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13 6736

Study graduate certificate online with University of Tasmania through Open Universities Australia. Explore all degrees, subjects and short courses now.

Now more than ever, business leaders need to consider a multitude of issues linked to &#39;sustainable development&#39; when managing their organisation. As stakeholders increasingly demand greater accountability from organisations to address their environmental and social impacts, sustainability-related performance is now acknowledged as an integral aspect of business – with a failure to do so putting an organisation’s future at risk.  The Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Business is designed to develop business professionals with the skills to tackle these sustainability-related issues in an increasingly socially and environmentally minded business climate.  The Graduate Certificate is a 4-subject program with flexible learning options for practitioners currently working or seeking a career in the fields of socially responsible investment, business continuity, and governance and assurance.

Help businesses balance profit with people and the planet. You’ll learn to manage sustainability issues for organisations that care about their triple bottom line. Contribute to sustainable development. Consider a broader social system. 

Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Business

Sustainability, Climate Change and Economics

Introduction to Sustainable Design for Houses

Art and the Environment

Living with Fire

Sustainability

Writing, Culture and Ecology

Future Cities

Environmental Management

Climate Change Economics and Policy

Sustainability Accounting and Reporting

The subject explores environmental governance in the context of areas of global concern and shared international management – focusing on the polar regions, the oceans and the global climate. The concepts of sustainable development and the global commons are crucial ideas governance in these areas. This subject discusses the historical development and contested nature of governance in specific controversies including the management of ocean fisheries, protection of marine biodiversity, whaling, conservation of Antarctica, and addressing the threat of climate change. Major issues and concepts covered in the subject include: &quot;good governance&quot; and international development; the theory of the tragedy of the commons and other hypotheses of collective action problems; shared governance of contested spaces and transboundary resources; and the geo-political context of global environmental governance. These issues are explored through case studies from around the world, and will include some consideration of Australia&#39;s role in the selected examples.

Global Environmental Governance

In this subject you will develop the knowledge and skills needed to undertake planning for protected area systems. We will explore the frameworks, processes and methods used to identify areas for inclusion in national reserve systems. Students will have the opportunity to apply and compare reserve selection methods using Tasmania as a case study. Topics covered include system purposes and priorities; national reserve planning frameworks; systematic conservation planning; government reserve selection processes; and collaborative and participatory approaches. Students without prior experience in GIS and spatial analysis will be given a basic introduction to these skills. Note, the software taught in this course works best with a Microsoft operating system.

Reserve System Planning

Conservation efforts globally are focussed primarily on biodiversity, but geodiversity elements and features such as soils, rivers, mountains and caves provide humans with a wealth of ecosystem services and enjoyment. In this subject, you will learn about how to recognise geodiversity elements as critical system supports for biodiversity and ecosystem function, and to appreciate their cultural and recreational value for society. Using a series of masterclasses with global experts (in-field, in person or online), you will be immersed in the practices of &#39;geoconservation&#39; and &#39;geotourism&#39;. With no prior knowledge or skills required, you will develop skills as a communicator and conservation professional, and learn how to:- Rank and assess geodiversity elements (as &#39;subjects&#39; of conservation) and features in terms of their rarity, uniqueness, importance to science and society,- Construct inventories of abiotic, biotic and cultural elements and values for recreation and reserve establishment- Undertake in-field degradation assessments of landscapes used by humans for tourism and production- Recommend management strategies to restore landscape features and values for human enjoyment and wilderness protection- Undertake decision-making in a range of modes – graphical, consensus methods, GIS methods and qualitative methods.- Communicate landscape features and conservation strategies to a broad range of audiences.Any student interested in how to undertake conservation practice, curate heritage, assess landscape suitability for tourism and other ventures, or to communicate natural values will find KGA527 useful. All skills and knowledge required to successfully complete KGA527 are developed within the subject.

Landscape Conservation and Recreation

This subject provides students with a practical understanding of key systems for protected area planning and management. Terrestrial, freshwater and marine protected areas are considered. The global context of protected areas is analysed, including issues of definition, scope and governance. As governance processes provide the institutional structures within which planning and management occurs, particular attention is given to public, private, community and collaborative arrangements. Systems and associated methods for addressing complexity, sustainable finance, management effectiveness, community engagement and landscape/seascape scale management are then considered. These topics are explored by drawing on the experiences of practitioners, case study examples and fieldwork.

Protected Area Planning and Management Systems

International Maritime Policy will bring you into contact with different issues, including legal, regulatory and policy issues, in contemporary integrated oceans management. The underlying theme is one of integrated policy, planning and management covering all uses of the sea. The modern maritime manager should have an appreciation of the many uses (and demands) of marine areas, the potential conflicts between these uses, and the contemporary drive to manage marine areas in an integrated and holistic manner, with a focus on sustainable development..

International Maritime Policy

This subject will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of contemporary environmental health concepts and examine the environmental and ecological determinants of health within the framework of national and international policy. Through this subject you will acquire valuable insights into the intricate relationship between our health and the environment, including the potential impacts of climate change and the benefits of environmental sustainability. You will develop skills in investigating potential pollutants and hazards of local and global concern, including an introduction to the field of toxicology. You will explore ways of assessing environmental health risks, and how to manage these risks through appropriate legislation and regulation. We emphasise the principles and good practices of effective risk communication and community engagement while reviewing lessons learned in public health emergencies. While exploring many of the upstream forces that affect environmental health, including community design, transportation, and energy, we reflect on the collaborative role of public health in enhancing environmental health outcomes.

