THE LIFE CYCLE OF PRODUCTS: FIELD WORK TRIP - 2026/7

Module Overview

This module is centred on a week-long, overseas field trip which explores the life cycle impacts of a product or service, e.g., a health spa visit, or production of a food or drink. Drawing on insights gained during the field trip, students critically reflect on the extent to which life cycle thinking and circular economy approaches can increase the sustainability of consumption.

Module provider

School of Engineering

Module Leader

SUCKLING James (Sch of Eng)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

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

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

• Introduction to life cycle thinking approaches
• Introduction to the life cycle assessment methodology
• The concept of sustainable design
• Assessing the life cycle of a fast-moving consumer good
• Assessing the life cycle of a consumer service
• Limitations of life cycle assessment
• Introduction to life cycle assessment software

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to assist students develop their understanding life cycle approaches to assessing the sustainability of products and services.

The summative assessment for this module consists of:

• A field work report which documents the life cycle of case study products or services, worth 50% of the module mark
• A critical reflection essay, worth 50% of the module mark

Formative assessment and feedback:

Formative feedback will be through a range of interactive discussions held during the field work trip and associated seminars where students will be encouraged to critically reflect the sustainability of each stage of the life cycle of some case study products or services. Students can prepare a draft critical reflection essay plan to discuss with the lecturer and receive verbal feedback on the planned structure.

Module aims

• To introduce students to life cycle thinking approaches for assessing the sustainability of products
• To introduce the key principles of life cycle assessment
• To analyse the life cycle of some consumer products or services and consider how the environmental impact of these products could be reduced
• To consider critically the limitations of life cycle assessment
• To conduct a mini life cycle assessment in widely available software
• To conduct a mini life cycle assessment in widely available software

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

• Develop students' understanding of life cycle approaches for assessing the sustainability of a product or service.

The learning and teaching methods include:

• Captured content lectures: (10 hours)
• Workshops (15 hours)
• Seminars (7 hours)
• Practical hours (15 hours)
• Independent learning (103 hours)

Students are required to do preparatory readings and watch the captured content lectures prior to the five day field work trip. During the field work trip students will visit a variety of sites as they follow some consumer products or services from their cradles to their graves. These site visits will be supplemented with workshops and seminars to discuss the product life cycle and its assessment. Students will be introduced to commercially available life cycle assessment software and given opportunity to use it to conduct a mini life cycle assessment of a case study from the field trip. 

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: ENG3212

Other information

The Centre for Environment and Sustainability is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability and Resourcefulness and Resilience, in line with the Surrey Curriculum Framework. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills and capabilities in the following areas: Sustainability: Adopting a whole life cycle perspective is critical when seeking to increase the sustainability of a product or service. This module introduces students to whole life cycle thinking as students consider the life cycles of a range of products. Employability: During this fieldwork module students will visit a variety of sites and hear from a range of industry speakers. This professionally focused learning via practical case studies allows students to apply their learning to real world problems. The interaction with sustainability practitioners helps students to better understand the career paths open to them and how they might access these careers. It also opens up professional networking opportunities.

Programmes this module appears in

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 2026/7 academic year.