MSc Governance and Sustainability

The unit enables students to define and evaluate critically the concept of sustainable development and the key issues and debates relating to The United Nations Development Program warned in its Human Development Report 2007/2008 that the current economic model, following the footsteps of rich industrialised nations in growth and consumption, is ecologically unsustainable. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) acknowledge the need for a universal action plan with equal responsibilities amongst all nations, yet the field of sustainable development is still immature and requires further critical examination. The unit will therefore provide the necessary skills for understanding current debates and events in the fields of ecology, economic development and sustainability.

The unit draws attention to the conflicting goals of corporate law (i.e. the limitation of liability) and environmental law (i.e. ensuring that polluters pay for damage caused) and encourages students to consider and develop solutions to this problem. Whilst the unit focuses on UK, EU and international environmental law, many of the concepts covered are relevant to other jurisdictions.

This unit explores this vital area of law and addresses the struggle to achieve control of environmental problems against a backdrop of global politics and the more immediate regulatory issues surrounding the UK’s departure from the EU. Environmental problems, a warming planet, growing rubbish piles, the destruction of habitats and increasingly unbreathable air, are amongst the most complex faced by today’s societies. These problems also pose multiple challenges for legal control and regulation. Ecosystems are understood only subject to significant scientific uncertainty and environmental issues as a whole tend to cross jurisdictional and disciplinary boundaries, involving problems of collective action often seemingly at odds with private interests and the generally anthropocentric approach of legal responses. Therefore the unit explores how the law responds to these challenges.

This unit provides an opportunity for students to develop further as independent learners through the completion of a supervised study, which can include some elements of research carried out in a fieldwork context. The first part of the unit covers the research approaches in business studies. It aims to prepare students to produce a project proposal. This part of the unit examines strategies, design, ethics, and methodologies with particular reference to both qualitative and quantitative methods. The unit explores various methods appropriate to a range of disciplines, including organisational learning, business excellence, future foresight, innovation management, and sustainable development. It aims to develop students’ analytic skills, essential for conducting an independent research project that leads to a dissertation or consultancy report.

Students are expected to submit a dissertation of 15,000 words long. The dissertation carries 60 credits. This is usually submitted after all the modules have been completed. The dissertation could be research-based or industry-based. In the first route, students are expected to conduct a research project in one of the three areas of specialism, focused on Political/Moral Economy and sustainable development. In the second route, students are expected to carry out a consulting project at one of the organisations guided by the body of knowledge they mastered in the taught units.