Teaching

Brief description: In addition to providing an overview of some of the main pressures facing environmental media and associated regulatory approaches, the basic instruments of corporate environmental management are taught with regard to the qualification objectives of the module. Furthermore, challenges associated with determining and evaluating the environmental performance of one's organization, the interaction of environmental management tools with other focused management systems, and those tied to the implementation of environmental management systems are discussed alongside solution approaches in a seminar context. The module includes the following courses:

- Lecture ’Environmental Protection’

- Lecture ’Operational Environmental Management’

- Exercise ’Operational Environmental Management’

Frequency: Every winter semester

Scope: 10 ECTS

Language: German

Short description: The module teaches basic sustainability and systems theory concepts from various subject-specific perspectives. Using climate change mitigation as an example, complex cause and effect relationships between socio-economic activities and climate impacts are explained and analyzed with the help of integrated assessment modeling.

Frequency: Every winter semester

Scope: 10 ECTS

Language: English

Short description: The management of environmental resources is discussed in this module using the example of water as a resource. The starting point is the question of who, and with which instruments, can goods provided with the resource be managed best. Characteristic resource conflicts are highlighted, an overview of valuation issues and valuation procedures is provided, the use of important forecasting tools is addressed, and possible decision criteria for conflict situations are discussed. Practical examples will be used to reinforce the acquired knowledge. The module includes the following courses: 

 

- Lecture ’Water Resources Management’

- Lecture ’Economic Aspects of Water Resources Management’

- Seminar ’Water Resources Management’

Frequency: Every summer semester

Scope: 10 ECTS

Language: English

Short description: The course deals with ‘New Institutional Economics’. In the first half of the semester, the most important modelling assumptions will be considered, especially in contrast to traditional microeconomics. In addition, the most important sub-theories of institutional economics (e.g. transaction costs, rights of disposal, contracts with incomplete information, political markets, institutional change) are examined. In the second half of the semester, students will analyse environmental policy problems that arise in the economic system and possible solutions as part of a project. Institutional economics insights are applied to current environmental policy issues.

Lecture ‘Institutional Economics’

Seminar ‘Institutional economic analysis of current environmental policy
problems’

Frequency: every summer term

Scope: 10 ECTS

Language: German

• Economic potential of irrigation and influencing factors as well as alternative approaches to climate adaptation in agriculture
• Governance of irrigation and adaptation to increasing water scarcity
• Possibilities for effective and efficient management of irrigation through the allocation of water abstraction rights
• Valuable drops
  Regional land use and water prices in Germany
• Who gets caught in the rain? 
  Socio-economic factors and the impact of heavy rainfall hazards in Germany
• Distributional effects of drinking water prices  
  An analysis with small-scale socio-economic data using the example of a major German city

 

If you are interested, please contact the secretariat or Dr Stefan Geyler

The following Master's thesis topics are currently available:

• Adapting to heat:  
  An analysis of the costs of cooling technologies in private households based on microdata
• Fast or slow as planned?  
  Drivers and barriers of municipal heat planning from a political economy perspective
• Local value creation through renewable energies 
  An empirical analysis of local value creation effects through the expansion of renewable energies
• Local political effects of renewable energies 
  What effects does the expansion of renewable energies have on the results of local council elections?
• Financial participation in the revenues from renewable energies 
  A simulation-based spatial analysis of different models of financial participation
• Spatial heterogeneity in the decarbonisation of the building sector 
  An econometric analysis of drivers and barriers to the use of renewable energy sources
• Diversification of supply chains for renewable energy technologies 
  How can political import risks be reduced without completely throwing the advantages of international division of labour overboard?
• Regulatory law instead of CO2 price
  To what extent is there empirical evidence that bans and prohibitions are easier to enforce politically than market-based instruments?
• Hydrogen as the champagne of the energy transition
  What is the regional potential and environmental impact of hydrogen production in Germany?
• Social councils for climate policy decisions
  What are the opportunities and risks of this decision-making process from an institutional economics perspective?

