ECTS credits ECTS credits: 3
ECTS Hours Rules/Memories Hours of tutorials: 3 Expository Class: 9 Interactive Classroom: 12 Total: 24
Use languages Spanish, Galician
Type: Ordinary subject Master’s Degree RD 1393/2007 - 822/2021
Departments: Chemistry Engineering
Areas: Chemical Engineering
Center Faculty of Economics and Business Studies
Call: Second Semester
Teaching: With teaching
Enrolment: Enrollable | 1st year (Yes)
The main objective is to acquire a general understanding of the main concepts related to the sustainable design of processes, products, and services through the study of different environmental analysis and assessment tools. The goal is for students to develop skills to meet the challenge of improving the environmental performance of a product, process, or service and to become familiar with and use some of the tools supporting Ecodesign.
Topic 1. Principles of sustainability and the circular economy: definitions, key concepts, and sustainable development goals.
Topic 2. Life Cycle Philosophy: fundamentals and methodology, application in product and service analysis, and practical case studies.
Topic 3. Ecodesign: definitions, ecodesign tools, and practical case studies. Application of Strategic Environmental Valuation to a product. Ecolabeling.
Topic 4. Principle of responsible innovation in the circular economy: definition, characteristics, methodology, and challenges.
Basic bibliography
• Baumann, H., Tillman, A.M. The Hitch Hiker´s Guide to LCA. An orientation in life cycle assessment methodology and application. Lund: Editorial Studentlitteratur, 2004. ISBN: 91-44-02364-2. Código BETSE: A244 15
Complementary bibliography
• Feijoo, G., Moreira, M.T. Análisis de ciclo de vida y huella de carbono. Casos prácticos. Research Gate, 2020. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.11030.50240/1. Código: Acceso abierto
• McDonoug, W., Braungart, M. Cradle to Cradle (de la cuna a la cuna): Rediseñando la forma en que hacemos las cosas. Barcelona: McGraw-Hill, 2005. ISBN: 84-481-4295-0. Código BETSE: A234 14
• Muthu, S.S. Quantification of Sustainability Indicators in the Food Sector. Singapore: Springer, 2019. ISBN: 981-13-2408-5. Código acceso: disponible en línea
• Muthu, S.S. Assessment of Carbon Footprint in Different Industrial Sectors. Volume 1 & 2. Berlin: Springer, 2014. ISBN: 978-981-4560-40-5 (Vol. 1) & 978-981-4585-74-3 (Vol. 2). Código BETSE: 244 10
• Pacheco-Torgal F., Cabeza, L.F., Labrincha, J., de Magalhães A. Eco-efficient construction and building materials: life cycle assessment (LCA), eco-labelling and case studies. Philadelphia, PA: Woodhead Pub., 2014. ISBN: 9780857097729. Código acceso: disponible en línea
• Rosling, H., Rosling, O, Rosling, A. Factfulness: Diez razones por las que estamos equivocados sobre el mundo. Y por qué las cosas están mejor de los que piensas. Barcelona: Deusto, 2018. ISBN: 978-84-234-2996-7. Código BUSC: S3 396
• Vence, X. Economía circular transformadora y cambio sistémico: retos, modelos y políticas. Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2023. ISBN: 978-8437508184. Código ECMAM: 1092
Upon completion of this course, students will have acquired the following competencies:
COM01 - Lead and promote the transition from the linear model to the circular economy model in organizations and companies. Design projects and solutions, identifying emerging challenges, and applying them to the social needs of the social and economic environment.
COM02 - Generate specific actions in the field of multiRs (redesign, remanufacture, repair, redistribute, reduce, reuse, recycle, and recover energy) and develop sustainable technical solutions. Make informed decisions, assessing their ethical consequences, as well as their impact and associated professional responsibility.
COM03 - Integrate the fundamentals of ecodesign into the design of products and services.
COM07 - Propose and promote the use of clean technologies and renewable energy sources, as well as the development of efficient water and energy management strategies.
CON12 - Recognize the concepts associated with innovation management, innovation systems, eco-innovation, open and sustainable innovation, and the multi-level perspective, and their contribution to the sustainability of innovative product/process/service development.
CON15 - Identify strategic business opportunities that benefit society and the environment and generate profitability for the company based on the challenges posed by the transition to sustainable production models.
HAB02 - Build innovative business models capable of leading and driving the transition from the linear model to the circular economy model in organizations and companies. This includes generating a sustainable business idea, entrepreneurship, developing a business plan, and presenting and defending it to stakeholders. Prepare texts at different technical levels, facilitating their understanding by the intended audience.
HAB03 - Use appropriate communication strategies to communicate conclusions, the knowledge, and underlying rationale behind them to specialized and non-specialized audiences in a clear and unambiguous manner.
CON06 - Identify and describe the different components of the value chain, as well as the main agents involved in decision-making at different levels, thus adapting the necessary systemic perspective.
CON10 - Recognize eco-monitoring methods that allow for the analysis of opportunities and risks in environmental matters, such as eco-balances, material flow analysis, or environmental accounting.
