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• Professor Neil Harris

Human activity is accelerating consumption of natural resources and emissions of pollutants into the environment, destabilising planetary life support systems. This module will introduce you to these processes, identifying the drivers, pressures, changes in state, and impacts on the environment, as well as examining potential responses and solutions. It will cover the physical science-based understanding of our planetary systems, how humankind is modifying these systems, and examine current and future efforts to address these key challenges through science, technology, and policy.

• Planetary systems and the Gaia hypothesis,
• The Anthropocene,
• Dynamics of resource consumption, pollution emissions, population.
• Safe operating space,
• Effects of anthropogenic activities on planetary and human systems including climate change (past, present and future), ecology and biodiversity, natural disasters, air pollution, waste, agriculture, food security, sea level rise and coastal change, water quality and supply, planetary health and societal impacts,
• Response options for sustainable environmental change including policy options, sustainable development goals, concepts of net biodiversity gain, net environmental gain, renewable technologies, doughnut economics, natural capital, ecosystem services, and valuation.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• Analyse key global environmental challenges and evaluate their underlying drivers of change.
• Evaluate the consequences of global environmental change for planetary systems and human society.
• Identify and critically appraise response options that aim to tackle the challenges presented by global environmental change.
• Critically evaluate the importance of interdisciplinary solutions in resolving global environmental challenges.

• Dr Alice Johnston

The module introduces the context of environmental decision making, providing both a conceptual overview and practical tools for addressing environmental management problems. It aims to promote an understanding of weight-of-evidence approaches used to inform real-world problems by research, industry, and government. Central to this is an understanding of the strengths and limitations of different approaches and aspects of decision science, the social, economic, and environmental trade-offs made during decision-making, and how real-world complexity and future uncertainty is accounted for. Students will learn how to apply systems thinking to evaluate different courses of action in response to environmental challenges related to land, water, and/or energy. 

• Key environmental challenges and the need for decision support tools.
• Different stakeholders in environmental decisions.
• Weighing the evidence for different courses of action.
• Big data; data analytical approaches; mathematical modelling; statistical inference; machine learning; information systems; spatial data science approaches. 
• Environmental, economic, and social trade-offs in decisions. 
• Accounting for real-world complexity and future uncertainty in decisions.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of decision science approaches for practical environmental management problems.
• Conceptualise complex environmental issues using systems thinking to weigh-up different courses of action.
• Critically appraise the need for stakeholders to trade-off environmental, economic and social concerns, and the limitations of decision science approaches in accounting for real-world complexity and future uncertainty.

• Dr Simon Jude

A critical application of environmental risk management is in the development and appraisal of policy in central government and business. Policies are developed to manage environmental risks and selection of policy options must be informed by risk based tools and techniques. Doing so demands a comprehension of the technical, organisational and human elements of governing environmental risks and developing environmental policy. This module draws these themes together by introducing core concepts and then illustrating these concepts with case studies spanning business and government, and finally application via a group exercise. Core lectures are supported by multiple case studies, a workshop and module assignment.

• Risk governance.
• Problem definition.
• Environmental risk analysis and management.
• Environmental policy development and appraisal.
• Policy instruments.
• Policy co-design.
• Evidence-based conservation.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• Critically assess the technical, organisational and human features of effective environmental risk governance.
• Critically evaluate the environmental policy cycle of implementation and the basics of policy development and appraisal.
• Critically analyse different types of policy instruments, including regulation, economic, voluntary and other measures, and identify the appropriate policy instruments to use in different contexts.
• Compare and contrast environmental risk management techniques, selecting tools appropriate to the character of the risk in question.
• Rigorously interrogate the challenges and constraints of environmental policy co-design and evidence-based policy-making. Understand the challenges and constraints of environmental policy co-design.

• Dr May Sule

Applied scientific and green engineering principles are required to address the global and national environmental crises driven by climate change, land use change, pollution emissions, and population growth. This diverse module aims to develop an understanding of the interconnected environmental, social and health crises from a local to global scale, and the management, mitigation and adaptation strategies to address them from a planetary health perspective. As the module progresses, learners will be required to develop an advanced interdisciplinary understanding of exposure pathways and the interconnections between the natural environment, ecosystems, human health and wellbeing. Learners will be provided with the necessary systems thinking skills to assess the complexity and impact connecting environmental issues and human health in the Anthropocene and provide solutions; and to also appraise the reliance of human populations on healthy ecosystems, including the highly complex socio-ecological feedback mechanisms involved in interactions between humans and nature.

