Environmental Governance, Institutions and CSR

The contents of this subject address the organizations, political tools, laws, procedures and standards, as well as the financial mechanisms, that regulate environmental protection processes. It has been structured into 6 units structured in 3 blocks. The first block is based on a brief historical analysis that lays the foundations of environmental economics to give way in unit 2 to the design of environmental policies that make up our current state of environmental governance: international, national and regional. A third topic complements this block with the introduction of ethical principles applied to the environment. The second block is especially focused on the integration of environmental ethics in the corporate governance of companies and administrations (Unit 4). Finally, block 3 focuses on an analysis by sector such as water and waste (Units 5 and 6).

The contents that are developed in the course are articulated around those indicated in the descriptor of the subject included in the syllabus of the 3rd ed. of the Master in Environmental Engineering:
• Environmental governance: international, national and regional framework
• Public and private agents involved in the economic cycle of water. Application to Spain and Galicia.
• Ethics in companies and administrations: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Principles and benefits of CSR. National and international promotion policies. Study of examples.
The subject program is divided into 3 thematic blocks that are detailed below:

Syllabus

Block I. Environmental governance and environmental ethics

Unit 1. Principles of environmental economics and sustainable development indicators
The economy of natural resources and the environment. Basic concepts of environmental economics. Economic growth and environmental conservation. Sustainable development: definition and indicators. The environment and market failures.

Unit 2. From environmental policy to global environmental governance
Economic instruments of environmental policy. The decentralization of environmental regulation. Application and compliance with environmental policies. Global environmental policies. The practice of environmental policy. Experiences with environmental taxes. Responsibility and environmental policy in practice. Areas of action of environmental governance: climate change management, biodiversity, water management, soil degradation, nuclear risk. Precautionary principle. Multilateral environmental conventions and agreements. Actors (international institutions, states, corporations and non-state actors).

Unit 3. Introduction to ethics applied to the environment
Environmental ethics. Brief historical overview. Different conceptions. The consensus on environmental ethics: normative principles and practical issues.

Block II. Integration of environmental ethics in corporations governance

Unit 4. The role of companies in the face of environmental challenges
Integration of environmental ethics in corporate governance. Factors that affect the environmental behavior of companies. Social Responsibility, ISO 26000 and SGE-21. Benefits and implications of CSR. Principles of socially responsible companies. Corporate social responsibility in Spain. Spanish Business Council for Sustainable Development (FORÉTICA). Analysis of concrete examples: AGBAR.

Block III: Analysis by environmental sectors

Topic 5. The water sector
The water governance model in Spain and Galicia. Problems and opportunities for improvement. Coordination and cooperation between administrations. Strategic decisions.
Macroeconomic data of the water economic cycle. Public and private agents involved in the water cycle. Technical advice. Importance of the regulatory framework. Examples of application of the regulations to different types of discharges. Cost comparison.

Topic 6. The sector of solid waste and soil degradation
The waste governance model in Galicia, Spain and its position in the European context. Current problems and needs for improvement.

Basic books
• Lavandeira, Xavier; León, Carmelo J.; Vázquez, María Xosé. (2006). Economía ambiental. Pearson-Prentice Hall, Madrid. ISBN 10: 84-205-3651-2
• Lecaros Urzúa, Juan Alberto. (2013). La ética medio ambiental: principios y valores para una ciudadanía responsable en la sociedad global. https://scielo.conicyt.cl/pdf/abioeth/v19n2/art02.pdf

Complementary books
• Libro Verde de la Gobernanza del Agua en España. https://www.miteco.gob.es/es/agua/temas/sistema-espaniol-gestion-agua/l…
• Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente (PNUMA).
Gobernanza Ambiental.
http://sostenibilidadyprogreso.org/files/entradas/gobernanza-ambiental…
• ISO 26000. https://www.iso.org/files/live/sites/isoorg/files/archive/pdf/en/iso_26…
• UNESCO. Ética ambiental y políticas internacionales. (2010).
https://www.academia.edu/28551638/etica_ambiental_unesco_pdf
• Fundación Étnor. Aplicando la Ética - Étnor (etnor.org)
• FORÉTICA. https://foretica.org/
• FRIDE. La RSC, la cooperación y la internacionalización de la empresa española. http://docplayer.es/11851358-La-rsc-la-cooperacion-y-la-internacionaliz…
• Programa de Desarrollo de la ONU. https://www.undp.org/es/sustainable-development-goals

