CVEN

N1701 E
ENVIRO
ONMEN
NTAL P
PRINCIPLES
AND SYSTE
S
MS

Semester 2, 2016

COU
URSE DETA
AILS
Un
nits of Creditt
Co
ontact hours
s
Cla
ass
Wo
orkshop
Co
ourse Coordinator
and
d Lecturer
Lec
cturer

6
5 hours per week
w
W
Wednesday,
12:00
1
15:0 0.
ColomboThe
C
eatreC(KB1 6LG05)
Tuesday, 09:0
00 11:00
Mathews
M
112
2 (K-F23-1122)
Tuesday, 09:0
00 11:00
Mathews113
M
3(KF23113 )
A
Assoc.
Prof. Stuart
S
Khan
em
mail: s.khan@
@unsw.edu..au
offfice: CE 311
1 Civil Engine
eering Building (H20)
ph
hone: 9385 5070
5
A
Assoc.
Prof. Tommy
T
Wied
dmann
em
mail: t.wiedm
mann@unsw
w.edu.au
offfice: CE 312
2 Civil Engine
eering Building (H20)
ph
hone: 9385 0142
0

INFO
ORMATION ABOUT THE COURSE
This
s course build
ds on the bro
oad multidisc
ciplinary intro
oduction to sustainability provided in tthe ENGG10
000 Engineerring
Design and Inno
ovation projeccts, by viewing these prin
nciples from an environm
mental engineeering perspe
ective. A ran
nge
nvironmental material acccounting, en
nvironmental risk assessm
ment, and ind
dustrial ecoloogy research
h tools will be
e
of en
intro
oduced to be able to quan
ntifiably defin
ne sustainab
ble economie
es at the corp
porate and reegional scale
e. These
anallytical tools w
will then be applied
a
in cou
urses in yearrs 2 to 4 in a range of are
eas, includingg the core co
ourses below
w
and electives in 4th year:

CEIC200
09 Mass balances in the chemical en
ngineering prrocess industry

CVEN34
402 Transport engineerin
ng and enviro
onmental sus
stainability

CVEN37
701 Environm
mental frame
eworks, law a
and economiics

CVEN37
702 Solid wa
astes and con
ntaminant tra
ansport

CVEN35
502 Water an
nd wastewatter engineerin
ng

CVEN47
701 Planning
g sustainable
e infrastructu re

aterial Flux Analysis

A
will be
b used to de
p
of
o heavy metaals through waste
w
to ene
ergy
For instance, Ma
escribe the partitioning
nts in CVEN3
3702 and sysstem dynamics will be us ed in the des
sign of susta
ainable regionnal waste ma
anagement
plan
systems in CVEN
N4701.
HAN
NDBOOK DE
ESCRIPTION
N
The URL of yourr course onlin
ne handbook
k is:
p://www.handbook.unsw
w.edu.au/un
ndergraduate
e/courses/2
2016/CVEN1701.html
http
This
s is an introdu
uctory course
e in technique
es to analyse
e the environmental impac
ct of corporattions and eco
onomies in
regio
ons, using ind
dustrial ecolo
ogy principles
s, environme
ental materiall and footprin
nt accounting and environmental risk
asse
essment. Susstainability prrinciples intro
oduced in EN
NGG1000 willl be quantitattively developped to enable
e the
iden
ntification and
d control of significant env
vironmental a
aspects in corporations an
nd regions. T
Techniques may
m include in
nputCVEN
N1701 Semeester 2, 2016 Course Proffile - 1

output analysis, simulation, life cycle assessment, environmental footprints, human health and environmental risk
assessment.
OBJECTIVES
The aim of the course is to introduce a number of analytical tools that environmental engineers use in defining and
assessing problems at corporate and regional scale, and which provide them with information that enables optimal
solutions to be designed. The objectives of the course are to:

Review sustainability principles, and describe them in terms of materials management and risk management,
from the perspective of an environmental engineer.

