One Planet Thinking and Living

Sustainability is a core consideration of all business and operations in our modern world. This module addresses how we can think about sustainability challenges, from global-scale frameworks through to local-scale operations. Global frameworks, such as One-Planet Thinking - which considers impacts on land use, freshwater use, carbon emissions and nutrient emissions to develop sustainability plans – or the UN Sustainability Goals, enable us to clearly define problems and begin to engage in the positive transition to ecologically and economically sustainable societies. However, there can be challenges in identifying how to apply sustainability approaches at the scale of individual organisations, given diverse needs and operations. In this module, students explore these challenges by using the University of Birmingham as a Living Lab, investigating how to address sustainability goals on the scale of a large organisation. Students work with a wide range of academic and professional services staff across the university, examining different facets of sustainability policies and activities, and reviewing these policies as part of their assessment. The module provides students with the understanding and core critical skills to then build into the Year 2 Developing Solutions module.

The module provides an outline of core sustainability concepts, an understanding of global sustainability frameworks, and engagement in current sustainability topics. The module involves group-based activities and assessment, providing space for students to develop innovative thinking and skills in multidisciplinary practice, enabling them to work effectively in teams. Students will also be trained through the module in core academic research, analysis, project planning, writing and presentation skills. They will also undertake short external trips to experience some of the ways in which we can develop a better understanding of the problems and potential solutions to sustainability challenges. Assessment in the module involves a group project and an individual reflective exercise.