Baltic University Programme - A regional university network

The introduction of environmental management approaches in industry and other organizations are of great importance for developing a good environment in the Baltic Sea region. However, well functioning possibilities for learning and training environmental management is lacking at many universities and equivalent institutions in particular in the former socialist countries in the region. With this course package Baltic University wants to introduce such a possibility.

The full course, Environmental Management (30 ECTS), consists of four parts:

1. Policy Instruments for Environmental Management (7.5 ECTS)
2. Cleaner Production and Technologies (7.5 ECTS)
3. Product Design and Life Cycle Assessment (7.5 ECTS)
4. Environmental Management Systems and certification (7.5 ECTS)

This set of four courses on environmental management have been developed to fill this gap. The courses are on master level. They address management in all kinds of organizations, but they are of particular relevance for the industrial sector. They are well adapted for competence development for professionals.

Environmental management is seen a general approach encompassing a long series of issues such as management tools, economic and legal policy instruments, industry related tools such as cleaner production and waste minimization, but also more traditional tools as Environmental Impact Assessment, as well as eco-design, Life Cycle Assessment, certification and green labelling.

In the industry sector technologies for removing pollutants from effluents and flue gases are today enforced by increasing fines and taxes for pollution, and solid waste deposition on landfills, but in the long run this approach has limitations. A simple fact is that too much waste is produced. Technical approaches, which address this fundamental fact, include eco-design and cleaner production. The management tools include the systems of ISO 14001 and EMAS introduced to an ever larger extent.

University-industry contacts should be used to allow visits on a regular basis to specified industries as part of the studies, and in general stimulate university-industry cooperation.