Course Title: Implement and monitor environmentally sustainable work practices

Part B: Course Detail

Teaching Period: Term2 2012

Course Code: EASC5042C

Course Title: Implement and monitor environmentally sustainable work practices

School: 155T Vocational Health and Sciences

Campus: City Campus

Program: C5283 - Diploma of Laboratory Technology (Pathology Testing)

Course Contact: Amberlee Mitton

Course Contact Phone: +61 3 9925 8053

Course Contact Email: amberlee.mitton@rmit.edu.au


Name and Contact Details of All Other Relevant Staff

Kirsten Balding
kirsten.balding@rmit.edu.au
Office: 51.4.01

Contact  by email, or talk to Kirsten during class

Nominal Hours: 40

Regardless of the mode of delivery, represent a guide to the relative teaching time and student effort required to successfully achieve a particular competency/module. This may include not only scheduled classes or workplace visits but also the amount of effort required to undertake, evaluate and complete all assessment requirements, including any non-classroom activities.

Pre-requisites and Co-requisites

there are no pre-requisites or co-requisites for this course


 

Course Description

This competency covers the outcomes required to effectively analyse the workplace in relation to environmentally sustainable work practices and to implement improvements and monitor their effectiveness. This unit is based on the sustainability guideline standard GCSSUS02A Implement and monitor environmentally sustainable work practices. 

 


National Codes, Titles, Elements and Performance Criteria

National Element Code & Title:

MSAENV472A Implement and monitor environmentally sustainable work practices

Element:

1. Investigate current practices in relation to resource usage.

Performance Criteria:

1.1 Identify environmental regulations applying to the enterprise.
1.2 Assess procedures for assessing compliance with environmental regulations.
1.3 Collect information on environmental and resource efficiency systems and procedures, and provide to the work group where appropriate.
1.4 Measure and record current resource usage by members of the work group.
1.5 Analyse and record current purchasing strategies.
1.6 Analyse current work processes to access information and data and assist in identifying areas for improvement.

Element:

2. Set targets for improvements.

Performance Criteria:

2.1 Seek input from stakeholders, key personnel and specialists.
2.2 Access external sources of information and data as required.
2.3 Evaluate alternative solutions to workplace environmental issues.
2.4 Set efficiency targets.

Element:

3. Implement performance improvement strategies.

Performance Criteria:

3.1 Source techniques/tools to assist in achieving targets.
3.2 Apply continuous improvement strategies to own work area of responsibility and communicate ideas and possible solutions to the work group and management.
3.3 Integrate environmental and resource efficiency improvement plans for own work group with other operational activities and implement them.
3.4 Seek suggestions and ideas about environmental and resource efficiency management from stakeholders and act upon them where appropriate.
3.5 Implement costing strategies to fully value environmental assets.

Element:

4. Monitor performance.

Performance Criteria:

4.1 Document outcomes and communicate reports on targets to key personnel and stakeholders.
4.2 Evaluate strategies.
4.3 Set new targets and investigate and apply new tools and strategies.
4.4 Promote successful strategies and reward participants where possible.


Learning Outcomes



Details of Learning Activities

Learning activities for this course will include:

• Teacher directed face-to face delivery of lessons
• Whole class Discussion
• Pair/group discussion
• Small group workshops
• Online quizzes & theory activities
• Worksheets
• Group Project including monitoring of resources used in Lab
• Data collection and analysis
• Presentations
• Research activities


 


Teaching Schedule

2012 Class schedule: Sustainability (EASC5042C/ MSAENV472A/B)

 Implement and monitor environmentally sustainable work practices

 

 

Session 1

Week of (mon) 9 jul

Introduction to Sustainability
What is sustainability and why should I care?

Ecological footprint

Assessment Task 1. Ecological footprint (collect data into a spreadsheet)

  

Session 2

Week of (mon) 16 jul

Still need convincing the world is moving into an era of resource limitation? Population growth…

Assessment Task Watch a youtube vid at home  2. Quiz – why is it important to become more sustainable?

