CORPORATE, SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY - 2021/2

Module Overview

The course evaluates and discusses the way environmental and social concerns have affected organisations in the private sector, and how such organisations have affected the content, shape and direction of the public debate. Particular emphasis will be paid to corporate sustinability strategies, the distribution and organisation of roles within an organisation, the contribution of different departments, as well as the industrial perspective towards industrial ecology and sustainable consumption and other recent ideas that lie beyond the traditional boundaries of an organisation, such as product-based sustainability management.

Module provider

Centre for Environment & Sustainability

Module Leader

WEHRMEYER Walter (Civl Env Eng)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None.

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• Introduction to the Module


• Introducing CSR (Ian Christie)


• Corporate Policies and Strategies


• Cleaner Production, Materials Use and Waste Management


• Risk and The Genesis of Industrial Accidents


• Embedding Sustainability: Management Systems?


• Industrial Ecology


• Socially Responsible Investment


• Product-based Supply Chain Management


• Environmental Reporting and Stakeholder Management


• Transitions Outlook: What are companies for?


• Course Roundup

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

Different choice of essay topics for either assessment.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their critical thinking and practical skills in understanding and evaluation the environmental performance of a company, as well as the ability to critically reflect on the concept and practice of CSER.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

·         1000 word individual pre-module reflective essay. (30%)

·         3000 word post-module reflective essay or company report. (70%)

Formative assessment

·         Lectures and class discussions (25 hours)

·         Site visits (9 hours)

·         Independent study (116 hours)

Feedback

Commentary and feedback on the written output, as well as the class discussions

Module aims

• To provide students with a critical understanding of contemporary corporate responsibility and environmentalism.
• To understand and conceptualise business practices towards environmental protection
• To critically assess corporate social responsibility in a practical context

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

The module adopts a case-based learning strategy that presents, after a lecture on the material, a case (often using videos) that offers direct application of the learnt concepts and ideas. Emphasis is given to foster opinions and ideas on the material to apply the learning material in a direct, practical and business-relevant manner.

The learning and teaching methods include: Lectures, seminar discussions, practical applications, company case studies.

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their achievement regarding the learning outcomes. The summative assessment for this module consists of two components: the first is a short essay (about 1000 words) the topic of which can be picked from a list or agreed with the module organiser, due at the start of the module. The second is either a business improvement plan that makes a persuasive case for change towards greater sustainability in a company, or an essay picked from a selection, usually due a fortnight after the module.

Formative assessment and feedback

Feedback will be provided in detail to the assessments and in class during the discussions.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: ENGM069

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2021/2 academic year.