• Interdisciplinary understanding of water, land and air interconnections of human health and wellbeing.
• Environment, health, and equity.
• Pathways to exposure.
• Systems thinking and holistic understanding of complexities.
• Enablers and inhibitors.
• Upstream causes and downstream effects.
• Fundamental concepts of structural, attitudinal and transactional (SAT) analysis.
• Case studies.
• Management solutions.
• Application of Vensim software for causal loop diagrams.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

Interpret interactions and interconnections between natural environment, human health and wellbeing.

Critically evaluate complex systems and the social and ecological approach to health promotion and disease prevention and control, ranging from individual to population level determinants of human and ecosystem health.

Critically appraise the rights of humans and the rights of nature, giving all human populations and ecosystems, present and future, the opportunity to attain their full vitality.

Characterise the linkages between environmental changes and human health at different geospatial and temporal scales. 

Synthesise diverse information to provide diverse solutions for planetary health challenges.

• Dr Andrea Momblanch

This module aims to introduce you to the real-world environmental solutions that are being developed and/or already in use, to enable them to enter a number of sectors with up-to-date knowledge of current approaches.

The module will provide you with an overview of policies, practices and solutions to minimise the impacts of environmental challenges related to climate change, water quality, air quality, land, biodiversity and marine environments, keeping in view the environmental targets and standards.

You will work on case studies of sustainable solutions (e.g. in air quality, water quality, soil, etc.) and evaluate the potential of these solutions to contribute to building healthy and resilient environments.    

• Environmental challenges in a wide range of sectors; e.g., water and wastewater, air quality, soil, agriculture and food, transport, energy systems, biodiversity decline, etc.
• Policy and regulatory frameworks – National and international, including climate, water, air, soil, biodiversity, the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals.
• Systems thinking approaches to environmental solutions.
• Sustainable environmental solutions to address key environmental challenges: nature-based solutions, sustainable technology entrepreneurships, LivingLabs.
• Tools to assess the effectiveness of environmental solutions towards the achievement of policy goals.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• Examine and interpret the linkage between drivers of major environmental challenges and their societal impacts.
• Evaluate data and evidence on potential solutions to a real-world environmental challenges.
• Critically analyse environmental solutions based on appropriate metrics and tools in the context of policy goals.
• Critically appraise and synthesise complex environmental information to determine sustainable solutions to global environmental challenges through case examples.

• Dr Gill Drew

Environmental impact assessment and life cycle analysis are important tools for evaluating the sustainability of complex renewable energy technologies and industrial processes or products. The tools and concepts taught in this module will enable you to assess the sustainability of a case study from an environmental standpoint. Analysis of relevant case studies to demonstrate the assessment process, including how to account for uncertainty and sensitivity analysis.

This module is 10 credits.

• Environmental Impact Assessment,
• Indicator selection and analysis,
• Life cycle analysis and carbon footprinting,
• Social impact assessment,
• The use of appropriate software for lifecycle analysis.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• Critically assess the emissions and waste production throughout the lifecycle of a technology or process,
• Design a framework to ensure compliance of a process, product or service to support the transition to Net Zero that is  compliant with regulatory and voluntary requirements,
• Critically evaluate different environmental and social appraisal metrics,
• Design and implement a strategy to assess the environmental sustainability of a process or technology, and evaluate the associated uncertainties.

• Dr Zaheer Nasar

This module aims to provide you with a specialist understanding of major air pollutants, their regulation, monitoring and management approaches both outdoors and indoors. The module will cover principal air pollution issues including an introduction to understanding the sources, sinks and distribution of major air pollutants, indoor–outdoor air quality issues (UK and global), Air quality and climate change, monitoring techniques, analytical methods, data analysis, health contexts and current policy and regulatory systems for statutory air pollutants.

Practical work will include field investigation of air pollutants and data analysis and management solutions for improving air quality. This will involve measurements of air pollutants at various indoor and outdoor locations on the Cranfield campus.

Series of lectures and interactive learning sessions covering:

• Basics of air pollution science, types of air pollutants and their sources.
• Indoor–outdoor air quality issues (UK and global).
• Measurement methods, monitoring approaches, air quality standards, and  health and environmental impacts.
• Gaseous (NOx, SO2, NH3, NMVOC, CO, O3) and Particulate (PM1, PM2.5, PM10 and UFPs).
• Bioaerosols monitoring and control (with a focus on regulated facilities in the UK).
• Indoor air quality measurement and management.
• Air quality controls and management systems.
• Air quality and climate change.