Lectures: These classes present the theoretical foundations of each topic, taking into account the previously established objectives and the skills students must acquire. Presentations (lectures) will be used, supported by audiovisual materials and will be available in the virtual classroom at the end of each topic. These presentations combine theoretical explanations with proposals, discussions, and resolution of theoretical and practical questions to encourage student participation and attention, as well as facilitate their learning and the assimilation of concepts. Students will be offered the opportunity to complete a quiz related to the topics explained in class, via the virtual classroom, for which they will receive a score that will be included in the Assignments/Activities section. Prestigious speakers/researchers will be included, if possible, to address topics related to the subject matter.
Interactive seminar classes: These classes will focus on the study, discussion, and/or resolution of practical cases (problem-solving). These cases will be provided by the instructor in advance, encouraging independent study and the use of bibliographic sources (primarily in English). The purpose of these classes is to apply the tools presented in the lectures. Some practical cases will be developed using spreadsheets (VEA application) and specific software (SimaPro®, ACV study). All materials covered in the seminars will be available in the virtual classroom prior to the seminar so that students can prepare their content individually and/or in groups (preliminary study). Many of the assignments will be completed in groups through cooperative learning, where the students themselves will proactively "teach/learn" the solution to a specific problem. For these reasons, students will receive a grade that will be included in their grade for the Works/Activities section.
Group Tutorials: These supervised classes are designed to encourage students' independent work and teamwork activities, fostering cooperative and collaborative learning. Students themselves will be the proactive teachers and learners. Each student has one hour of group tutorial time, which will be used to present a practical case study (group work) focused on a product life cycle analysis study. Discussions will be used to discuss the case studies under analysis (problems, limitations, expected results) with peers from other groups. Each group will submit a brief final report and give a brief oral presentation of the corresponding LCA study. Each student will receive a grade for the Tutorials section, which will assess their attitude and participation in the discussion.
Attendance at group tutorials is mandatory to pass the course.
Class attendance will not be graded but is recommended for understanding the subject matter.
Relationship between teaching methodologies and the development of competencies:
Activity……………… Competencies
Expository classes………COM02, COM03, COM07, CON12, CON06, CON10
Seminars………. …….COM01, COM02, COM03, CON15, HAB02, HAB03, CON10
Group tutorials………..COM01, COM02, CON15, HAB03
Moodle (USC Virtual Campus) and USC MS Teams will be used as communication tools with students, offering them information on the teaching program throughout the course in the classroom and supplementary materials for studying the subject (lecturer's notes, scientific and technical articles, videos).
The student grade is a weighted average of the student's performance in:
a) Objective Question Exam (20% of the grade). The exam will consist of a questionnaire with short questions about the concepts explained in class.
b) Works/Activities (40% of the grade). Students will receive a score for all assignments (individual and group) and for the questionnaires they complete and submit. The group case study report accounts for 1/3 of the grade for this section.
c) The group tutoring session (10% of the grade) will be evaluated based on the student's attitude/participation in the discussion.
d) The oral presentation (30% of the grade) will be evaluated based on the student's attitude, interest, and personal work in class (1/3) as well as the presentation of the case study (2/3).
A student who does not obtain a minimum of 3 points out of 10 on the exam will not pass the course. If students do not pass the subject on their first attempt, they must redo the activities they failed, that is, resubmit the assignments or take the exam. The grades obtained on the activities passed on the first attempt will be maintained on the second attempt. Grade distribution will be the same as on the first attempt.
The competencies to be assessed are as follows:
• Exam: COM02, COM03, COM07, CON12, CON06, CON10
• Assignments/Activities: COM01, COM02, COM03, CON15, HAB02, HAB03, CON10
• Group Tutoring: COM01, COM02, CON12, CON15, HAB03, CON10
• Oral Presentation: COM01, COM02, COM03, CON15, HAB02, HAB03, CON10
In the case of fraudulent assignments or tests, the provisions of the Regulations for the Evaluation of Student Academic Performance and for the Review of Grades will apply.
The course has a workload equivalent to 3 ECTS credits, distributed as shown in the table. Classroom hours indicate the number of hours of coursework taught through the various activities offered. The total workload is 75 hours, meaning that each ECTS credit represents 25 hours of student work.
Distribution of training activity in ECTS credits:
Activity……………….Classroom hours…………………Student work…………Total
Master classes .…….…9.0……………………………9.0…………………18.0
Seminars……………..….12.0………………………….35.0………………...47.0
Group tutorials…….……....1.0……………………………3.0.…………………6.0
Exam and revision ………..2.0…………………………....4.0………………….6.0
TOTAL………………..…..24.0…………………………. 51.0…………..…….75.0
To achieve optimal performance in this course, it is advisable for students to have additional knowledge of English (reading level) and user-level computer applications.
Class attendance and active participation are recommended. It is also recommended that students attend classes and continuously study the material and use the computer application available at USC for the course, in accordance with the guidelines outlined above.
Language: The course will be taught in Spanish, but English-language bibliography may be used for assignments or information references.
Use of the virtual campus and USC MS Teams is required.
Sara Gonzalez Garcia
Coordinador/a- Department
- Chemistry Engineering
- Area
- Chemical Engineering
- Phone
- 881816806
- sara.gonzalez [at] usc.es
- Category
- Professor: University Lecturer
| Tuesday | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 16:30-20:30 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Spanish | Computer room 7 |
| Wednesday | |||
| 16:30-20:30 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Spanish | Computer room 7 |
| Thursday | |||
| 16:30-20:30 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Spanish | Computer room 7 |
| 02.27.2026 16:30-20:30 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Computer room 7 |