
- Can plan and build an environmental management system for an organization
- Understands what is meant by Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and knows the main guidelines and standards related to CSR
- Can assess and audit different management systems by using the available tools

Content (course unit)

Environmental Management Systems and Tools (EMS, EMAS, ISO 14001, BS 7750 etc.), Environmental Assessment and Auditing, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Prerequisites (course unit)

Preliminary knowledge on environmental management is required before taking this course. 5E00BF93 Basics for Environmental Technology and Management or corresponding course is a pre-requisite for this course.

Location and time

Course schedule can be found at https://lukkarit.tamk.fi/

Exam schedules

There will be an open book Tabula exam in the end of the course. The exam date will be published shortly after the course starts.

Evaluation methods and criteria

The evaluation of the course is based on continuous evaluation:
Learning outcomes that are based on the knowledge and skills achieved with the course assignments, exercises, reports based on them and exam.
The final grade consists of the following elements:
- Exam, 30 %
- Group work (CSR), 40 %
- Individual assignments (voluntary and obligatory), 30 %

Voluntary assignments include the weekly assignments with the given deadlines. You are able to pass the course without submitting the voluntary assignments, but this will affect your grade. Late submissions of voluntary assignments are not accepted after their deadlines.

Obligatory assignments have deadlines as well, but in order to pass the course, you need to submit the assignment in any case. Late submissions will affect the grade.

Assessment scale

0-5

Teaching methods

Contact teaching, assignments, self-study, group works and a field visit. Language of instruction is English.

Learning materials

All materials will be distributed via Tabula. Lecture materials include references to relevant literature.

Student workload

Contact teaching, group works done during the lecture time, and a site visit 54-66 hours, self-study (reports, exercises, exam) 96-108 hours. Approximately 162 hours in total. Given hours are approximates and are based on general guidelines (1 ECTS cr equals approx. 27 h of work).

Content scheduling

See lecture schedules, topics and classrooms from Lukkarikone at https://lukkarit.tamk.fi/

Completion alternatives

No alternative ways to pass the course.

Assessment criteria - fail (0) (Not in use, Look at the Assessment criteria above)

Student do not participate group work and fails to submit the assignments in time. Student do not participate the exam or do not otherwise pass the exam.

Assessment criteria - satisfactory (1-2) (Not in use, Look at the Assessment criteria above)

Student participated in the group work and in the exam. The achieved competence is sufficient for passing the course but remains narrow.
Student shows throughout the course (assignments, classroom discussions) and at the exam that is familiar with the basic concepts and phenomena related to environmental management systems, auditing and other themes discussed during the course. Student has basic theoretical knowledge in environmental management systems.
The group work was done, reported and presented within the deadline but background information remained minimal, reporting structured according to the instructions but literature references are missing, presentation incomplete, discussion and conclusions are inadequate showing that only narrow competence is achieved.

Assessment criteria - good (3-4) (Not in use, Look at the Assessment criteria above)

Student participated in the group work and in the exam. The achieved competence is structured and student can apply the theoretical knowledge in known situations.
Student knows and understands the basic concepts and phenomena related to environmental management systems, auditing and other themes discussed during the course. Student has good knowledge in the structure of environmental management systems and the student understands the requirements of environmental management systems (for example ISO 14001, EMAS). Student is motivated towards the subjects discussed.
The group work was done, reported and presented properly and within the deadline, background information collected, reporting has been structured according to the instructions, with references to the reliable sources, presentation of the results mostly correct eventually with small mistakes, discussion and conclusions are adequate showing deep understanding of the concepts and ability to apply them.

Assessment criteria - excellent (5) (Not in use, Look at the Assessment criteria above)

Student participated in the group work and in the exam. The achieved competence is wide and student can apply the theoretical knowledge in changing situations.
Student has fluent knowledge and understanding the basic concepts and phenomena related to environmental management systems, auditing and other themes discussed during the course. Student has fluent knowledge in the structure of environmental management systems and the student understands the requirements of environmental management systems (for example ISO 14001, EMAS). Student is motivated towards the subjects discussed, shows creativity and has a positive attitude towards developing itself.
The group work was done, reported and presented very well and within the deadline, background information collected, reporting has been structured according to the instructions, with references to the reliable sources, presentation correct, discussion and conclusions are adequate and based on comparison to literature, conclusions are clear and clearly expressed. The work shows deep understanding of the concepts and that the student has sufficient skills to apply correctly the theoretical knowledge.