• Interpret the drivers, extent and implication of major air pollutants in ambient and indoor environments and the air quality regulatory framework.
• Critically assess the measurement techniques and approaches for key gaseous and particulate pollutants (including bioaerosols)
• Design appropriate sampling strategies to meet the practical requirements for ambient and indoor air quality monitoring.
• Evaluate data and generate data products in the context of a monitoring strategy and objectives.
• Critically appraise complex environmental information to propose tailored air quality monitoring and management solutions to manage air quality in different indoor and outdoor environments through case examples.

• Dr Robert Grabowski

Climate change and human activity are having profound impacts on catchments. Increasing temperatures, more frequent and intense rainstorms, and more prolonged droughts are causing direct and indirect changes to vegetation, soils and rivers that affect water quantity and quality via multiple mechanisms. In this module, you will develop the knowledge and skills to conceptualise the climate change impacts on the water environment, at catchment scale, based on an understanding of hydrological, geomorphic, chemical and ecological processes.

• Catchment hydrology,
• Precipitation and evapotranspiration,
• Climate change impacts on precipitation and evapotranspiration,
• Soil structure, diversity and hydrology,
• Soils, vegetation and nutrients,
• Human impacts on soils,
• Groundwater principles,
• Groundwater flow through the landscape,
• Groundwater flow to pump, water quality issues,
• Climate change impacts on groundwater levels and quality,
• Runoff generation,
• River discharge and hydrograph analysis,
• Probably – hydrological data and applications,
• Rivers – geomorphology,
• Rivers – water chemistry,
• River process interactions – hydrological, geomorphic, chemical and ecological,
• Climate change impacts on river processes.

• Appraise how water moves through catchments and the hydrological changes induced by human activities and development,
• Evaluate how soil, geological and river characteristics affect the flow and chemical characteristics of water, considering the influences of vegetation and impacts of human activity,
• Integrate and evaluate data and information from a variety of sources to characterise the factors affecting catchment processes in a case study catchment and assess the impacts of climate change.

• Dr Lynda Deeks

Natural landscapes and built environments can be engineered to optimise the goods and services delivered to society, including provision of natural resources and the regulation of water and carbon. Technologies that prevent and/or reverse land degradation can be devised and implemented to ensure sustainable use of finite land resources. Environmental engineers and land managers need sound understanding of the environmental properties that determine land capability for any given desired end use, as well as the interrelationships between soil, water, vegetation and built structures. This understanding is grounded in basic soil physics, hydrology, hydraulics, geotechnics and agronomy. With this background, appropriate interventions such as soil erosion control and slope stabilisation can be designed and implemented to improve inherent land quality. The required skills set also informs the management of environmental projects involving land forming, reclamation, restoration and protection, which require selection, design, engineering and maintenance of appropriate structures.

Site Assessment: Concept of land capability and land quality
Criteria used for assessing land capability and its classification. 
USDA scheme, Canadian Land Inventory, urban land capability scheme.

Land forming, earth moving and landscape modification
Earth works design
Defra recommendations
Water retention - ponds
Machinery and equipment used (+ visit to Tarmac or similar)

Geotechnics: Slope stability
The stability of shallow and deep slope failures
Methods of slope stability calculations
Finite slope analysis etc.
Slope engineering for slope stability
Bunds and berms
Bioengineering
Biotechnical engineering

Surface erosion of slope forming materials
Soil erosion processes
Soil erosion consequences
Surface soil erosion control
Terraces
Check dams

Agronomic techniques (bioengineering)
Vegetation as an engineering material (bioengineering and biotechnical engineering)
Geotextiles

Top and sub soil management
Vegetation establishment
Site maintenance

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• Apply the concept of land capability to site assessment and carry out land capability classifications.
• Explain how to design earthworks and select appropriate land-forming machinery / equipment.
• Calculate the stability of slopes and design of simple support and stabilisation systems.
• Devise strategies for the long-term management of top soil and subsoil in land engineering projects.

