Environmental Management

The aim of the programme is to provide you with an understanding of the leading theories and practical experiences within Environmental Management. The programme enables you to define and solve environmentally related problems in the business world as well as in public organisations and the broader society.

The Master of Science Programme in Environmental Management combines a theoretical orientation with practical project work. This means that you achieve hands-on experience with a range of practical techniques in such areas as environmental planning, environmental policy, environmental management systems (EMS), corporate social responsibility, logical framework analysis, life cycle assessment (LCA), and energy analysis and planning. You will be able to use different tools for project design, environmental monitoring, quality control and evaluation as well as planning. Furthermore, you will be trained in using cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness methods. The programme will also provide you with an understanding of the social and political implications of planning and management within the environmental field. This includes an understanding of the relationships between companies and stakeholders, the environmental challenges facing businesses operating on international markets, and an introduction to various types of environmental regulations. These are just some of the topics that are integrated in the Master of Science Programme in Environmental Management.

Structure of the Master of Science Programme in Environmental Management.

Semester 1

Theme: Company perspective.
The semester begins with an introduction sequence consisting of work in project groups and introductory lectures presenting different approaches to environmental management.

The focus of this semester is on the company level. Each project group conducts an in-depth analysis of a company’s environmental strategies and performance and suggests improvements in relation to production processes, the product life cycle, or management policies. At the end of the semester, a project report is submitted, presenting relevant theories and an analysis of the case study.

Courses:

• Corporate Environmental Management (2 ECTS)*. The course gives you an orientation in the managerial and strategic aspects of environmental management. The course focuses on the environmental challenge facing business companies, and it will provide you with a wide range of methods that are used by companies.
• Feasibility Studies (2 ECTS). The aim is to provide insights into sustainable project evaluation. It gives you hands-on experience of widely used tools, such as cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis for project design, monitoring, quality control and evaluation of projects.
• Research Methodology (2 ECTS). The aim of the course is to enable you to collect, analyse and interpret empirical data and other sources of information related to environmental management projects.
• Organisation Theory (1 ECTS). The purpose of the course is to develop your strategic and organisational thinking based on an overview of concepts and theories within Organisational Theory.
• Thematic Seminars. Research seminars will introduce topical issues, such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Energy and Environmental Planning.
  

Semester 2:

Theme: Institutional and societal perspective.
This semester focuses on policies, politics, institutions, and organisations. You will learn how the political, organisational, and institutional contexts in different nations and cultures have an influence on environmental management, as well as how to analyse policies, discourses, institutions, and political strategies within the field. Each project group chooses a topic for their semester report within the theme of the semester. The topic can be primarily theoretical or empirical, and usually takes its point of departure in a specific policy, organisation, or an environmental problem.

Courses:

• Theories of Science (2 ECTS). The aim of the course is to provide you with an understanding of the historical development of science, and of different theoretical traditions and approaches that are relevant for environmental management.
• Policy, Institutions and Discourses (2 ECTS). The course focuses on theories of politics and planning in terms of power relations and discourses. The course presents a number of basic concepts within social science (state, politics, power, discourse) that are essential for analysing planning processes and power relations.
• Environmental Impact Assessment (1 ECTS). The course introduces Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which is now used worldwide as an instrument for identifying and managing the adverse effects of development proposals. The course provides the basis for preparation, presentation and review of EIA procedures and statements.
• Politics of Sustainable Development (2 ECTS). The course discusses the various actors and the changing agendas in the world of environmental policy and politics. The aim is to explore the interaction between economic, political, and social ideologies and structures influencing sustainable management of resources. The main sources of political conflict and tensions, particularly between the North and the South, are introduced.
• Technology Transfer (1 ECTS). The general aim is to give the students an operational competency to plan, implement and evaluate international technology transfer projects within the field of environ- mental management.
• Environmental Governance and Policy Instruments (1 ECTS). The aim of the course is to give the students an understanding in developments in environmental regulations in industrialized countries: past - present and future. Attention will be paid to various policy instruments to regulate industry.
• International and EU Green Policies (2 ECTS). The course presents the international conventions and, especially, the EU policies in the environmental and energy areas. The course deals with some of the following issues: When and why do international conventions work? What kind of political institution is the EU? How are the procedures and policy process of the EU in relation to the environmental and energy areas? This question will be discussed in general terms as well as through specific examples within the environmental and energy areas.
  

Semester 3

Traineeship in an international company or organisation.
This semester will provide you with an opportunity to apply the theoretical insight and the methodological knowledge obtained during the 1st and 2nd semesters to a real life situation in a Danish or international setting.

The choice of traineeship is made on the basis your interests. During the traineeship, you participate in the activities of an organisation and collect information for the project report. The project report is expected to have both a theoretical and empirical part relating to the actual experience of the traineeship.

Semester 4

Master’s thesis preparation
The Master’s thesis may focus on environmental management either at a specific company level, or at a broader societal or institutional level. The Master’s thesis should discuss these issues with reference to relevant theories and concepts, as well as present results from empirical and practical investigation. Often the thesis includes practical suggestions, e.g. in the shape of a feasibility study, a plan for implementation or an evaluation of a specific project. The Master’s thesis is often prepared on an individual basis.