This subject will give to the students a number of general competences, desirable for every universitary study, as well as other more specific ones, more linked to the field of Environmental Engineering. The competences that will be especially developed in this subject are the following:
Basic
• CB6 – to have a knowledge and understanding that provide a basis or opportunity to be original in the development and / or application of ideas, often in a research context
• CB7 - That the students can apply their knowledge and their ability to solve problems in new or unfamiliar environments within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to their fields of study.
• CB8 - That students will be able to integrate knowledge and handle complexity, and formulate judgments based on incomplete or limited information, including reflections on social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments.
• CB9 - That students can communicate their conclusions, knowledge and reasons underpinning to specialists and non-specialists in a clear and unambiguous way.
• CB10 - Students must possess the learning skills that enable them to continue studying in a way that will be largely self-directed or autonomous.
General
• CG1 - Identify and state environmental problems.
Transversal
• CT 4. Demonstrate critical and self-critical reasoning, analytical and synthesis capacity.
• CT 6. Appreciate the value of quality and continuous improvement, acting with rigor, responsibility and professional ethics within the framework of commitment to sustainable development.
Specific
• CE 3. Develop sufficient autonomy to participate in research projects and scientific or technological collaborations within the thematic field of Environmental Engineering, in interdisciplinary contexts and, where appropriate, with a high component of knowledge transfer.
• CE 8. Address a real Environmental Engineering problem from a scientific-technical perspective, recognizing the importance of searching for and managing existing information and applicable legislation.

Teaching
• Expository and interactive classes: The classes will be carried out combining both the master class (exposition and discussion of topics) and in the form of seminars (exercises) where the teacher will try to emphasize the most outstanding aspects of the state of the art, and where the assimilation of contents by the students will be verified. It is therefore very important that the student work on the material available to promote teacher-student interaction.
• Visit to an industrial facility: A visit to a Wastewater Treatment Plant is contemplated as a necessary complement to the indicated topics whenever possible. It is intended to involve the students in the aforementioned visit by carrying out an evaluation through a questionnaire.

Telematic teaching
• Individualized tutorials: they will be carried out at the request of the student face-to-face or eventually through the MS Teams platform.

The “Learning Management System” (LMS) of the USC will be used.

In cases of fraudulent completion of exercises or tests, the provisions of the Regulations for evaluating student academic performance and grade review will apply.

In this matter, the CE weighting is 50%, with the remaining 50% corresponding to a final test.

The student's grade is a weighted average between the performance of the same in the parts in which the same is evaluated: exam, performance in the classroom (participation, cooperative work) and technical visit.

Activities included in the Continuous Assessment
Continuous Evaluation includes monitoring of the following activities:
• Follow-up activities in classroom. To be done individually or in groups.
• The technical visit will be evaluated by means of a questionnaire that will be given to the students on the day of the visit, which they will have to complete during the visit and hand in at the end of the visit. To be done individually.
• With "proactive behavior" it is intended to assess the daily attitude of each student, especially: a) shows that the subject and the discussions that take place in the classroom are up to date; b) pertinent comments on what was discussed; c) motivation and positive attitude in class, among others. To be done individually.

Final exam (face-to-face)
• The exam will consist of a set of short questions.

The consideration of "not presented" will be taken if you do not attend any evaluation activity (exam or technical visit). If only one of them is not attended, the qualification at the first opportunity will be "failed".
Those who have to attend the second opportunity will keep the qualifications obtained in technical visit and proactive behavior in the classroom. If you have not participated in a specific activity, you will have additional questions:
- If they did not participate in the teamwork, questions about innovative technologies will be included.
- If they have not participated in the technical visit, questions about it will be included.


Distribution of the final mark
Continuous assessment 5 points
- Classroom activities 3
- Proactivity (classroom) 1
- Proactivity (lecturers) 1
Final exam 5 points
- Questionnaire 5
TOTAL 10 points

Competences assessment
• Básics: CB6, CB7, CB8, CB9, CB10
• Generals: CG1
• Transversals: CT4, CT6
• Specific: CE3, CE8
Their assessment will be done according to:
• Expositive classes: CG1, CB6, CB7, CB8, CB10,
• Interactive classes: CB7, CB8, CB10, CE8, CT4, CT6
• Technical visit: CB7, CB8, CB10, CE3, CE8
• Proactivity: CG1, CB9
• Teamwork: CB8, CB9, CE3, CE8
• Exam: CB6, CB9, CB10,

This subject has 3 ECTS which represents an amount of work distributed as shown in the following table. The number of hours spent in classroom include lectures, seminars, presentation and tutorials for groups. Furthermore, it is estimated that a number of hours corresponding to personal work is necessary for the different activities.
Activity Total hours
Lectures 10
Seminars 12
Teamwork 2
Exam 2
Autonomous work 49
Total 75 (3 ECTS)

The use of Learning Management System (LMS) is recommended as the backbone of all the activities to be carried out in the matter.
Recommendations for telematic teaching:
• It is necessary to have a computer with a microphone and camera to carry out the telematic activities that are programmed throughout the course. The acquisition of computers with the MS Windows environment is recommended, since other platforms do not support some of the computer programs available at USC.
• Improve informational and digital skills with the resources available at USC.

El idioma vehicular de la materia será el castellano en consonancia con la decisión estratégica del Máster que definió como fundamental la captación de alumnado procedente de otras comunidades autónomas o países.