Case studies on education for sustainable development in law

Contribute a case study
As part of our Developing global citizens through legal education project UKCLE commissioned colleagues in the School of Law and Social Science at the University of Plymouth to write some case studies on how they are integrating sustainability literacy into the curriculum at various stages of study.

We are looking for further case studies – if you would like to contribute contact us on e-mail: ukcle@warwick.ac.uk.

ESD at Plymouth

At Plymouth the education for sustainable development (ESD) concept is intended to be pervasive in the law programme but not to dominate, with ‘exposure’ rather than ‘promotion’ as the watchword. All undergraduate law students are exposed to sustainability in an introductory module on English legal system and method, which uses a workbook integrating sustainability concepts. They can then build on this knowledge in elective modules on company law and environmental law, both of which reintroduce sustainability within specific areas of legal study. The final case study presented here describes a masters level module on environmental law, ethics and sustainability.

By exemplifying how sustainability literacy can be integrated at various levels of the law curriculum and across a range of topics, it is hoped that others may find inspiration to employ the concept of sustainable development to engage students in the use and potential of the law to address issues of global concern.

The case studies include a summary of the mode of delivery of the module, details of intended learning outcomes and assessments, examples of learning tasks and final reflections. Contact details for each author are also given – all are happy to be provide further information if required.

• Workbook integrating sustainability concepts in legal system and method (introductory module)
• Introducing sustainability literacy into a company law module (elective)
• Integrating sustainability concepts in an environmental law module (elective)
• Teaching environmental law, ethics and sustainability (LLM/Masters)

Last Modified: 30 June 2010