What you will study
This module is divided into three online study blocks.
Block 1: Issues for sustainable resource management
The first block outlines what resources are, how to plan for their usage, what outside influences affect decisions on what resources to use. It explains what sustainability is and how to develop a sustainability strategy, how to write both an environmental and health and safety policy and the issues surrounding corporate social responsibility. The block finishes by considering the integration of health, safety and environmental responsibilities within an organisation.
Block 2: Technical and management tools
The second block helps you to deal with data, how you can collect it and what can be used to measure the sustainability of an organisation. The block considers financial issues, environmental auditing, health and safety auditing, environmental impact assessment, life cycle assessment and multi-criteria decision analysis.
Block 3: Planning for emergencies and communicating with stakeholders
The final block concentrates on communication and why it is important, how to manage information and how to involve stakeholders. This includes how to manage and use data for reporting to both the public and for board-level discussions. The block also demonstrates various environmental management systems and tools for accreditation, e.g. ISO 14001, and considers integrated risk management issues such as emergency planning, analysing incidences and evaluating long term trends.
Finally the module considers new developing environmental and health and safety areas which may become important to organisations in the future.
This module is delivered entirely online and encourages interaction between the organisation you work for and your study materials. To help you understand the issues, all the information you need is provided within the module or signposted to appropriate outside sources. The module also includes interviews from senior representatives of many professional bodies (including the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM), Institution of Occupational Health and Safety (IOSH) and Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM)) on many of the issues associated with resources and sustainability, and with experts and practitioners in various subjects (such as life cycle assessment, health and safety, and stakeholders and communication).