RICS-SBE/01/RI/S001/R02

Revised on: 24-05-2019

2019 – 2020

COURSE GUIDE

Course Title: Sustainable Practices for Built

Environment
Course Code: (TBD for semester 1)
Semester: 1st
Programme: MBA REUI & PGDFM
Course Coordinator(s): Prof. Anjula Negi, MRICS, Director
(Research and Consultancy, RICS SBE)

RICS School of Built Environment

Know Your Instructor(s):
Prof Anjula Negi, MRICS
Prof. Anjula Negi is Director, Research and Consultancy for RICS SBE and an Associate Professor. Her
work experience spans around 20 years. Prior to collaborating with RICS, she was working for six years
at the Department of Economics Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, Government of India, as a PPP
Expert on deputation from the Asian Development Bank. Over the years, she has worked with a
multitude of entities ranging from Government bodies, Multilateral Institutions, Non-banking financial
institutions, consulting firms, Research based institutes and Non-governmental organisations. She has
been a visiting faculty to the Indian Academy of Highway Engineers (IAHE) and the Lal Bahadur Shastri
Institute of Management, largely training professionals. She has represented the Ministry of Finance
(MoF), Government of India (GoI) on many of its capacity building and training initiatives and attended
matters related to various Central Line Ministries and State Government bodies. She has been a
committee member of Indian Road Congress (IRC) for preparation of technical Manuals.

Ms. Negi holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Planning, Master’s Degree specialising in Transport Planning,
both from School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. She also pursued Master’s in Economics
from IGNOU. Chosen as a Scholar to undertake a Master’s level semester course on Development
Economics from the London School of Economics & Political Science. This was under the ‘Gurukul
Program’ for Leadership and Excellence, selected by the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office,
apart from being a GATE scholar.

Her primary expertise and research inclination lies in four broad areas; Urban infrastructure and
transport finance, policy advisory across Infrastructure sectors, project development & structuring, of
general infrastructure projects and based on public private partnership (PPP) basis, transaction
advisory, evaluation and procurement processes, capacity building and training. In teaching lies her
deep interest in creating value for learners and society at large.

1. Course Objective(s)
This subject aims to provide an insight into important sustainability principles in the built environment.
Specifically, students will gain a systematic understanding and critical awareness of sustainability
concepts, policy actions, environmental assessment tools, building construction methods and key
property sustainability debates and their relevance to a range of stakeholders in the built
environment.

2. Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
1. Understand sustainability, the need for sustainability and the importance of the sustainability
movement. (M011)
2. Apply sustainability in the built environment through compliance with green legislation and
certification. (M011)
3. Create sustainable solutions in the design, development, maintenance and operation (M004 &
T112)
4. Analyze factors that are relevant to the stakeholder groups to promote sustainability in
organizational decision making. (T112)

3. Competencies Addressed
Competency Type Code
Health and safety M M004
Sustainability M M011
 Workplace Strategy T T112

4. Prerequisites:
Nil.
5. Detailed Subject Structure
Course Title Sustainable Practices for Built Environment
Program MBA REUI Semester 1st
Course Code (TBD)
L T P/S SW/FW Total credit units
Credit Units
2 0 0 0/0 2
L T P/S SW/FW Total Teaching Hours
Teaching Hours
2 0 0 0/0 2

Weigh Compe
Course Content SLO
tage tencies
1 - Principles of Sustainability

Introduction to sustainability; Sustainability models, concepts and

principles; Key international accords; Key institutions; Green building 1&
25% M011
certification systems (LEED, GRIHA, IGBC, others); NBC 2016 chapter on 2
sustainability; Sustainable consumption; Sustainability metrics to guide
decision making; environmental laws.

Module II – Importance of sustainability in real estate

Insight into various mandatory and voluntary eco-labels for new and existing M004,
1, 2
buildings in the built environment and their key characteristics. Critical 20% M011
&3
understanding of significant drivers that facilitate the implementation of & T112
sustainability in the built environment and their importance
Module III – Sustainable materials and construction methods
Sustainability in the property industry throughout real estate life cycle, including
how the concept is relevant and manifests itself at various life cycle stages, i.e. M004,
development, design, construction, operation, refurbishment and retrofitting. 2&
30% M011
Techniques of water conservation in building; Effective plumbing methods; 3
& T112
Landscape irrigation techniques; Green construction materials; C&D recycling; Use
of local materials; Embodied energy; Sustainable material selection criteria:
communication and management of documentation
Module IV – Sustainability in organizational decision making
Drivers and barriers for the adoption of sustainable practices in the property
industry, which includes the business case for sustainability. Critical
awareness of a range of views from key stakeholders on the importance of 20% 4 T112
sustainability in real estate practices. Business strategy for sustainability;
Inclusion in scope of work and specifications; Role of green building
professionals in the built environment

