Environmental Awareness

L1

Session Outcomes
By the end of the session learners will;
Be

introduced to the principles of

environmental awareness.
Understand the meaning of some common
terminology.
Have an awareness of the impact of
environmental change.
Have an awareness of resource efficiency.
Identify practical ways to reduce
environmental impacts.

What do we mean by
Environmental Awareness?
Highlight

environmentally
friendly working practices,
relating to
Waste
Energy
Transport
Water issues

Group Exercises
Define the following terms;
Climate

change
Ecological footprint
Carbon management
Sustainable development
The three strands of sustainable
development

GROUP TASK 1

Climate change
Climate

change is a significant
and lasting change weather
patterns over long periods.

Ecological Footprint
Ecological

footprint is a
measure of
human demand
on the Earth's
resources
Amount of
natural resources
required to
sustain our
consumption and
deal with our

Carbon Management
The

process of
managing an
individual or
organisations
emissions of
greenhouse
gases

CO2

reduction

Sustainable development
Development

that meets the

needs of the
present without
compromising
the ability of
future
generations to
meet their own
needs

Three Strands of
Sustainability
Economic,
Social
Environment

Group Exercises
Identify the following;
The

key features of an ecological

footprint
The key features of the science of
climate change
The major impacts of climate change
and global warming

GROUP TASK 2

Impacts of Environmental
change
Key

features of an Ecological
Footprint

Average footprint
Developed world resource use
Developing world resource use
Need for food, transport, energy use,
agriculture, deforestation
Population growth
Speed in which it takes to regenerate
what we use in a year

Impacts of Environmental
change
Key

features of the science of

climate change

Global

temperature rise
Natural reasons (solar cycles, volcanoes
etc)
Man-made reasons (emissions, change in
land use etc)
CO2 and other greenhouse gases
Reduced ice caps, sea temperatures,
release of greenhouse gases

C02 Emissions latest

stats
Between

1990 2009.... 20%

higher
Increase of 35% between 19952005
Decrease of 9% 2008-2009
Carbon footprint increased by
12% over period

CO2 Emissions
Agriculture
Fluorinated

gases (CFCs, HFCs)

Waste industry
Transport
Industry
Household

Impacts of Environmental
change
Major

Impacts:

Global warming
Sea level rise
Ocean acidification
Health
Temperature rise
Extreme weather
events
Deforestation
Ecosystem strain
Loss of biodiversity

Global Warming
The

main cause of global warming is the

emission of greenhouse gases such as
carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.
Human activity over the past 250 years,
including the burning of fossil fuels, change
of land use and agriculture, has increased
the concentration of greenhouse gases in
the earths atmosphere.
As these gases build up in the atmosphere
they strengthen what is known as the
greenhouse effect.

Global Warming
There

has been a clear decreasing trend in

Arctic summer sea ice levels since records
began in 1979.
Sea level around the Uk rose by 10cm during
the 20th century.
The Earths surface has warmed by 0.4C on
average since the 1970s, 1C in last 100
years.
In 160 years of records the hottest years
have been since 1997.

Group Exercises
Identify the following;
Commonly

used resources
How resource efficiency affects climate
change
Reasons why a business should be
resource efficient

GROUP TASK 3

Commonly used resources

Renewable
Can be replenished
through biological or
natural processes
Solar
Wind
Tides
Hydro power
Biomass (plants, trees
etc, when harvested
sustainably)
Food stuffs

Non-renewable

Cannot be grown,
replenished in the
same rate it is
consumed

Fossil fuels
Coal
Gas
Oil (fuel, petrol etc)

Radioactive fuel

Metals

A few facts
We

throw away more than7 million tonnes of

food and drinkevery year from our homes - most
of which could have been safely consumed.
By pursuing opportunities for re-use, the UK
couldreduce its reliance on raw materials,
including rare earths, byas much as 20%by
2020.
Our research showsdoubling the number of sofas
re-used, couldsave 52,000 tonnes of
CO2equivalent. At the moment, 83% of sofas
are not re-used and are sent to landfill or
recycled.
Tip of the iceberg

Links between resource efficiency

and climate change
Emissions

of greenhouse gases
from manufacturing, agriculture,
transport, forestry, aviation,
shipping
Embodied energy
Total sum of energy to produce
Emissions

from

waste
transport
energy use
Transfer

of greenhouse gases
from one part of a cycle to
another e.g. hybrid cars reduce
fuel consumption but use
inefficient coal fired power
stations to charge batteries

Business Reasons for Resource

Efficiency
Regulation

and

legislation
Reputation
Cost reduction
Staff retention
Profitability
Development of
industrial capability
Standard of living in
less developed
countries

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

In order to minimise the impact
of waste products on the
environment there are actions
that we can take by reducing
what we use, reusing products
and recycling waste.
In groups complete the waste
hierarchy activity and then
feedback your answers to the
other groups

Waste Hierarchy Activity

Group Exercises
Identify the following;
Ways

to reduce consumption of
commonly used resources
Ways to reuse commonly used
resources
Identify recyclable resources
GROUP TASK 4

Waste Types
Hazardous

Waste which may contain hazardous substances, may

cause harm to the environment or react with other
materials
Non-Hazardous

Soils, builder materials, sludge, inert materials

Clinical/Biological

Sharps, infected material, some hospital waste, waste

from surgeries hospitals and clinics, infectious organisms,
absorbent materials, human and animal tissue

Inert

and Active

Building waste such as rubble, bricks, stone (Inert) and

wood, old window frames, guttering, pipework,
downspouts and other building related matter (Active)

Waste Classification
Activity
Task

1 Split cards into:

Recyclable/reusable
Non-recyclable
Compostable
Energy recovery

Task

2 the non-recyclable
cards split

Biological/Clinical
Non-hazardous
Hazardous
Inert/inactive

Ways to reduce.
Boil

only water you need

Buy only what you need
Buy things with less packaging
Cook food for only those eating
Switch off lights, monitors, appliances
Print on both sides of paper
Flush toilet only when needed
Solar power
Insulation in homes
Service vehicles and equip regularly
Use public transport
Walk

Ways to reuse.
New

ways of using materials

Reuse wrapping, boxes, plastic bags
Bag for life
Repair rather than dispose
Composting (paper, wood, food)
Chip fat from local chip shop used as
diesel
Sell unwanted items
Re-use coffee cups
Print on both sides
Rechargeable batteries
Grey water harvesting
Rain water harvesting

Recyclable Resources
Plastics
Tins,

aluminium, steel
Paper
Glass
Cardboard
Tetrapak
Clothing
Electronic equipment
Mobile phones
Spectacles
Tyres
Ink cartridges
Some building materials

Recycling materials
into.....

Paper
More paper, depending on quality 7 times
Cardboard
Paper, jiffy bags, loft insulation, car bodies, packaging, animal bedding,
coffins
Cans
New cans, car and aviation , bike frames, train tracks, pipes. Never loses
quality
Plastics
new bottles, car parts, bins, home composters . It can also be used to make
clothing such as fleece jackets and hats or fibre filling for sleeping bags and
duvets. Plastic milk bottles are used in street and garden furniture
Glass
Reused where possible (brown, clear) or crushed and turned into fine sand to
be used as building sand, if processed further can be used as floor and wall
insulation and lightweight construction aggregate.
Tyres
Surfaces for playgrounds, shock absorption, car parts, retreads, fuel, mulch
for landscaping, 3G sports pitches

Complete your Workbook

Now that you have completed
your activities write the answers
in your work book.

Practice Questions
Complete the crossword and the
practice questions on your own.
We will then go through the
answers as a group to see how you
all did.
This will prepare you for the on-line
test.