Course Title: Develop workplace policy and procedures for sustainability

Part B: Course Detail

Teaching Period: Term2 2018

Course Code: BUSM7938C

Course Title: Develop workplace policy and procedures for sustainability

School: 650T Vocational Business Education

Campus: City Campus

Program: C5341 - Diploma of Information Technology

Course Contact: Val Christou

Course Contact Phone: +61 3 9925 5076

Course Contact Email: val.christou@rmit.edu.au


Name and Contact Details of All Other Relevant Staff

Sean Doherty

sean.doherty@rmit.edu.au

 

Nominal Hours: 50

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

None

Course Description

This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to develop and implement a workplace sustainability policy and to modify the policy to suit changed circumstances.

It applies to individuals with managerial responsibilities who undertake work developing approaches to create, monitor and improve strategies and policies within workplaces and engage with a range of relevant stakeholders and specialists.


National Codes, Titles, Elements and Performance Criteria

National Element Code & Title:

BSBSUS501 Develop workplace policy and procedures for sustainability

Element:

1. Develop workplace sustainability policy

Performance Criteria:

  • Define scope of sustainability policy
  • Gather information from a range of sources to plan and develop policy
  • Identify and consult stakeholders as a key component of the policy development process
  • Include appropriate strategies in policy at all stages of work for minimising resource use, reducing toxic material and hazardous chemical use, and employing life cycle management approaches
  • Make recommendations for policy options based on likely effectiveness, timeframes and cost
  • Develop policy that reflects the organisation's commitment to sustainability as an integral part of business planning and as a business opportunity
  • Agree to appropriate methods of implementation

Element:

2. Communicate workplace sustainability policy

Performance Criteria:

  • Promote workplace sustainability policy, including its expected outcome to key stakeholders

  • Inform those involved in implementing the policy as to outcomes expected, activities to be undertaken and responsibilities assigned

Element:

3. Implement workplace sustainability policy

Performance Criteria:

  • Develop and communicate procedures to help implement workplace sustainability policy
  • Implement strategies for continuous improvement in resource efficiency
  • Establish and assign responsibility to use recording systems for tracking continuous improvements in sustainability approaches

Element:

4. Review workplace sustainability policy implementation

Performance Criteria:

  • Document outcomes and provide feedback to key personnel and stakeholders
  • Investigate successes or otherwise of policy
  • Monitor records to identify trends that may require remedial action and use to promote continuous improvement of performance
  • Modify policy and or procedures as required to ensure improvements are made


Learning Outcomes



Details of Learning Activities

 A range of learning activities are planned for this course including self-paced and collaborative classroom based activities.

A range of learning activities are planned for this course including self-paced and collaborative classroom based activities. The collaborative classroom based activities will include face-to-face workshops, practical computer exercises based on teacher handouts and online tasks.

We expect you to participate and contribute in all scheduled learning activities. Students should attend all sessions. Students will also be expected to undertake work on a small Web project and other activities for homework.
 


Teaching Schedule

The Teaching Schedule for this course is as follows:


Induction Session

Prior to training commencement a program level induction session will be conducted that comprises the following:

• Program overview and requirements
• MyRMIT/Blackboard
• Overview of assessment requirements
• Pre-Training Review including:
 - Recognition of Prior Learning and Credit Transfers
 - Assessment of current skills and knowledge
• Competency/Grading Criteria
• Plagiarism
• Appeals
• Extensions
• Feedback
• Privacy
• Submission requirements
• Resubmission policy
• Where to get support
• Student responsibilities

Course Delivery:

The nominal hours associated with this are a guide only and represent the total teaching time and student effort required to successfully complete the course. This may include not only scheduled classes but also the amount of effort required to undertake, evaluate and complete all assessment requirements, including any non-classroom activities.

Course Schedule: Develop workplace policy and procedures for sustainability                                                             Semester 2: 2018

Week

Topic

Assessment

Week 1

Face to face

2 July 2018

Introduction to the course including:

  • Course requirements
  • Course support documents
  • Course Blackboard access
  • Accuracy of enrolment
  • Assessment requirements/Cover Sheets
  • Reminder re Plagiarism
  • Reminder re Appeals
  • Extensions/Resubmissions
  • Feedback in this course
  • Reminder re: submission requirements
  • Getting help

Introduction to BSBSUS501

  • Introduction to course material, administration & assessments.
  • Sustainability: Definition and purpose

 

Week 2

Face to face

9 July 2018

  • Sustainability: Aim & objectives
  • Sign & symbols
  • Resource usage
  • Environment Protection Authority
  • Legislation, regulations and practices

 

Week 3

Face to face

16 July 2018

  • Calculate your footprint using footprintnetwork.org
  • Submit your document through Canvas
 

Week 4

Face to face

23 July 2018

  • The sustainability issue - Climate Change?
  • Introduction to policy development (Template)

 

 

Week 5

Online

30 July 2018

  • Risks of non-sustainable practices
  • Case: Apple Environmental Footprint 2011

 

