The Natural Edge Project: Logo 2005 Banksia Award




"(The Natural Advantage of Nations is) a book that is responsive to the urgent need for the education of engineers as well non technical leaders of all disciplines, who must understand and embrace the principles of sustainability to carry their businesses forward in the most competitive way, while preserving the environment for all current and future generations to enjoy."
Doug Jones, President Engineers Australia 2003/04





The Natural Advantage of Nations (Vol. I): Business Opportunities, Innovation and Governance in the 21st Century

 

NAON used in Courses

Please let us know if you are using the book in your course!

The London School of Economics and Political Science (UK): GY423
Sustainability: Economy, Business and Technology

Coordinator: Professor E Neumayer

Use of NAON: First book on reading list of three books listed.

Syllabus: Frameworks for decoupling economy and environment: Sustainable development, ecological modernisation and environmental leapfrogging; Governance approaches for decoupling environment and economy; Green technological change, technological lock-in and niche management; Environmental leapfrogging in developing countries; Decarbonising the economy; Environmental values, behaviour and education; Corporate environmental management and competitive environmental strategy; Critical perspectives on the greening of business; The competitive implications of environmental protection.

Status of unit: The course will be taught through a combination of 19 weekly lectures (1.5 hours) and 19 weekly seminars

Leeds School of Business (USA), University of Colorado at Boulder: BCOR 4000-101 Sustainability and Business Ethics

Coordinator: Janet Graaff

Use of NAON: One of four essention reading books listed.

Syllabus: Society, business, and the natural world are inextricably linked by the same set of natural laws. This Section of BCOR 4000 offers an introduction to the rationale for business responsibility to society and the responsibility of both to the natural world. The course covers the fundamental constructs of Business Ethics within the framework of sustainability and explores partnership paradigms such as corporate stakeholder management, and the principles of natural capitalism, industrial ecology, and whole systems thinking.

Status of unit: Undergraduate, senior year course.

Swinburne University of Technology: Sustainable Design HES1115

Use of NAON: One of three listed reading materials.

Syllabus: During the course we aim to develop and improve students investigation and teamwork skills; to develop understanding and basic knowledge of Environmental implications of engineering activities, Sustainable design, Sustainable development and incorporating it into engineering practice. Critical analysis and problem solving strategies. Professional presentation and engineering report writing; and to provide students with the opportunity to experience peer reviewed oral presentations.

Status of unit: Undergraduate, A unit of study in the Bachelor of Engineering (Civil Engineering) and Bachelor of Engineering (Civil Engineering) / Bachelor of Business.

Queensland University of Technology (QUT): BEB200 Introducing Sustainability

Coordinator: A/Prof Glenn Thomas

Use of NAON: The only set text.

Syllabus: This unit will address issues of sustainability from a number of perspectives thus providing students with a variety of lenses on the ways in which the human-made environment impacts on the future of human settlement. The unit will include an introduction to sustainability from a variety of perspectives, including indigenous and other cultural perspectives, and from ecological, economic and technological perspectives. It will demonstrate to students the ways in which contrasting, and sometimes conflicting, ideas about sustainability are prioritised and how these priorities contribute to the impact that design, engineering and urban development professions have on a sustainable future.

Status of unit: Compulsory First year course for the Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering.

Griffith University: 2335EVE Sustainability Principles and Practices

Coordinator: Cheryl Paten (supported by Charlie Hargroves)

Use of NAON: The only set text.

Syllabus: How can sustainability principles be implemented in your work as a professional person? Sustainability Practices and Principles will equip you with the foundational knowledge and practical tools to make sustainability 'happen' in your professional practice. This course breaks through the complex language of sustainable development to help you understand what sustainability will mean in the context of your work as an engineer, scientist, planner, or professional in business, law or Asian studies. Weekly practical sessions equip you with tools to implement sustainability in design, research, reporting and management in the workplace.

Status of unit: Undergraduate Level.

Australian National University (ANU): ECOS3004 Urban Ecology

Coordinator: Dr R Dyball

Use of NAON: The only preliminary reading book listed.

Syllabus: The course applies the core human ecology concepts developed in ECOS2001 to the urban environment. The emphasis is on how human activities affect ecological processes and human wellbeing in urban areas. Students will study the effect that different human values, institutional arrangements and management strategies have on urban energy and material stocks and flows. Case studies covered by the course include the changes that the urban form places on water, energy and material flows as well as how urban design and planning processes affect transport and settlement patterns. For each of these topics, different human interventions will be considered, including those aimed at improving governance, harnessing ecosystem services and engaging with the community.

Status of unit: Next offered in 2007, first semester, 65 contact hours including 26 hours of lectures, 21 hours of workshops/tutorials, 18 hours of field work.

The University of Western Australia, School of Mechanical Engineering: Engineering for Sustainable Development (MECH4400)

Convener: Margot Jupp and Prof. James Trevelyan

Use of NAON: Required Text.

Syllabus: This course aims to introduce you to real engineering practice in which the details of technical solutions are often the least important decision that you will have to make. To date the majority of the course work you have done has prepared you to answer some narrow technical questions of engineering. For excellence in engineering it is essential you incorporate people constraints, economics and environmental issues into design and other engineering decisions. This course will introduce you to the aspects that you will have to address in your careers as engineers. Sustainable engineering means taking these aspects into account in a systematic manner and we will show you some of the tools you will need to do this effectively. (View Unit Outline)


Status of unit: Undergraduate, Lectures: 3 per week; tutorials: 2 per week; Practicals: 2 per semester.

Macquarie University, Graduate School of the Environment - Division of Environmental & Life Sciences: GSE 825 Sustainable Development: Introductory Principles and Practices

Convener: Wendy Goldstein

Use of NAON: Listed as a key text with many others.

Syllabus: This unit provides students with the tools for interpreting international developments and reviewing progress in the area of sustainable development. Students will trace the evolution of sustainable development, from how it was expressed in Rio at the first United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (1992) with Agenda 21 and the associated environmental Conventions and 10 years later at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg (2002). Students will be introduced to various other instruments of international governance including the Millennium Development Goals, the Monterrey Consensus and DOHA Round of Trade negotiations on sustainable development.


Status of unit: Core unit in Postgraduate Certificate, Diploma and Masters in Sustainable Development.