School: Science

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Sustainability Management and Assessment
  • Unit Code

    SCI5170
  • Year

    2026
  • Enrolment Period

    1
  • Version

    3
  • Credit Points

    20
  • Full Year Unit

    N
  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus
    Online
  • Unit Coordinator

    Dr Kat O'MARA

Description

In Sustainability Management and Assessment students will gain the expertise needed to effectively manage, implement, and assess sustainability and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) in diverse organisational and project contexts. The unit provides the tools and knowledge to translate sustainability principles into actionable strategies for organisations and projects. Through an authentic project, students will learn to manage, implement, and assess sustainability performance effectively. The unit will also provide critical insights into emerging areas including climate risk, carbon management, and circular economy; preparing students to make a tangible impact on environmental and social sustainability projects in their careers.

Non Standard Timetable Requirements

The on campus version of this unit will be delivered through 4 all-day workshops across the semester.

Prerequisite Rule

I86, I87 and J48 students must have successfully completed, or be concurrently enrolled in SCI6110.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Develop sustainability strategies or management plans which advance environmental, social and governance outcomes for organisations or projects.
  2. Develop specific, measurable, and achievable sustainability objectives and targets, considering the organisation's or project's progression along the sustainability journey.
  3. Assess and report on the sustainability performance of an organisation or project and identify opportunities for them to improve their performance.
  4. Use technical assessments including carbon footprints, climate change risk assessments and circular economy initiatives to assess sustainability performance.
  5. Use a framework for making decisions using a multi-criteria assessment which includes environmental, social and governance considerations.

Unit Content

  1. Definitions of sustainability and ESG.
  2. Sustainability objectives and targets considering the context, maturity and material issues.
  3. Planning and managing sustainability.
  4. Risks, opportunities and making decisions which consider sustainability.
  5. Climate change, carbon footprinting, circular economy.
  6. Assessing and reporting on sustainability performance.

Learning Experience

ON-CAMPUS

Students will attend on campus classes as well as engage in learning activities through ECU's LMS

JoondalupMount LawleySouth West (Bunbury)
Semester 1Not OfferedNot OfferedNot Offered

For more information see the Semester Timetable

ONLINE

Students will engage in learning experiences via ECU’s LMS as well as additional ECU learning technologies

Additional Learning Experience Information

Learning in the unit adopts a delivery approach similar to professional development courses, where there is a combination of online learning materials which prepare students for the workshops and post workshop review around either in person workshops for on campus students, or for online students the opportunity to participate in live online workshops.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
ReportSustainability Management Plan 30%
ReportAssessment of Sustainability Performance 40%
PresentationSustainability Induction and Reporting 30%
ONLINE
TypeDescriptionValue
ReportSustainability Management Plan 30%
ReportAssessment of Sustainability Performance 40%
PresentationSustainability Induction and Reporting 30%

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Assessment

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. Informal vivas may be conducted as part of an assessment task, where staff require further information to confirm the learning outcomes have been met. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

Academic Integrity

Integrity is a core value at Edith Cowan University, and it is expected that ECU students complete their assessment tasks honestly and with acknowledgement of other people's work as well as any generative artificial intelligence tools that may have been used. This means that assessment tasks must be completed individually (unless it is an authorised group assessment task) and any sources used must be referenced.

Breaches of academic integrity can include:

Plagiarism

Copying the words, ideas or creative works of other people or generative artificial intelligence tools, without referencing in accordance with stated University requirements. Students need to seek approval from the Unit Coordinator within the first week of study if they intend to use some of their previous work in an assessment task (self-plagiarism).

Unauthorised collaboration (collusion)

Working with other students and submitting the same or substantially similar work or portions of work when an individual submission was required. This includes students knowingly providing others with copies of their own work to use in the same or similar assessment task(s).

Contract cheating

Organising a friend, a family member, another student or an external person or organisation (e.g. through an online website) to complete or substantially edit or refine part or all of an assessment task(s) on their behalf.

Cheating in an exam

Using or having access to unauthorised materials in an exam or test.

Serious outcomes may be imposed if a student is found to have committed one of these breaches, up to and including expulsion from the University for repeated or serious acts.

ECU's policies and more information about academic integrity can be found on the student academic integrity website.

All commencing ECU students are required to complete the Academic Integrity Module.

Assessment Extension

In some circumstances, Students may apply to their Unit Coordinator to extend the due date of their Assessment Task(s) in accordance with ECU's Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000001386.

Special Consideration

Students may apply for Special Consideration in respect of a final unit grade, where their achievement was affected by Exceptional Circumstances as set out in the Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000003318.

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