  

Week of (mon) 29-Aug - Mid Semester exam week (there is no exam for this course) 

  

Session 3

Week of (mon) 23 jul

 (Ecofootprint data excercise)

Managing waste better. EPA victoria. Case study: Our school’s Lab waste

Assessment Task 3. 2 short Quizzes –EMS & EPA Victoria

Assessment Task 5. Project (briefing session)

 

Session 4

Week of (mon) 30 jul

Assessment Task 5. Finalise/Discuss Project Plan (check feasibility)

Evaluating web resources
1. Don’t believe everything you hear… Greenwash

2. Product Lifecycle

 

Session 5

Week of (mon) 6 aug

Triple Bottom Line (TBL) accounting and reporting

(the consumption simplified)

  THIS WEEK: DO BENCHMARKING OF RESOURCE USAGE IN OTHER CLASSES FOR PROJECT (ASST TASK 5)

 

 Session 6/week 6

Week of (mon) 13 aug

Becoming more sustainable – what can you do?

Case studies: Environmental Resource Efficiency Plans (EREP)

Assessment Task 4. EREP/Cost of waste Worksheet

 

THIS WEEK: DO MONITORING OF RESOURCE USAGE & CAPTURE REDUCTION IN OTHER CLASSES FOR PROJECT (ASST TASK 5)

 

(week 7 - revision week and week 8 exam week - no classes)

 

Session 7/week9

Week of (mon) 3 sept

Assessment Task 5. Project Analysis, brochure & presentation preparation

 

Session 8/week 10

Week of (mon) 10 sep

 Assessment Task 5. Project Talks

 

 

Session 9/week 11

Week of (mon) 17 sep

Project Assessment catch ups (reassessment and special consideration only)

Week of (mon) 24-Sep - Mid semester Break

 


Learning Resources

Prescribed Texts

Links to resources are given in Blackboard


References


Other Resources

Resources are given in the Blackboard for this course. Access it through MyRMIT.

It is important that you check blackboard **at least** weekly.


Overview of Assessment

Assessments for this course typically consist of:
• Class activities
• Assignments
• Presentations
• Exams


Assessment Tasks

To pass the course you need to achieve:
Competentcompletionof ALL the assessment tasks BY the relevant due date.

**Reports will not be accepted more than one week after the due date.**

 Note that many of the assessments are done in class time, so it will be important to attend these classes.

 **It is the student’s responsibility to catch up any missed assessments**

Details about each assessment will be given when the assignment/assessment is handed out & posted on Blackboard.

Refer to the teaching schedule above for when each assessment task is done (some are done entirely in class, for others a briefing is given and a due date communicated via blackboard and at the briefing class).

 


Task 1. Ecological footprint
Satisfactory completion by the due date is required

Task 2. Quiz – polulation and peak oil
Satisfactory completion by the due date is required

Task3. 2 small Quizzes EMS & EPA Victoria
Satisfactory completion by the due date is required

 Task4. EREP/Cost of waste Worksheet

Satisfactory completion by the due date is required

 Task 5. Group Project (plan, implement, monitor & evaluate – includes data collection and group talk)
Satisfactory completion by the due date is required

Total: 100 %  (competent/not yet competent) This course does not have graded assessment.

 

 

IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT THE ASSESSMENTS

This course is assessed using competency based assessment principles. As such, no numeric grades are given for assessments. ALL assessments must however, be done to a satisfactory (“competent”) standard to pass the course.

Students that submit work that is assessed to be “not yet competent” will have the opportunity to resubmit their work by a negotiated due date. If the work is still not competent on the 2nd submission, the student will not be able to pass the course. Please discuss your assessment task with the teacher before submission to avoid this situation.

If you miss a class that has an assessment task you need to catch up the assessment task as soon as possible. In this case, you will need to email the completed task to the teacher within 1 week of the date of the class, unless a medical certificate is submitted. It is the student’s responsibility to catch up on the task and negotiate a due date with the teacher if a medical certificate was presented. Information can be found in the weekly folder about what to do for the task. Note that the teacher may not be available to help you outside of class time.

All assessment tasks must be completed competently to pass the course.

80% attendance is required to pass the course.
 


Assessment Matrix

Other Information

Nominal Hours:

Class activities
(including worksheets, quizzes, spreadsheet activities, research activities) =    9 x  2 = 18 hours

Groupwork (project)                                                                                               = 6 hours

Self directed study (off campus) - reading, research, etc                                           = 16 hours

 

Total: 40 hours

 

Course Overview: Access Course Overview