Understand principles of industrial ecology, systems modelling and decision making and show how these
methods can be used to optimise the design of systems and facilities.

Describe a range of environmental accounting and assessment tools, apply them to simple problems, and
explain how information from them can be used in policy, system, and facility design.

Describe human health and ecological risk assessment procedures in general terms, and show how the
outcomes of assessments can be used in the design of systems and facilities.

TEACHING STRATEGIES
Lectures will provide an explanation of procedures to follow to undertake environmental material/footprint accounting,
environmental risk assessment, and systems modelling methods. Examples will be given in these lectures. Students
then learn these procedures by applying them to real world problems that they have some familiarity with.
The approaches to learning are:
Private
Study

Review lecture material, reference books, and resources on UNSW Moodle.

Do set problems and preparation so that you can participate in workshops
Work in groups on class assignments
Reflect on class problems and assignments

Lectures

Take notes on skeleton overheads provided to get a full set of reference notes for the course.
Learn analytical methods of analysis of environmental problems that are not well documented in
reference books
Participate in working out example problems in class
Ask questions on how the content of lectures applies to assignment questions.

Workshops

Work actively in small ad hoc groups on problems set in class

Ask questions on assignment problems

Assessment

Formative and summative assessment of knowledge and skills in assignments, with students
encouraged to seek formative informal assessment via consultation with the lecturer during preparation
of assignments
Demonstrate higher understanding and problem solving on real world problems in hypothetical, but
realistic problem settings.
Exams are summative assessments on knowledge gained in the course, particularly as indicated by
the ability to quickly undertake exercises set in the Workshop problems

CVEN1701 Semester 2, 2016 Course Profile - 2

EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the completion of the course, you will be able to:

Use provided data to undertake analysis of simple facilities and systems using environmental footprints, life
cycle assessment and material flow analysis.

Describe the procedure to follow to undertake human health and ecological risk assessments.

Use provided data to undertake optimisation of solution development using system dynamics.

Be able to assess a problem to know which tools are appropriate in quantitatively understanding it, and how
information from the application of these tools can be applied in solution development.
For each hour of contact it is expected that you will put in at least 1.5 hours of private study.
ASSESSMENT
The final grade for this course will normally be based on the sum of the scores from each of the assessment tasks.
The Final Examination is worth 50% of the Final Mark if class work is included and 100% if class work is not included.
The class work is worth 50% of the Final Mark if included. A mark of at least 40% of the exam mark in the final
examination is required before the class work is included in the final mark. The formal exam scripts will not be
returned.
The exam will be a 2-hour closed book exam during the normal exam period. You are allowed to bring in one A4
sheet of paper with hand or typewritten notes, formulae, diagrams on both sides. The questions will generally
be similar to the workshop exercises. There are no previous exam papers available. Calculators must be UNSW
approved, for details see: https://student.unsw.edu.au/exam-approved-calculators-and-computers.
There will be workshop problems set and quick quizzes given in some lectures and/or workshops. They do not count
directly to your final assessment mark, but are intended to give you formative assessment, and assist with preparation
of the formal assignments and the end-of-session exam. Students who perform poorly in the quick quizzes and
workshops are recommended to discuss progress with the lecturers and demonstrators during the semester.
The Course coordinator reserves the right to adjust the final scores by scaling if agreed to by the Head of School.
Submission for assignments is as below:
All assignments and reports are to be submitted electronically via UNSW Moodle (by TurnItIn). No hard copies will be
accepted. No emailed versions will be accepted. Assignments are due at 5 pm on the due date. Late assignments will
receive a 10% penalty per week or part thereof.
ASSIGNMENTS
Assessment
Assignment 1

Topic
Decision Making

Value
25%

Due Date
Friday 26th August, 5 pm

Assignment 2

Carbon footprinting

25%

Friday 7th October, 5 pm

50%

Exam period

Exam

CVEN1701 Semester 2, 2016 Course Profile - 3

COURSE PROGRAM
SEMESTER 2, 2016
Wk

Week
starting

Workshop:
Tuesday 09:00-11:00

Lecture:
Wednesday 12:00-15:00

Lecturer

25 Jul

(no workshop)