• Dr Pablo Campo Moreno

Water of good quality is necessary for domestic, environmental, industrial, recreational and agricultural applications. As a result of the conditions prevailing in the catchment area, natural and anthropogenic constituents in water bodies will define potential uses according to established criteria. Hence, for those working in water science, a comprehensive understanding of regulations applicable to water quality is needed. This module provides you with an overview of Water Framework Directive and other relevant water quality regulations and policies that govern the management and assessment of surface waters. If quality is to be adequately monitored, it is also important to acquire knowledge about sampling and measurement of water parameters and interpretation of acquired data. It also provides background in ecological processes, aquatic communities, and survey design and data analysis to help those working in environmental water management to interpret water quality data in the context of the catchment characteristics and pressures.

• Importance of water quality for human health, drinking water and the environment.
• Water quality regulation and standards.
• UK methods to assess the status of surface water bodies.
• The physical and chemical attributes and processes structuring the biological community in aquatic ecosystems in the landscape (e.g. rivers, lakes, floodplains, estuaries and coastal zones).
• Design of water quality monitoring programmes: sampling strategies, sampling methods, quality assurance, and data handling.
• Water quality sampling & analysis: field sampling techniques and laboratory analysis methods.
• Statistical analysis of ecological and water quality data.

• Evaluate the chemical, biological and hydromorphological processes and their interactions that determine the ecological status of a surface water body.
• Critically analyse water quality based on knowledge of the sampling and data analysis methods, and analyse them to identify significant spatial and temporal differences.
• Classify major point and non-point sources of water pollution derived from natural sources and human activities, and identify emerging threats to water quality.

• Dr Peter King

The module aims to provide you with a deep understanding of the truly multidisciplinary nature of a real industrial project. Using a relevant case study, the scientific and technical concepts learned during the previous modules will be brought together and used to execute the analysis of the case study.

Design of an appropriate analysis toolkit specific to the case study.

Development of a management or maintenance framework for the case study.

Multi-criteria decision analysis [MCDA] applied to energy technologies to identify the most preferred technology.

Energy technologies and systems: understanding the development and scaling/design of the technologies by applying an understanding of the available resources in the assigned location.

Public engagement strategies and the planning process involved in developing energy technologies.

On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:

• Critically evaluate available technological options, and select the most appropriate method for determining the most preferred technology for the specific case study;
• Demonstrate the ability to work as part of a group to achieve the stated requirements of the module brief;
• Organise the single-discipline activities in a logical workflow, and to define the interfaces between them, designing an overall multidisciplinary approach for the specific case study. 

• Professor Ana Soares

The water sector is embracing sustainable practices to effectively manage water and wastewater, aligning with circular economy principles and striving towards NET-ZERO goals while promoting resource recovery. This paradigm shift entails comprehensive, interdisciplinary strategies that prioritize not only technological advancements but also the establishment of metrics and key performance indicators. Considering regulatory frameworks and engaging local stakeholders are pivotal aspects. This module offers insights into the latest advancements in resource recovery from water, municipal, and industrial wastewater. It explores the drivers, challenges, opportunities, success stories, and tools essential for evaluating resource recovery implementation within the water sector.

• Sustainable practices to manage water and wastewater.
• Circular economy.
• Resource recovery strategies and processes.
• Regulatory framework around resource recovery.
• Nutrient recovery.
• Energy recovery/net zero

• Appraise sustainable practices in managing water and wastewater, including their alignment with circular economy principles and NET-ZERO targets.
• Derive strategies for resource recovery technologies applicable to water, municipal, and industrial wastewater treatment processes.
• Evaluate of drivers and challenges on the adoption of resource recovery practices.
• Assess tools and metrics to explore opportunities for resource recovery within the water sector, including potential economic, environmental, and social benefits.

• Dr Gabriela Dotro

The increasing global concern for water scarcity, pollution, and the need for sustainable infrastructure calls for the importance of nature-based solutions (NBS) for water and wastewater treatment. NBS offers a paradigm shift, leveraging natural processes and ecosystems to enhance water quality, mitigate flooding, and restore ecological balance etc. To understand the roles of NBS and their functional mechanisms, learning from existing successful implementations is essential to support system design and operational guidance, allowing NBS to deliver not only regulatory standardised treatment effluent but also contribute to broader ecological benefits. This module aims to equip you with a cutting-edge education that combines theoretical knowledge with practical design skills on NBS for water and wastewater treatment.

Introduction of NBS in water and wastewater:

• Examples, trade-offs and opportunities,
• Latest innovation sin NBS interventions,
• Optimising resources for maximum NBS impact.

