Overview
In this unit you will examine the nature of Environmental Management Systems (EMS) as developed by the International Organisation for Standards and Standards Australia. Topics include: concepts of EMS, ISO 14000 series (including ISO 14001 and ISO 14004), implementing EMSs, risk assessment, auditing and certification, relationships with Environmental Impact Assessment and the concept of continual improvement. You will review case studies focused on the implementation and functioning of environmental management systems in Australia and in other countries. You will use your learned knowledge and skills to develop your own draft environmental management system for a hypothetical or actual organisation.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisite: Minimum of 24 credit points
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2025
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Quantitative data from SUTE responses and student Moodle posts
Further clarification of unit and assessment requirements are needed.
It is recommended that Lecturer clarify level of detail required for the main written assessment using examples from other organisations' Environmental Management System documents.
Feedback from Quantitative data from SUTE responses and Lecturer reflection
Additional opportunities for feedback on written assessments are needed.
Lecturer should consider setting milestones for the main written assessment in order to provide formative feedback on students' draft Environmental Management Systems. Continued provision of Q&A sessions to students is also recommended.
Feedback from Student Moodle posts and Lecturer reflection
Unit learning materials need to be updated.
It is recommended that Lecturer update prescribed textbook and record learning book lectures as videos.
- Identify the concepts and key features of the international standard ISO 14001
- Locate and apply specific Standards Australia documentation in order to research the various designs and elements of an environmental management system
- Develop a draft environmental management system with adequate documentation for a hypothetical (or actual) small organisation.
N/A
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Online Quiz(zes) - 30% | |||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 70% | |||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Communication | |||
| 2 - Problem Solving | |||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | |||
| 4 - Information Literacy | |||
| 5 - Team Work | |||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | |||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | |||
| 8 - Ethical practice | |||
| 9 - Social Innovation | |||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||
Textbooks
ISO 14001 Environmental Systems Handbook
Edition: Second (2012)
Authors: Ken Whitelaw
Taylor and Francis
London London
ISBN: 9780080478807
ISO 14001 Step by Step - A Practical Guide
Edition: Second (2019)
Authors: Asif Hayat Khan, Naeem Sadiq
O'Reilly IT Governance Publishing
Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire , UK
ISBN: ISBN 978-1-78778-034-7
This is an ebook that I would like to be accessible at no cost to students via the publisher's website or the CQUni library. It is available here: https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/iso-14001-step/9781787780347/?sso_link=yes&sso_link_from=cqu-edu-au
This is an ebook that I would like to be accessible at no cost to students via the publisher's website or the CQUni library. It is available here: https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/iso-14001-step/9781787780347/?sso_link=yes&sso_link_from=cqu-edu-au
Introduction to Environmental Management
Edition: Second (2021)
Authors: Mary K. Theodore and Louis Theodore
Taylor and Francis
ISBN: 9781000385595
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Course Resources Online (CQUniversity library)
- Word processing software (e.g. Microsoft Word)
- Online access Australian Standards (through CQU Library)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
e.bryson@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
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Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 1 Online Q&A Session, Wednesday, 12 March, 3:00-4:00 pm AEST
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Week 4 Online Q&A Session, Wednesday, 2 April, 3:00-4:00 pm AEST
Online Quiz 1 closes Sunday, 6 April, 11:00 pm AEST
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Explanatory Paper and Draft EMS Manual Part A due Sunday, 27 April, 11:00 pm AEST
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Online Quiz 2 closes Sunday, 4 May, 11:00 pm AEST
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Week 8 Online Q&A Session, Wednesday, 7 May, 3:00-4:00 pm AEST
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Explanatory Paper and Draft EMS Manual Part B due Sunday, 18 May, 11:00 pm AEST
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Online Quiz 3 closes Sunday, 25 May, 11:00 pm AEST
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Week 11 Online Q&A Session, Wednesday, 28 May, 3:00-4:00 pm AEST
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Explanatory Paper and Draft EMS Manual Part C due Sunday, 8 June, 11:00 pm AEST
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There will be four Q&A sessions held via Zoom throughout the term to support you in your learning and preparing your main assessment, the explanatory paper and draft EMS manual. Sessions have been scheduled as follows:
Week 1 Wednesday, 12 March 2025 3:00-4:00 pm AEST
Week 4 Wednesday, 2 April 2025 3:00-4:00 pm AEST
Week 8 Wednesday, 7 May 2025 3:00-4:00 pm AEST
Week 11 Wednesday, 28 May 2025 3:00-4:00 pm AEST
1 Online Quiz(zes)
There are three (3), open-book, online quizzes. Each quiz is related to the previous weeks' readings and unit content. Each quiz can only be completed once and will be available for 24 hours from the time it is opened. Quizzes that are opened within 24 hours of the due date will not be available past 11:00 pm AEST on their respective due dates.
Content and due dates for each quiz are as follows:
Online Quiz 1: covers material from Weeks 1-4; Due end of Week 4
Online Quiz 2: covers material from Weeks 5-7; Due end of Week 7
Online Quiz 3: covers material from Weeks 8-10; Due end of Week 10
Please refer to the Generative AI Permission document available on your Moodle site for guidelines on the acceptable and unacceptable use of generative AI in this unit.
3
Other
Online Quiz 1 due end of Week 4, Online Quiz 2 due end of Week 7, Online Quiz 3 due end of Week 10
Quizzes are graded automatically and immediately after submission.