Please contact Jan-Niklas Meier if you have any questions or suggestions for topics: Write an e-mail 

2022

• Urban environmental protection and environmental justice
• Use of environmental management systems by housing companies and effects on their handling of rainwater
• Rainwater harvesting as a solution to water scarcity in rural areas
  rural areas
• Climate neutrality in the value-added process of plastics through circular economy

2021

• Comparison of founding statutes of selected municipalities with the aim of effectiveness and efficiency in urban rainwater management
• Influence of green roofs and facades on the CO2 neutrality of buildings and districts comparison of the additional costs and the achievable energy savings with different energy supply variants using the example of Leipzig 416
• A comparison of the proportion of gray energy in the insulation material categories - renewable, mineral, synthetic -
  related to their energetic amortization with subsequent economic analysis

2020

•  Development of a decision matrix for the economic and sustainable use of materials in manhole structures in sewer construction
• Comparative analysis of the implementation of municipal flood protection measures
  heavy precipitation
• Investigation of operational and
  external effects of green roofs
• Possible approaches to assessing the sustainability performance of BlueGreen infrastructures

2019

•  Standardization and implementation approach for the application of eco-design in companies
• Utilization potentials of treated wastewater in Germany

2018

•  Circular economy 4.0 - inventory and development perspectives
• Economic aspects of biowaste collection by public waste management authorities in Saxony with regard to the quality of the collected biowaste.
• Water for all? An investigation of equity aspects in water law.

2017

•  Risk analysis in the context of water asset management - ways to prioritize measures for network preservation.

2016

•  Suitability of parameters for measuring and evaluating physical infrastructure.
• Eco Industrial Parks between aspiration and reality.

2015

•  Water Sensitive Urban Design - potential and optimal applicability.

2014

•  Sardar Sarovar Development Project - "Temple of Modern India" or socio-ecological blow?

2013

•  The relevance of local water sources for the Brazilian city of Sao Lourenco and the consequences of their increasing privatization.
• Sustainable drinking water supply? A qualitative analysis using the example of Paraguay.

2022

• Corporate Sustainability Practices amongst micro-enterprises in the coffee shop sector in Europe
• Financing of integral measures for Sustainable rainwater management in public spaces
  Space
• Can Giveaway Shops Help Advance the Circular Economy and Influence Slow Fashion in a City?
• Life cycle assessment-based Absolute Environmental Sustainability Assessment in the construction industry using the example of a stormwater management system
• A systemic analysis of sustainability learning in Higher Education Institutions. A case study from the French speaking region of Switzerland
• Environmental policy instrument mix to substantially reduction of agricultural nitrate and phosphorus inputs to groundwater in groundwater and running waters in Germany

2021

•  Comparison of the ecological criteria of the four sustainability reporting systems Global Reporting Initiative, Global Compact, Gemeinwohl-Bilanz, and German Sustainability Codex
• Assessment approaches of ecosystem services for decentralized rainwater management within urban areas
• Pricing the externalities: comperative case of fast fashion industry with sustainable practices in austria
• Assesing the ECO-Efficiency of Rainwater Harvasting Technologies
• Discourse analysis of incumbent fossil fuel producers regarding the low-carbon energy transition.

 

2020

•  Factors influencing yard use in existing residential areas

2019

• Evaluation and application of a multi-criteria method for sustainability assessment of a resource-based wastewater treatment system
• Challenges for developing sustainability in Saint Petersburg: looking at existing strategies, goals and indicators compared to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Cross-sectional correlation analysis of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Variation in synergies and trade-offs globally, within income-based and regional groups as well as disaggregated SDG indicators.
• The economic value of direct water uses and the Water Framework Directive: the case of cooling water for nuclear power plants on the Rhône

