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Sergio,

I teach a course exactly as you have described. Students design an EMS
for our university (Duke). We divide the students into groups and ask
them to focus on developing the EMS for one unit of the university, for
example, laboratories, food services or transportation, because we feel
that designing a full institutional EMS in one semester is too large a
task. The students are provided with the university's policy statement.
They have been supervised by the university's EHS director. The course
is intended for masters of environmental management students pursuing a
concentration in business and the environment. It has been very well
received.
I have attached my syllabus and would be happy to answer any questions
you might have.

Best Regards,

Deb Gallagher


Sergio Molina wrote:

> Hello everyONE!
>
> I've been asked to develop a syllabus for a new class we'll offer
> called Environmental Management Systems (EMS).
>
> I have looked on the internet and found couple of syllabuses,
> nevertheless I will appreciate very much if some of you who have
> taught this class will share your syllabus with us.
>
> We are very interested in having student-groups conduct a semester
> long class project in which they select a company and revisit main
> elements of an EMS (e.g. Environmental Policy; Environmental
> Review; Environmental Performance Objectives; Responsibilities;
> Training; Implementation; Documentation; Monitoring and
> Measuring; Audit). If any of you have conducted such type of project
> in your class, we'll also love to receive comments based on your
> experience and recommendations and how to better approach this idea.
>
> Below is my email if you consider appropriate to directly send the
> information to me; otherwise I assume most ONE members will also
> appreciate this information.
>
> Thank you very much,
>
> Sergio Molina
>
> ----------------------------------
> Sergio Molina
> Ph.D. Candidate, Corporate Environmental Management
> Research Assoc., Forest Products Management Development Institute
> Department of Bio-based Products
> University of Minnesota
> 2004 Folwell Ave.
> St. Paul, MN 55108
> (612) 624 3223
> sergiomolina@umn.edu <mailto:sergiomolina@umn.edu>


--
******************************
Deborah Rigling Gallagher, Ph.D.
Visiting Assistant Professor of Resource and Environmental Policy
Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences
Duke University
Box 90328
Durham, NC 27708-0328
(919) 613-8138
deb.gallagher@duke.edu
http://www.env.duke.edu/people/faculty/gallagher.html

Yes interesting approach and with an unsurprising academic focus.

My Advanced EH&S management course I have taught for several yrs now at
RRCC/OSHA Institute is a more industry-oriented, hands on experience. Mini
of course as I only have 4 days with the students. We go through the history
of the standard case studies of successful EMSs, and heavy on exercises that
build portions of an EMS, most notably the Policy Statement.

Lots of fun. I was told by someone years ago it was the first accredited ISO
14001 course in the country. I never verified this but have had fun with it,
and now teach it as an integrated EHS MS.

This is what UCSD has approved for next yr, to start their EHS management
curricula, sustainability will be woven in.

It is good to see others taking this master business tool so seriously.

-----Original Message-----
From: Organizations and the Natural Environment Discussion
[mailto:ONE-L@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU]On Behalf Of Deb Gallagher
Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2005 2:30 PM
To: ONE-L@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU
Subject: Re: EMS Syllabuses


Sergio,

I teach a course exactly as you have described. Students design an EMS
for our university (Duke). We divide the students into groups and ask
them to focus on developing the EMS for one unit of the university, for
example, laboratories, food services or transportation, because we feel
that designing a full institutional EMS in one semester is too large a
task. The students are provided with the university's policy statement.
They have been supervised by the university's EHS director. The course
is intended for masters of environmental management students pursuing a
concentration in business and the environment. It has been very well
received.
I have attached my syllabus and would be happy to answer any questions
you might have.

Best Regards,

Deb Gallagher


Sergio Molina wrote:

> Hello everyONE!
>
> I've been asked to develop a syllabus for a new class we'll offer
> called Environmental Management Systems (EMS).
>
> I have looked on the internet and found couple of syllabuses,
> nevertheless I will appreciate very much if some of you who have
> taught this class will share your syllabus with us.
>
> We are very interested in having student-groups conduct a semester
> long class project in which they select a company and revisit main
> elements of an EMS (e.g. Environmental Policy; Environmental
> Review; Environmental Performance Objectives; Responsibilities;
> Training; Implementation; Documentation; Monitoring and
> Measuring; Audit). If any of you have conducted such type of project
> in your class, we'll also love to receive comments based on your
> experience and recommendations and how to better approach this idea.
>
> Below is my email if you consider appropriate to directly send the
> information to me; otherwise I assume most ONE members will also
> appreciate this information.
>
> Thank you very much,
>
> Sergio Molina
>
> ----------------------------------
> Sergio Molina
> Ph.D. Candidate, Corporate Environmental Management
> Research Assoc., Forest Products Management Development Institute
> Department of Bio-based Products
> University of Minnesota
> 2004 Folwell Ave.
> St. Paul, MN 55108
> (612) 624 3223
> sergiomolina@umn.edu <mailto:sergiomolina@umn.edu>


--
******************************
Deborah Rigling Gallagher, Ph.D.
Visiting Assistant Professor of Resource and Environmental Policy
Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences
Duke University
Box 90328
Durham, NC 27708-0328
(919) 613-8138
deb.gallagher@duke.edu
http://www.env.duke.edu/people/faculty/gallagher.html

Kurt,

Thanks for those sources. I looked at the ULSF site and noticed that they took on some of Second Nature's Starfish (I think that was the name) network.

I took a look at these syllabi and remember them when they were first posted (about 7-9 years ago). I am just wondering how many of these courses still exist?

They are a lot more than environmental management systems, which gets into the question of what is a management system anyway (much less, what is an environmental management system).

Which gets back to Andy's question. In response to that, I would say a course would have all those traditional management topics, but those topics would also be targeted at the environmental management dimensions facing organizations. I am not sure where TQM (six-sigma?) principles and tools fits within his grouping of topics, but those should definitely be included. The other aspects would be performance measurement, auditing, and decision making topics and issues.

Of course you also interject speakers (preferably someone who has actually completed ISO 14000 or EMAS audits and someone who has implemented ISO 14000 type programs, to get both perspectives).
Just some thoughts.

-Joe S.


________________________________

From: Organizations and the Natural Environment Discussion on behalf of Kurt Fischer
Sent: Wed 11/23/2005 9:12 AM
To: ONE-L@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU
Subject: Re: EMS Syllabuses


A lot of this was developed starting in the last century. Would explore

http://bell.wri.org/syllabi.cfm

Curriculum development was the original purpose of the original MEB (1988 +/-), Management Institute for Environment and Business, absorbed by WRI some years ago.

and

http://www.ulsf.org/

... with roots in the Talloires meeting of 1989, and the Tufts Environmental Literacy Institute, handed off to ULSf 'way back in '95.

Kurt

__________________________________________________
Kurt Fischer
The Greening of Industry Network
tel 781.646.4596 fax 781.646.4189 kurt.fischer@greeningofindustry.org
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