Treatment wetlands design:

• Wetland components and processes,
• Sizing for sewage applications,
• Sizing for industrial wastewater,
• Tutorial and exercise.

Treatment wetland implementations:

• Ancillaries and hydraulic design,
• Commissioning and monitoring,
• Incorporating multiple benefits in wetland design,
• Wetland design tutorial: multiple benefits,
• Wetland benchmarking – building a business case,
• Visit Cranfield experimental wetlands.

Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDs):

• Introduction of SuDs,
• SuDs design: CIRIA guidance, and SuDS in practice,
• SuDS design equations,
• SuDS design tutorial and exercise - Ecosystem restoration - Biodiversity net gain - Visit MK SuDS schemes.

• Evaluate different nature-based solutions and their implementations for water and wastewater treatment,
• Critically appraise the multiple benefits and evaluate the limitations and trade-offs of nature-based solutions,
• Size Treatment Wetlands to meet specific sewage treatment targets,
• Design sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) for water management based on guidance and best practices.

• Dr Kenisha Garnett

Strategic foresight research refers to a range of methods that can be used to identify, analyse and communicate insights about the future. Standard methods include horizon scanning, trend research, and scenario planning. Outputs include emerging issues, trends, visions, scenarios, and wild cards. The methods employed and insights produced are used by both private and public sector organisations to inform a wide range of policy, risk, strategy and innovation processes. Foresight research is a truly inter-disciplinary ‘science’, covering and combining developments in society, technology, economy, ecology, politics, legislation and values.

Crucially, foresight research is as much about analysing the past and present, as it is about looking to the future. Once we understand how a system has developed and works today, we can explore how it may evolve and what it may look like in the future. Strategic foresight techniques consider a wide range of possible, plausible futures so that planning can be put in place to adapt to and mitigate against various conditions. It is designed to add resilience, adaptability and flexibility to organisations in an increasingly complex and fast changing world.

This module will explore how:

• Horizon scanning can act as a method of gathering new insights that may point us towards affirming or discrediting existing trends and developments, as well as identifying new and emerging trends and developments that are on the margins of our current thinking, but will impact on the future.

Other foresight methodologies (e.g. scenario planning, visioning, back-casting) can be used to help us to use the trends identified from horizon scanning to identify how the future might develop.

In this module, you will adopt a bespoke three-step foresight process to interpret change in the external organisational environment and use the insights generated to anticipate plausible futures and stress-test strategies that support building organisational resilience.

The foresight process will support you in building:

Robust organisational intelligence through systematic horizon scanning and insight generation.

Resilience through comprehensive exploration and interpretation of the future to maintain flexibility (ability to adapt) against impending risks and to cease opportunities.

Step 1: Build organisational intelligence.

A 360o horizon scan of the external environment, both operational (e.g. market and consumer trends, competition) and contextual (e.g. regulatory constraints and opportunities, technological and social change), to systemically analyse those trends and patterns within the industry/sector and beyond that point to persistent trends, discontinuities or sharp disruptions that may challenge the future direction and ambition of your organisation.

Step 2: Develop a set of alternative plausible future scenarios.

Build a set of plausible scenarios that explore alternative development pathways for your organisation in the future. The scenarios will reflect both positive and negative factors influencing the development of the organisation over the short to long-term, considering the contrasting role that various external driver of change (e.g. socio-demographic, technological, economic and policy change) will play. The scenarios should also consider discontinuities or sharp disruptive events (e.g. fuel crisis, political conflict or war) that may challenge the organisation’s continuity and its resilience, requiring an analysis of risks, opportunities and trade-offs over the long-term.

Step 3: Create a vision and strategic roadmap for achieving a desirable future (scenario).

Develop a vision and strategic roadmap for achieving the utopian scenario (i.e. most desirable future), defining the pathway and options for achieving the ambitions of your organisation. Apply the scenarios to stress-test the organisation’s future vision / strategy against potential disruption and to better prepare for other impending risks (e.g. financial and regulatory constraints) but also ceasing the opportunities that may arise.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• Assess why organisations engage in strategic foresight research and what foresight research aims to achieve - and what it cannot do,
• Evaluate the utility and application of different foresight research methodologies,
• Examine the role of foresight research evidence in a broad organisational and environmental context,
• Identify and apply the tools of strategic foresight research in a broad organisational and environmental context.
• Apply strategic foresight research methods to support a convincing case for action within the organisation and use foresight research evidence to effectively plan for the long-term resilience of the organisation.