2018

• The influence of product-related environmental information on consumer behavior. Plausibility test for the product group small wastewater treatment plants.
• Analyzing transition dynamics in Ghana's urban water and sanitation sector: the role of grassroots movements.
• Validation and further development of methods for the analysis and monitoring tool "Nachhaltigkeitscontrolling siedlungswasserwirtschaftlicher Systeme (NaCoSi)" using the example of the Westsächsische Abwasserentsorgungs- und Dienstleistungsgesellschaft (WAD GmbH).
• Towards a Fact-based Circular Economy - Exploring and Evaluating Business Showcases of the Circular Economy Industry Platform.
• Water Asset Management for Small and Medium Enterprises in Urban Water Management.
• A Meta-Analysis of Risk Assessment: The Case of Unexploded Ordnance in the Marine Environment.
• Perspectives on Plastic Recycling as a Result of the Increase in the Recycling Quota for Plastic Packaging by the New Packaging Act in Germany.
• Ex-ante Sustainability Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste Management Innovations Under the Life Cycle Sustainability Analysis Framework.
• Systemic Feasibility Analysis for Floating Solar Farms on Inland Artificial Water Reservoirs in Colombia.
• A comparative life cycle assessment study on the jacket and monopile foundations: a case study in the German offshore wind farm Baltic II.
• Possibilities and limitations of group plants in CCGT solutions – mass compatible solution or niche product?
• Culture and Interim Spaces: Interrelations Within Urban Development.
• Justifying Exceptions on the Grounds of Disproportionate Costs in the Implementation of the European Water Framework Directive – An Analysis of the Leipzig Approaches.
• Optimization of a vehicle fleet considering the increased use of electric vehicles.
• Prospects for plastic recycling as a result of the increase in the recycling quota for plastic packaging by the new Packaging Act in Germany - an analysis of the players in the dual system and recycling companies.
• Value creation through sustainability using the example of a life cycle assessment of the SMARTWELD JET preheater burner  
• The role of the informal sector in waste management in Hanoi, Vietnam

2017

• The influence of sustainability in water asset management.
• Decision support model for investment decisions on wastewater treatment plants based on Bayesian networks.
• Barriers and Opportunities for Climate Adaptation Planning in German and Austrian Municipalities.

2016

• Factors influencing the use of decentralized stormwater management in the commercial sector.
• Nature and Environment in Economic Accounting.
• Plastic loads in urban rivers using the Parthe River in Saxony as an example.
• Recommendations for evaluating grid-connected sites for energy generation from photovoltaics using the example of PV@Site at Vattenfall Europe Innovation GmbH.
• Logistical challenges of municipal collection and disposal of electrical waste equipment under the ElektroG2 - a case study in cooperation with Stadtreinigung Leipzig.
• The concept of sustainability - analysis of the World Bank guidelines and their implementation regarding "sustainable sanitation".

2015

• Sustainable Innovations in Mobility Areas - Analysis of Living Labs' Approaches for the Establishment of Urban Mobility Labs in Austria.
• Implementing payments for watershed services: an analysis of the role of secure land tenure.
• On using the synergistic effects of preventive quality methods to create a holistic approach to product development.
• Investigation of interactions between economic efficiency and robustness as sub-goals for sustainable water supply.
• Shedding Light on Corporate Sustainability Ratings: A Comparative Study.
• Sustainable Nutrition in Germany - Developments to Date and Current Challenges.

2014

• Investigating the time dimension and intensity of change processes in water management.
• The Integration of Social Sustainability Aspects in Sustainable Infrastructure Projects.
• Integrating the Concept of Ecosystem Services in Urban Planning: A Case Study of Singapore.

2013

• Collaboration Among German Civil Society Organizations for Rural Health in Guatemala.
• Detection of the needs of energy-intensive industries concerning ecologically sustainable products and the deduction of possible product solutions.
• Basic evaluation of technical possibilities, influencing factors, strategies and possible consequences of the decentralization of rainwater drainage.
• Implementing Industrial Ecology through Eco-Industrial Parks - Critical Analysis of the Realization Level in Germany.
• Use of rainwater as cooling water in open cooling towers - technical feasibility and economic efficiency.
• The Continuous Improvement Process (CIP) as a core element of the EMAS Regulation - assessment of a CIP using the example of environmental management at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ).
• From "basic need" to "human right": recognizing water as a human right - the global challenge of the 21st century.