Abstract:

Organisations are increasingly under pressure to transform their business strategy towards environmental management systems in order to minimise the impact of their activities on the environment and achieve sustainable development. The aim of this teaching proposal is to bring the new business reality closer to university students of environmental sciences by means of a research project on the environmental management systems of organisations through project-based learning. Thanks to this methodology, the aim is to activate interest in the business world and also to acquire skills (teamwork, oral and written communication, problem-solving, decision-making, creativity and making judgements) through a classroom project that incorporates learning objectives.

The training action has been carried out for the subject of environmental audits and standardisation, which deals with the study of environmental certifications, auditing and the regulations associated with the procedure. However, without a prior analysis of the business context and how it works, students may not be able to understand it and become disinterested in the study. This is mainly due to the interest focused on environmental issues as opposed to issues related to economics and business.

The content of the work includes firstly, the strategic policy of the organisation in which the organisation's economic activity, brief history, mission, vision and objectives of the company, stakeholders and an internal and external analysis of the company and the sector in which it operates must be detailed. Second, the need to identify whether the company has any quality management system and in the description. Thirdly, to know if environmental innovations are applied, whether they are product, process and/or organisational innovations, as well as environmental management tools.

The results of the application of project-based learning encourage participation and the generation of synergies between the students and the company, helping their academic development and the establishment of the necessary knowledge to bring theory and business practice closer together. In conclusion, the students have expressed their satisfaction with both the work carried out and the level of knowledge obtained in environmental aspects applied to business management, motivating their interest in subjects that contribute to the sustainable development of companies.

Keywords:

Project-based learning, teaching innovation, environmental management, economics.