Principles of Sustainability
Overview
This unit introduces a new and thoroughgoing approach to sustainability. Real-life examples from science and engineering are used to demonstrate the concept that human actions employing frameworks of thinking and of organising society (i.e. institutions) can lead to a circumspect and responsible approach to life. The institutional bases of our expectations of the world are investigated along with the tools used to respond and act. Specific socio-economic tools such as the Precautionary Principle and Triple Bottom Line accounting are introduced and analysed, highlighting their role as change agents in the process of moving to sustainable institutions.
Requisites
Undergraduate students must complete 250 credit points
31-May-2026
Learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
- Nominate key sustainability challenges in terms of environmental, economic and social issues at a global, national and local level
- Critically analyse (proposed) activities for the knowledge/conceptual/epistemological structures they are embedded in – all the while recognising that the choice of knowledge structures is itself interpretation dependent
- Propose changes to the way activities are constituted such that they are more clearly sustainable e.g. recognising the perverse incentives (to environmental sustainability) that form the context within which current actions in environment proceed
- Recognise the “instrumentation of sustainability”, i.e. the measures and indicators by which sustainability is currently defined and acted upon, and how to critically assess it
- Prepare a situation assessment for sustainability within a given context
- Evaluate current practices and tools available to “sustainability practitioners” and propose improvements
Teaching methods
Hawthorn
| Type | Hours per week | Number of weeks | Total (number of hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live Online Lecture |
2.00 | 12 weeks | 24 |
| On-campus Class |
1.00 | 2 weeks | 2 |
| On-campus Class |
1.00 | 10 weeks | 10 |
| Online Learning Activities |
1.00 | 12 weeks | 12 |
| Unspecified Activities Independent Learning |
8.50 | 12 weeks | 102 |
| TOTAL | 150 |
Assessment
| Type | Task | Weighting | ULO's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assignment | Individual/Group | 60 - 70% | 1,2,3,4,5,6 |
| Quizzes | Individual | 20 - 30% | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Tutorial Exercises | Individual | 5 - 10% | 1,2,3,4,5,6 |
Content
- Concept and standards of sustainability
- Global warming and climate change
- Sustainable water management
- Water reuse and recycle
- Sustainable waste management
- Solid waste management
- Hazardous waste management
- Sustainable energy
- Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
- Ecological footprint
- Sustainable transport
- Sustainable management of IT devices
- Sustainable built environment
- Sustainable building design and green buildings
- Indicators of sustainability
Study resources
Reading materials
A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.