Legal Ethical Issues In Sustainability

AY2018/2019 Semester 1

The environment may be something many of us do not think very much about, but one thing is certain, it is an expansive issue covering diverse areas such as climate change, ozone depletion, pollution (air, land, marine), loss of biological diversity, corporate social responsibility, ethics and environmental management at international and national levels. In fact, much of everyday life is regulated and dictated by environmental law and policy of one kind or another. This course aims to provide students with a good overview of Environmental Sustainability Law and the policies that move the enactment of these laws, regulations, and guidelines. Students will study these issues from an international and national perspective and will have an appreciation of the roles and limitations of the law in resolving these issues. As we all live, work and often play in the built (man-made) environment, this course will devote considerable time examining the way our built environment can be developed to enable a sustainable future. Schemes such as the Singapore Building and Construction Authority's Green Mark Scheme for buildings will be studied, along with initiatives such as the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City, and of course practical examples such as the design of Google's data centres will also be canvassed. The focus will be on the best practices in environmental design and performance of buildings in order for internal and external spaces to be utilised in a sustainable manner. Business entities can benefit directly and indirectly if the living, working and playing spaces are environmentally sustainable in many ways, including but not limited to, productivity gains, corporate image, and leasing and retail value of buildings.