Week 6

Face to face

6 Aug 2018

  • Work processes and practices
  • Value chain – Gap Analysis
  • Example of a Fruit Juicer Company
  • ICT: A sector of major energy consumption?
  • Case Study: QANTAS by Fujitsu
  • Submit your document through Canvas

DUE Assessment Task 1-Online Quiz
Environmental legislation, regulations, and codes of practice

HANDOUT Assessment Sub-Task 2.1

Framework, processes, and scope of the policy

Sustainability Practices

Week 7

Online

13 Aug 2018

  • Environmentally sustainable work practices
  • Audit, scope & objectives
  • Collection of information and compliance

 

Week 8

Online

20 Aug 2018

  • Identification of resource usage
  • Supply chain
  • Information verification, documentation & reporting

 

27 Aug 2018

Mid Semester Break

Week 9

Face to face

3 Sep 2018

  • Action Plans
  • Policy progress review
  • Submit your document through Canvas

 

Week 10

Online

10 Sep 2018

  • Development of implementation plans
  • Life Cycle Management
  • Waste Management

DUE Assessment Sub-Task 2.1

Framework, processes, and scope of the policy

Sustainability Practices

Week 11

Online

17 Sep 2018

  • Communication strategies
  • Communication plan
  • Managing the implementation plan

 

HANDOUT Assessment Sub-Task 2.2

Policy Implementation, Communication, Monitoring and Review

 

Week 12

Face to face

24 Sep 2018

  • Monitoring environmentally sustainable work practices

 

Week 13

Online

1 Oct 2018

  • Reviewing environmentally sustainable work practices

 

Week 14

Face to face

8 Oct 2018

  • Summary of workplace policy document

 

Week 15

Face to face

15 Oct 2018

  • Communication examples

DUE Assessment Sub-Task 2.2

Workplace Policy Communication

Week 16

Face to face

22 Oct 2018

  • Feedback and review
  • Unit summary
  • Revision & Resubmission

Feedback & Review

Week 17

Face to face

22 Oct 2018

  • Resubmission

 


Learning Resources

Prescribed Texts


References


Other Resources

Materials will include articles, web links and worksheets, which will be made available through the Canvas portal.


Overview of Assessment

In order to achieve competency in this unit, you must provide:

Performance Evidence

 Evidence of the ability to:

scope and develop organisational policies and procedures that comply with legislative requirements and support the organisation’s sustainability goals covering at a minimum:

  • minimising resource use
  • resource efficiency
  • reducing toxic material and hazardous chemical use
  • employing life cycle management approaches
  • continuous improvement

plan and implement sustainability policy and procedures including:

  • agreed outcomes
  • performance indicators
  • activities to be undertaken
  • assigned responsibilities
  • record keeping, review and improvement processes
  • consult and communicate with relevant stakeholders to generate engagement with sustainability policy development, implementation and continuous improvement
  • review and improve sustainability policies.

Knowledge Evidence

To complete the unit requirements safely and effectively, you must:

  • outline the environmental or sustainability legislation, regulations and codes of practice applicable to the organisation identify internal and external sources of information and explain how they can be used to plan and develop the organisation’s sustainability policy
  • explain policy development processes and practices
  • outline organisational systems and procedures that relate to sustainability
  • outline typical barriers to implementing policies and procedures in an organisation and possible strategies to address them.

 Assessment Conditions

Assessment must be conducted in a safe environment where evidence gathered demonstrates  consistent performance of typical activities experienced in the sustainability field of work and include access to:

  • relevant legislation, regulations, standards and codes
  • relevant workplace documentation and resources
  • case studies and, where possible, real situations
  • interaction with others.

You are advised that you are likely to be asked to personally demonstrate your assessment work to your teacher to ensure that the relevant competency standards are being met.

Feedback

Feedback will be provided throughout the semester in class and/or online discussions.  You are encouraged to ask and answer questions during class time and online sessions so that you can obtain feedback on your understanding of the concepts and issues being discussed. Finally, you can email or arrange an appointment with your teacher to gain more feedback on your progress.

You should take note of all feedback received and use this information to improve your learning outcomes and final performance in the course.       


Assessment Tasks

 Assessment Tasks

You are required to complete 2 assessment tasks within this course. You must successfully complete both the assessments to be deemed competent in this unit.  

ASSESSMENT 1: REVIEW TASK – QUIZ: Week 1 to 5 - Due: Week 6

This task includes a revision to the learning in the first 5 weeks. The task is based on an online quiz with multiple choice questions and filling in blank statements. The topics covered in this quiz range from sustainability definition, drivers, practices, management, and stakeholders to legislation and environmental laws. The quiz will be conducted during class time and the results will be available upon completion. Your attendance for this assessment review quiz is required in week 6.

 

ASSESSMENT TASK 2 - PROJECT: Sustainability Policy Development

This task requires you to develop a sustainability policy for the organisation. The task consists of 2 sub-tasks that should be included as part of the workplace policy. Refer to the sub-tasks below for description and due dates.

 

ASSESSMENT SUBTASK 2.1: Framework, Processes & Scope of Policy (Due: Week 10)

This is the first part of your workplace policy development for an organisation of your choice. To build a context around your policy, you are required to create a business organisation of your choice, in which such policy will be implemented and deployed.

