Skip to main content


Unit of study_

CHNG2805: Engineering for a Sustainable Society

This course involves the study of the fundamental concepts which underpin sustainable development, including technical and economic efficiency, environmental stewardship and social responsibility. The course examines both the material and non-material economies from an engineering perspective. Tools such as life-cycle assessment, input-output analysis and multi-criteria decision analysis are examined and implications for resource and energy consumption, pollution and waste generation are analysed. A number of governing sustainability frameworks are discussed to determine their suitability within the context of chemical and biomolecular engineering. A range of approaches and tools for determining the environmental impact of human activities on small and large scale are introduced as part of a sustainability framework. Energy production and use, and product design are investigated from a sustainability perspective.

Code CHNG2805
Academic unit Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Credit points 6
Assumed knowledge:
Mass and energy balances, physical chemistry, physics.


  • LO1. quantify the environmental performance of industry (with specific reference to the resource and processing sectors) using appropriate tools
  • LO2. understand corporate responsibilities with respect to sustainability
  • LO3. effectively communicate sustainability arguments to all stakeholders, and interpreters of social and environmental concerns in ways which can help shape industry practice
  • LO4. interrogate governing frameworks for sustainability to support actions within industry
  • LO5. understand the trade-offs in decisions which impact on sustainability
  • LO6. understand the role of technology in promoting sustainability
  • LO7. understand the philosophical, social and political bases for sustainability, in addition to the technical, economic and environmental ones
  • LO8. understand the thermodynamic basis of the material economy in terms of resource consumption and waste generation

Unit outlines
