Flexible
Online
Intro to Environmental Footprinting
Overview
| Module Code | BSEN20180 |
| Module Title | Intro to Environmental Footprinting |
| Subject Area | Biosystems Engineering |
| Credits | 5 |
| NFQ | 8 |
| EFQ | 6 |
| Start Date | 9th September 2025 |
| Time | Asynchronous |
| Duration | 12 weeks |
| Mode of Delivery | Online |
| Lead Academic | Dr Rajat Nag |
| Fee | €665 |
| Application Deadline | 29th August 2025 |
An environmental footprint is an estimate of the effect that a person, company or activity has, which causes a specific type of environmental impact, e.g., consumption of freshwater resources, emissions of trace gases or land use required. This module will introduce you to the concepts of water, emission, land, and ecological footprints and lead you through the calculation of your own environmental footprints using the best available guidelines, standards, and techniques.
Your water footprinting (WF) estimates your personal appropriation of fresh water, considering consumption and pollution potential. Your emission footprinting (EF) is an estimate of the consequences of the emission of trace gases you are responsible for. Your land footprint (LF) is an approximation of the area of cultivable land required to support your lifestyle. Your ecological footprinting (EcF) is a measure of how much natural resources you use to support your lifestyle. We will examine the theoretical basis for each footprint and then use web-based calculators to estimate your personal environmental footprints. Finally, we will consider strategies to reduce our personal environmental footprints.
Key Features
This micro-credential is aimed at engineers and scientists in sectors which require knowledge on methods to quantify sustainability for internal benchmarking, process improvement, and reporting against policy targets.
Learning Outcomes:
- Prepare a goal and scope statement for a personal environmental footprint calculation
- Collect, organise and manipulate data to build a database for calculating individual environmental footprints
- How to quantify your water, emission, land, and ecological footprints and compare them with national and global averages
- Interpret the result of environmental footprint calculations to identify reduction strategies
The micro-credential covers the following topics: Introduction to individual's environmental footprint; the impact of individual footprints on the collective footprint of a nation; the goal and scope for individual footprint calculation; strategies for data collation; calculation of individual's water, emission, land, and ecological footprints; the difference between individual and global footprints; identifications of the hotspot of the footprints; interpretation of results; and example applications and remedial strategies to be taken towards minimising individual environmental footprints.
This module covers introductory skills for sustainability, pointed out in the IKC3 sustainability report as key skillgaps in the Irish landscape. It will equip students with the skills to calculate and report and present evidence-based environmental footprints in compliance with ISO standards. Students will be ready to apply their skills within companies, SMEs, local authorities, consulting companies etc., to drive the transition to a zero-carbon economy.
This micro-credential is delivered through the UCD online learning platform (Brightspace) and will consist of Specified Learning Activities (50 hours), Autonomous Student Learning (30 hours), lectures (24 hours), Tutorial (8 hours). Total of 112 hours.
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
- Problem-based assignments that build to a completed individual's water, emission, land, and ecological footprints assessment project
- Directed reading
- Online lectures
- Online web-based tool for environmental footprints calculation
Applicants must hold a degree in engineering or science. A Level 7 bachelor’s degree (NFQ) or international equivalent is required.
Applications will also be accepted from those with significant, relevant, practical experience or those with a graduate qualification relevant to the micro-credential.
Applicants whose first language is not English must demonstrate proof of English proficiency as per UCD's minimum English language requirements.
All applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Student Negotiated or Choice of Assessment: Assignment 1: Students need to choose one from (i) a digital poster; (ii) an in-class 6-minute PowerPoint presentation; or (iii) a 5-minute recorded video presentation on water and land footprinting. (20% of grade)
Student Negotiated or Choice of Assessment: Assignment 2: Students need to choose one from (i) a digital poster; (ii) an in-class 6-minute PPT; or (iii) a 5-minute recorded video presentation on emission and ecological footprinting.(20% of grade)
Assignment (Including Essay): Report on your personal environmental footprints (3 pages per footprint, 12 in total), excluding references. (60% of grade)
- Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
- Group/class feedback, post-assessment
It can potentially be stacked with other sustainability implementation micro-credentials or UCD School of Biosystems part time programs in Sustainability aimed for a working cohort.
On successful completion of this micro-credential, you will receive credits as per the European Credit and Transfer System. These credits are recognised by the awarding institution as credits aligned to learning completed at undergraduate level.
If you have any questions about this micro-credential, or would like to speak to a UCD staff member, please contact (opens in a new window)microcredentials@ucd.ie.