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MJ2613 Sustainable Development 6.0 credits

Hållbar utveckling

The overall aim with the course is to give an overview of Sustainable Development. There is a focus on how the threats and possibilities of our life style and technical development can affect a Sustainable Development.

  • Educational level

    Second cycle

  • Academic level (A-D)

    C

  • Subject area

  • Grade scale

    A, B, C, D, E, FX, F

Course offerings

Spring 13 for programme students

Autumn 13 for programme students

Learning outcomes

The overall aim with the course is to give an overview over Sustainable Development and to create conditions for education for Sustainable Development, ESD. Focus lies on both threats and possibilities of lifestyle and technical development on Sustainable Development

After the course the student should be able to:

  • Describe and analyze Sustainable Development from ecological, social and economical aspects. 
  • Describe the most important global and national environmental threats and their impact on ecosystems as well as explain the connection between environmental threats and our life style.
  • Suggest and motivate strategies and measures, national as well as international, from a system perspective to reduce environmental problems. 
  • Indicate and describe means of control and tools that can be used by industry and society in order to reduce the environmental impact from a product or enterprise.
  • Reflect upon the role of the engineer for a Sustainable Development.
  • Search information from scientific literature and summarize it in a written report as well as making a critical study of another groups report.

Course main content

  • Sustainable Development: Ecological prerequisites, definitions and concepts, method for measuring Sustainable Development, the effect of globalization on Sustainable Development.
  • Threats towards and measures for a Sustainable Development coupled to case studies, the role of technology and the individual life style.
  • Global and national environmental threats (climate change, Baltic sea, environmental toxins).
  • Consumption society (consumption patterns, rebound effect, ecological footprints, usage of resources, transport, waste).
  • The role of technology for a sustainable society (strategies, sustainable energy systems, IPP, system analysis).
  • Economical and legislative means of control and tools (Swedish environmental goals, Swedish Environmental Code, emission trading, ISO 14 000).

Disposition

The course will be based on project work and seminars, but also contain some lectures.

Eligibility

At least 100 academic credits in a program of engineering, or natural science including documented proficiency in Swedish B and english A or equivalent.

Literature

Will be announced at the start of the course.

Examination

  • FÄL1 - Study Visit, 1.0 credits, grade scale: P, F
  • PRO1 - Project, 2.0 credits, grade scale: P, F
  • SEM2 - Exercise, 1.0 credits, grade scale: P, F
  • TEN1 - Examination, 2.0 credits, grade scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F

Offered by

ITM/Industrial Ecology

Examiner

Monika Olsson <monika@kth.se>

Add-on studies

MJ2611 Industrial Ecology, 6 credits, MJ2691 Technology and Sustainable Development, 6 credits but also many other courses offered by The division Industrial Ecology.

Version

Course plan valid from: Autumn 10.
Examination information valid from: Spring 12.