Environmental Health

Organisations will often have a vision and a mission which will in turn link to goals and objectives and related strategic planning. To enable an organisation to achieve is mission, objectives, and goals requires a well-designed, organisational-relevant governance system. An organisational governance system will have a myriad of integrated policies and procedures inclusive of various forms of social and environmental audits.The extent to which an organisation is effectively applying particular governance procedures can be assessed through various forms of independent social and environmental audits, the results of which will be reported through different forms of audit/assurance reports. Selecting and/or developing appropriate policies and procedures, such as those referred to above, is a fundamental role of management. Quests to operate sustainably require a suite of sustainability related policies and procedures which requires critical thinking. Appropriate governance policies reduce the risks, and heighten the opportunities, that the sustainable development agenda creates for an organisation.It is important that graduates understand the need and role of good governance. Employer groups, professional accounting bodies and course advisory committees have consistently highlighted the need for business students to be critical thinkers; be able to demonstrate skills that extend beyond technical competencies; and to be able to demonstrate an understanding that organisations are part of a broader social system on which they rely for organisational survival.This subject responds to this expectation, as it:<ul><li>Explores the meaning and role of organisational governance in helping an organisation be a valuable member of society</li><li>Identifies the components of a well function governance system with a particular focus on policies and procedures aimed at addressing problems associated with modern slavery, environmental performance generally, and climate change</li><li>Explains the role of social audits and how to implement them</li><li>Explores the types and roles of third-party assurance statements particularly as they relate to non-financial aspects of performance</li></ul>

Sustainability Related Governance and Assurance

Organisations create various benefits and various costs for stakeholders. Some of these costs and benefits – which can be of a financial, social, or environmental nature - can be quantified in monetary terms while others cannot. Managers have a responsibility and accountability for these costs and benefits regardless of whether they can be measured in monetary terms.To manage an organisation sustainably, the significant costs and benefits generated by an organisation need to be measured, monitored, and managed. Society generally, and different groups of stakeholders specifically, expect an organisation to accept responsibility for the ‘costs’ it generates. Failure to manage various sustainability-related costs can have implications for the survival of an organisation. Among the many expectations of managers, an ever-increasing expectation is that managers will actively attempt to mitigate their contribution to climate change,Employer groups, professional accounting bodies and course advisory committees have consistently highlighted the need for business students to be critical thinkers; to be able to demonstrate skills that extend beyond technical competencies; and to be able to demonstrate an understanding that organisations are part of a broader social system on which they rely for organisational survival.This subject responds to this expectation, as it focusses on graduate self-awareness and applied technical and professional ‘soft’ skills in the following key areas:• Provides insight into identifying the range of resources used by an organisation (including the use of so called’ free goods’), and the costs the organisation creates (both private and public costs) in doing so.• Emphasises the importance of considering the lifecycle of an organisation’s goods and services.• Explores the motivations driving managers to report sustainability-related performance information• Explores the role and usefulness of various sustainability-related reporting frameworks• Discusses the global problem of climate change and the responsibilities and role of managers in addressing it.

Managing and Reporting Sustainability Related Performance

Organisations impact, and are impacted by, the societies in which they operate. That is, they are part of a broader social system. Society generally, and different groups of stakeholders specifically, expect an organisation to accept various responsibilities with respect to how it interacts with, and how it is accountable to, different stakeholders. Failure to comply with particular stakeholders’ expectations can have implications for the survival of an organisation.Employer groups, professional accounting bodies and course advisory committees have consistently highlighted the need for business students to be critical thinkers; to be able to demonstrate skills that extend beyond technical competencies; and to be able to demonstrate an understanding that organisations are part of a broader social system on which they rely for organisational survival.This subject responds to this expectation, as it focusses on graduate self-awareness and applied technical and professional ‘soft’ skills in the following key areas:• Provides insight into identifying stakeholders and their expectations• Emphasises the relevance of sustainability to organisational success• Provides a background to enable the determination of relevant frameworks to apply in order to improve an organisation’s social and environmental performance• Provides insights into applying an accountability model to guide organisational reporting decisions

Organisational Social Responsibilities

Investors and lenders have an important role with respect to sustainable development. Through directing their financial resources to socially and environmentally responsible investment options, investors and lenders have the power to make significant contribution to sustainable development. This applies to both small- and large-scale investors and lenders.Apart from the moral aspects associated with socially responsible investing, a failure to consider the social and environmental risks inherent in particular investments expose investors and lenders to potential financial loss.Investors need to be aware of the risks and opportunities that the sustainability agenda creates; they need to be aware of, and be able to critically evaluate, different approaches to ethical investment and lending; and they need to have an awareness of the products available within the market place.This subject responds to these needs as it:• Explores the meaning and role of socially responsible investment• Identifies the sustainability related risks and opportunities that aspects of an investee’s/borrowers operations create for investors or lenders• Identifies and explains some tools used to assess investments from a sustainability-related perspective• Discusses some available products available to ‘socially responsible’ investors and lenders.

Socially Responsible Investing

University of Tasmania Graduate Certificate Sustainability Courses & Degrees | Open Universities Australia

Course results for University of Tasmania Postgraduate Sustainability Degrees

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