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Principles of Environmental Management
Undergraduate | ACU-OHSE202 | 2021
Course information for 2021 intake
Get a grounding in organisational environmental management, as you learn about the dual areas of science and management. Engage with concepts including biodiversity, sustainable development, legislation, risk assessment, and auditing.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Entry requirements
- No ATAR needed,
- No prior study
- Duration
- 13 weeks
FEE-HELP available
Principles of Environmental Management
About this subject
On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:
- demonstrate understanding of environmental management concepts and language sufficiently to be able to communicate effectively with environmental management professionals and other key stakeholders
- explain and assimilate concepts of environmental management with reference to environmental information and data and in a legislative context (GA5, GA8).
- assess impacts of adverse environment management effects on health of individuals, communities and environment with reference to organisational contexts (GA2, GA5).
- evaluate and recommend interventions to control risks to health or environment in an organisational context (GA4, GA5).
- compare various approaches to environmental management from national and analyse their impact on addressing environmental issues (GA5, GA6).
- Introduction to environmental science
- Introduction to environmental management: Ecosystems and biodiversity
- Air and Water Pollution
- Ozone Depletion and Climate Change
- The Precautionary Principle and Sustainable Development – responsibility of present generations to meet their own needs without comprising the needs of future generations
- Valuing Natural Capital
- Reflecting on Environmental Hazards to Human Health
- Environmental Risk Assessment – analysing and evaluating available information to ascertain the level of risk to apply to a particular activity as it relates to human and environmental health
- Environmental Management Systems – how to deal with the problem of environmental risk taking into consideration both local and international impacts
- Environmental Auditing – locating and organising information related to environmental aspects and impacts of a particular activity
- Environmental Legislation
- International conventions for the environment
- Effective communication in the environmental science context
This is a synoptic unit that provides an introduction to organisational environmental management and is divided into two halves – (i) environmental science; and (ii) environmental management. Environmental science concepts include ecosystems, biodiversity, ecologically sustainable development, the precautionary principle, ozone depletion, climate change and greenhouse gases. Environmental management concepts include environmentally sound development, international conventions for the environment, environmental legislation, environmental management standards, environmental risk assessment and environmental auditing. As a result, students will have the opportunity to explore and discuss a range of environmental management issues and develop skills in applying basic environmental management practice in organisational contexts. In doing so, this unit aims to provide students with the foundation knowledge, and skills on which to base further development in environmental management practice and/or to have informed discourse about environmental management issues with national and international organisational stakeholders.
Three assessment items are required in this unit. The first, based around online discussion, requires students to combine their own views and experiences with research from the academic literature while considering and responding to views expressed or questions posed by other students. The second item is an academic report on an environmental science topic that requires students to draw on the content and models covered in this unit, as well as relevant academic and industry-based literature and legislative requirements. The third assessment item is an open book online examination which aims to assess content knowledge and application of that knowledge to environmental management problems.
In order to pass this unit, students are required to achieve an overall mark of at least 50% and must make an attempt at all three assessment items. The assessment tasks for this unit are designed for students to demonstrate their achievement of each learning outcome.- Online Exam (35%)
- Essay (40%)
- Online Discussion (25%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
Established in 1991 after amalgamating four eastern Australian Catholic tertiary institutes, Australian Catholic University now has seven campuses, from Brisbane to Melbourne and welcomes students of all beliefs. Specialising in arts, business, education, health sciences, law, theology and philosophy, ACU encourages its students to think critically and ethically and bring change to their communities and offer this online through Open Universities Australia.
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- QS Ranking 2024:
- 34
- Times Higher Education Ranking 2024:
- 29
Entry requirements
No entry requirements
Equivalent subjects
You should not enrol in this subject if you have successfully completed any of the following subject(s) because they are considered academically equivalent:
ACU-OHS202 (Not currently available)
Additional requirements
- Other requirements - Relevant State or Territory Environmental Legislation
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
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