The Online Quizzes will allow you to demonstrate your understanding of EMS concepts and procedures, including aspects of your ability to meet the following course learning objectives:
1. Explain the concepts of 'standards' and their world-wide and Australian growth and implementation
2. Access ISO and Standards Australia documents, publications, and other resources, and use appropriate information technologies to engage in research and other data/information gathering activities regarding EMS
3. Explain the origins of EMS and their linkages to Environmental Impact Assessment processes and other mechanisms of environmental protection
4. Identify key documents in the ISO 14000 series and describe their functions
5. List the key features of ISO 14001 and 14004
6. Describe the key concepts and principles of EMS
7. Discuss approaches to implementing EMS
8. Use EMS checklists
9. Prepare basic EMS documentation
10. Identify essential features of EMS auditing
11. List the general requirements and processes involved in EMS certification
12. Discuss some of the on-going issues regarding EMS as an effective mechanism for environmental protection
13. Find particular information that is contained in the online material, textbook and other study resources
- Identify the concepts and key features of the international standard ISO 14001
2 Written Assessment
For this assessment piece, you will prepare a draft EMS Manual based on AS/NZS ISO 14001: 2016 Amd 1:2024 for a hypothetical or actual small organisation.
This will include a short explanatory paper of about 4-5 pages that explains key elements of your Manual’s design and includes a bibliography. The explanation paper should be placed at the start of the draft EMS Manual as a single document of 50 pages or less.
You will complete sections of your draft EMS Manual throughout the term, and submit them separately in three parts:
Part A: Four sections of the explanatory paper, EMS clauses 4.1-5.3 and one related document
Part B: One section of the explanatory paper, EMS clauses 6-6.2.2 and four related documents
Part C: Complete draft EMS Manual (Part C). Students will be allowed to update the detail from Parts A and B based on feedback when they submit everything in the final Part C document. The Part C submission should include the following Clauses from AS/NZS ISO14001: 2016 Amd 1: 2024 including some fully completed documents.
- 4.1 Understanding the organisation and its context
- 4.2 Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties
- 4.3 Scope of the environmental management system
- 5.1 Leadership and commitment
- 5.2 Environmental Policy
- 5.3 Organisational roles, responsibilities and authorities
- 6 Planning (title only)
- 6.1.2 Environmental aspects
- 6.1.3 Compliance obligations
- 6.2 Environmental objectives and planning to achieve them (title only)
- 6.2.1 Environmental objectives
- 6.2.2 Planning actions to achieve environmental objectives
- 7 Support (title only)
- 7.1 Resources
- 7.2 Competence
- 7.3 Awareness
- 7.4.2 Internal communication
- 7.4.3 External communication
- 7.5 Documented information (title only)
- 7.5.2 Creating and updating
- 7.5.3 Control of documented information
- 8 Operation (title only)
- 8.1 Operational planning and control
- 8.2 Emergency preparedness and response
- 9 Performance evaluation (title only)
- 9.1 Monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation (title only)
- 9.1.1 General
- 9.1.2 Evaluation of compliance
- 9.2.2 Internal audit programme
- 9.3 Management review
- 10 Improvement (title only)
- 10.2 Nonconformity and corrective action
- 10.3 Continual improvement
The following documents should be fully completed according to the requirements of the ISO 14001 standard:
- Environmental policy
- Register of Environmental Aspects and Impacts and an accompanying Risk Assessment Rating Matrix and Risk Priority Classification for these impacts
- Register of Compliance obligations
- Register of Environmental Objectives and Targets
- One example of an Environmental Management Programme that is aimed at one of the environmental objectives and targets that you have identified
- Register of Competence, Training and Awareness
- Register of External Environmental Communication
- Register of Standard Operating Procedures
- One example of a Standard Operating Procedure (e.g.., disposal of wastes)
- One example of an Emergency Preparedness and Response Procedure (e.g., what should be done in the event that a fire occurs in your premises, or in the event of a chemical spill)
- Environmental Incident Report Form
- Schedule of Monitoring and Measurement
- Non-conformance and Corrective Action Report
- Internal EMS Audit Schedule
Please refer to the Generative AI Permission document available on your Moodle site for guidelines on the acceptable and unacceptable use of generative AI in this unit.
Part A Due Week 6, Sunday, 27 April, 11:00 pm AEST; Part B Due Week 9, Sunday, 18 May, 11:00 pm AEST; Part C Due Week 12, Sunday, 8 June, 11:00 pm AEST;
Assignments will be returned within 14 days of being submitted.
The three parts of this assessment will be evaluated on the basis of the quantity and quality of the research and
analysis that has gone into the project, the effectiveness of the written communication of that research, and alignment of documentation with the AS/NZS ISO 14001: 2016 Amd 1: 2024 standard.
Part A Marking Criteria:
- Clarity and completeness of organisational overview and environmental goals
- Identification of internal and external environmental context
- Clearly written environmental policy, aligned with AS/NZS ISO 14001: 2016 Amd 1:2024, and demonstrating organisational commitment
- Presentation, writing quality, structure, and correct referencing
Part B Marking Criteria:
- Identification and evaluation of environmental aspects, impacts, and risk significance
- Clarity and completeness of environmental objectives, actions and targets aligned with AS/NZS ISO 14001: 2016 Amd 1: 2024
- Identification and relevance of compliance obligations
- Presentation, writing quality, structure, and correct referencing
Part B Marking Criteria:
- Completeness of explanatory paper, and all required EMS clauses, registers, and supporting documents
- Effectively incorporates feedback and improves content from Parts A and B
- Well-developed operational controls, demonstrating understanding of environmental management
- Consistent use of document control aligned with AS/NZS ISO 14001: 2016
- Clearly outlines monitoring, auditing, and continual improvement mechanisms
- Well-structured presentation, concise and professional writing style, complete and correct referencing
- Locate and apply specific Standards Australia documentation in order to research the various designs and elements of an environmental management system
- Develop a draft environmental management system with adequate documentation for a hypothetical (or actual) small organisation.
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