You will determine strategies and recommendations on how you are going about achieving better sustainability results in your business processes and in what timeframe.

Based on the best practice examples discussed in class and your researched, you will consider how you are going to optimise the resource usage, e.g. through preventing unnecessary waste and developing potential recycling opportunities for your organisation, where applicable.

  • Consider how to measure and review these resources at different time periods against measurable target (Benchmark). 
  • Outline your strategies for at least 2 resources that you are able to measure and make recommendations in terms of likely effectiveness, cost and implementation timeframes.

You will be given a template to guide you through this process, which you will progressively complete until the end of the semester.

ASSESSMENT SUBTASK 2.2: Sustainability Practices (Due: Week 15)

This is the second part of your workplace policy development for your organisation.

Based on your business description and processes in part 1, you are now required to build upon that content. Now you need to consider the following:

  • How you communicate policies to your stakeholders.
  • Advise stakeholders on how to use resources more effectively
  • Develop practices to improve them. Think broadly about the context and environment where and how these resources are being used, and whether there is a better way
  • Focuses on the detailed steps required to start acting upon your developed policy content.
  • This is about the implementation phase of the strategies and recommendations you have outlined in the previous sub-tasks.
  • You will now look at each strategy separately and list action items that need to be done, including the allocation of resources and responsibilities. 

 

Consider how you will monitor each step to continuously improve your commitment to sustainability. Include the following:

  • Stakeholders: how you will expand the responsibility and ensure the commitment of the other partners, who are involved in the specific strategy
  • Life Cycle Management (LCM): what can you potentially do instead of disposing? For example, what can be recovered, recycled, re-used or even from the beginning avoided to minimise the impact on the 'life cycle' of a product or service?
  • Monitoring and Evaluation: How to analyse whether your methods in monitoring and reviewing are adequate enough to reflect the real picture. Do you need to consider a more 'improved' way for monitoring, e.g. through new technologies?
  • Continuous Improvement: Think of how to expand these plans to ensure that you are continuously improve.

 

 

  


Assessment Matrix

The Assessment Matrix that maps all assessments to the critical aspects of evidence, skills, knowledge and elements are available from the teacher.

Other Information

Submission Requirements

All Assessment tasks need to be submitted via Canvas. Email submission will not be accepted.

You should:

  • Ensure that you submit assessments on or before the due date. 
  • Always retain a copy of your assessment tasks. (hard copy and soft copy)
  • When you submit work for assessment at RMIT University you need to use a cover sheet that includes a declaration and statement of authorship. You must complete, sign and submit a cover sheet with all work you submit for assessment, whether individual or group work. On the cover sheet you declare that the work you are presenting for assessment is your own work.
  • An assignment cover sheet for submission of work for assessment is available on Canvas.
  • Each page of your assessment should include footer with your name, student number, the title of the assessment, unit code and title and page numbers. For example, Julie Macpherson, 324567, Task 2, OHS2345C “Develop a workplace policy and practices for sustainability, Page 1 of 10.”

 

Late Submission Procedures

You are required to submit assessment items and/or ensure performance based assessment is completed by the due dates.

If you are prevented from submitting an assessment item on time, by circumstances outside your control, you may apply in advance to your teacher for an extension to the due date of up to seven calendar days.

More Information:  http://www.rmit.edu.au/students/assessment/extension

Form to use:  http://mams.rmit.edu.au/seca86tti4g4z.pdf

Where an extension of greater than seven days is needed, you must apply for special consideration.  Applications for special consideration must be submitted no later than two working days after the assessment task deadline or scheduled examination. 

More Information: http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=g43abm17hc9w (unresolved)

Form to use: http://mams.rmit.edu.au/8a5dgcaqvaes1.pdf

 

Resubmissions (VET Programs):

If you are found to be Not Yet Competent in a Course Assessment Task you will be allowed one resubmission only.  Your teacher will provide feedback regarding what you need to do to improve and will set a new deadline for the resubmission. 

The highest grade you will receive if your resubmission is successful is “CAG” (Competency achieved).

If you are still not meeting the assessment requirements you must apply to your Program Manager in writing outlining the steps you will take to demonstrate competence in your course. Your submission will be considered by the Program Team and you will be advised of the outcome as soon as possible.

Adjustments to Assessment

In certain circumstances students may be eligible for an assessment adjustment. For more information about the circumstances under which the assessment arrangements might be granted please access the following website:

More Information: http://rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=7usdbki1fjf31

 

Marking Guide (competency):

You must demonstrate that you have all the required skills/knowledge/elements in the unit of competency you are studying.
You will receive feedback on each assessment task that will inform you about your progress and how well you are performing.

 

 

Marking Guide (Grading)

After achieving competency we then grade your performance in the unit and you will achieve one of the following grades:  

Final Grades Table:

CHD: Competent with High Distinction

CDI: Competent with Distinction

CC: Competent with Credit

CAG: Competency Achieved – Graded

NYC: Not Yet Competent

DNS: Did Not Submit for assessment

 

Further information regarding the application of the grading criteria will be provided by your teacher.

Course Overview: Access Course Overview