Decision Making

Khan

1 Aug

Decision Making

Advanced Decision Making

Khan

8 Aug

Advanced Decision Making

Multi-Criteria Analysis

Khan

15 Aug

Multi-Criteria Analysis

Risk Analysis Concepts

Khan

22 Aug

Risk Analysis Concepts

Environmental Health Risk Assessment

Khan

19 Aug

Environmental Risk
Assessment

Risk Management

Khan

5 Sep

Risk Management

Sustainability principles; Introduction to

environmental responsibility and
management

Wiedmann

12 Sep

The Responsibility Game

Environmental Footprint Assessment

(Assignment 2 briefing)

Wiedmann

19 Sep

Ecological Footprints and

Carbon Footprints

Introduction to Industrial Ecology and

Systems Engineering

Wiedmann

Mid-session Break

26 Sep
10

3 Oct

Systems Models and

Systems Engineering

System Dynamics modelling and the Limits to

Growth

Guest lecturer
Graeme Bushell

11

10 Oct

System Dynamics / LtG

Material Flow Analysis

Wiedmann

12

17 Oct

Material Flow Analysis

Life Cycle Assessment

Guest lecturer
Ivan Perez-Wurfl

13

24 Oct

Life Cycle Assessment

(No Lecture)

RELEVANT RESOURCES
UNSW Moodle
All material required for this course will be provided on UNSW Moodle. It is compulsory for all students to access this
resource: https://moodle.telt.unsw.edu.au/login/index.php
Textbook
There is no required textbook.
Recommended Readings
Sustainability and Industrial Ecology:
Hoekstra, A. Y. and T. O. Wiedmann. 2014. Humanitys unsustainable environmental footprint. Science 344(6188):
1114-1117. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1248365
Hellweg, S. and L. Mil i Canals. 2014. Emerging approaches, challenges and opportunities in life cycle assessment.
Science 344(6188): 1109-1113. http://www.sciencemag.org/content/344/6188/1109.abstract

CVEN1701 Semester 2, 2016 Course Profile - 4

Murray, J. and Wood, R. (Eds.), 2010; The Sustainability Practitioners Guide to Input-Output Analysis. Common
Ground Publishing LLC, Champaign, Illinois, USA.
http://onsustainability.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.197/prod.3.
Brunner PH and Rechberger H, 2004; Practical Handbook of Material Flow Analysis, CRC Press Ltd.
Environmental Risk Assessment:
EnHealth 2012 guidelines on Health Risk Assessment:
http://health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/804F8795BABFB1C7CA256F1900045479/$File/DoHAEHRA-120910.pdf
DATES TO NOTE
Refer to MyUNSW for Important Dates available at:
https://student.unsw.edu.au/dates
PLAGIARISM
Beware! An assignment that includes plagiarised material will receive a 0% Fail, and students who plagiarise may fail
the course. Students who plagiarise are also liable to disciplinary action, including exclusion from enrolment.
Plagiarism is the use of another persons work or ideas as if they were your own. When it is necessary or desirable to
use other peoples material you should adequately acknowledge whose words or ideas they are and where you found
them (giving the complete reference details, including page number(s)). The Learning Centre provides further
information on what constitutes Plagiarism at:
https://student.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism
ACADEMIC ADVICE
(Formerly known as Common School Information)
For information about:

Notes on assessments and plagiarism,

School policy on Supplementary exams,

Special Considerations,

Solutions to Problems,

Year Managers and Grievance Officer of Teaching and Learning Committee, and

CEVSOC.

Refer to Academic Advice on the School website available at:

http://www.engineering.unsw.edu.au/civil-engineering/resources/academic-advice

CVEN1701 Semester 2, 2016 Course Profile - 5