6. Teaching and Learning Strategy

A managed combination of the following methods will be used:
  Lectures
 Case studies
 Independent learning

Lectures
Lectures would present the key conceptual material in the form of convergent teaching strategy.
Lectures would be supported by readings. In order to prepare for lectures, the student must read the
readings set for the class, and should prepare short notes on them. The lecturers will bring the
important issues to your attention, and add other information that may not be gleaned from the
weekly readings. During the course, additional examples may be presented that are relevant to the
completion of this course.
Lecture slides and/or notes will be uploaded/emailed on LMS. These are not substitutes for the
lecture. Many students find it beneficial to take print-outs of the lecture slides and/or notes to the
lecture and to annotate them with comments, examples, etc. These will generally be available before
the lecture.

Tutorials:
The tutorials would be interactive, collaborative sessions in which students attempt to practice
concepts presented at the lecture with their peers. These sessions would be conducted in form of both
divergent and guided divergent form of teaching method. In every tutorial the students are required
to discuss the exercises followed by solving the discussion questions, if any. Most of the time the
exercises will be done in a small group of five people and presented to all participants.

Case Studies:
Case studies would provide insights about the practical aspects related to this course and would be
referred time to time in lectures as well tutorials for enhanced learning experience. Discussions on the
case studies would be encouraged in the sessions.

7. Assessment Description
 Project / Home Assignments (15%)
Students are required to work in group for a live real estate project case study. They are
required to collect all the relevant data related to modern real estate construction materials,
technology and methods used in that project. Hence they would work towards the
development of a project report, which will comprise of all the learnings and recommendation
based on their critical thinking ability. The project will have 15% weightage and the students
will have to submit the spiral bound hard copy of the final project report and soft copy of the
report and presentation on LMS according to the timeline specified.
 Assignments (15%)
Students are required to work in group for a case study of Environmental laws.. They are
required to discuss and create ideas for better sustainable world. The assignment will have
15% weightage and the students will have to submit the point wise collection of all the ideas
and contribution of each team member.
 Mid Term Test (15%)
Written test has 15% weightage on overall marks. This test will be conducted after the
completion of Module 2. The detailed instruction about the same will be provided at least one
week prior to the test. The tests will be conducted in the 8th/9th week of the semester. There
will not be any repeat test under any circumstances.
8. Assessment Schedule
S. No. Assessment Type Submission week Assessment Type

1. Assignment 1 Week 6 Divergent

2. Assignment 2 Week 11 Guided Divergent
3. Mid Term Test Week 8 or 9 Convergent

9. Weekly Session Plan

Lecture Topic
Week
(2hr/week)
Introduction to sustainability
Week 1
Sustainability models, concepts and principles
Key international accords
Week 2
Key institutions;
Green building certification systems (LEED, GRIHA, IGBC,
Week 3
others)
NBC 2016 chapter on sustainability;
Sustainable consumption;
Week 4
Sustainability metrics to guide decision making;
Environmental laws.
Insight into various mandatory and voluntary eco-labels for
Week 5
new and existing buildings in the built environment and
their key characteristics.
Insight into various mandatory and voluntary eco-labels for
new and existing buildings in the built environment and
their key characteristics.
Week 6
Critical understanding of significant drivers that facilitate
the implementation of sustainability in the built
environment and their importance
Critical understanding of significant drivers that facilitate
the implementation of sustainability in the built
Week 7
environment and their importance
Assignment 1 discussion
Sustainability in the property industry throughout real
estate life cycle, including how the concept is relevant and
manifests itself at various life cycle stages, i.e.
development, design, construction, operation,
refurbishment and retrofitting.
Week 8
Sustainability in the property industry throughout real
estate life cycle, including how the concept is relevant and
manifests itself at various life cycle stages, i.e.
development, design, construction, operation,
refurbishment and retrofitting.
Sustainability in the property industry throughout real
Week 9 estate life cycle, including how the concept is relevant and
manifests itself at various life cycle stages, i.e.
 development, design, construction, operation,
refurbishment and retrofitting.
MID TERM TEST
Techniques of water conservation in building;
Week 10 Landscape irrigation techniques; Green construction
materials; C&D recycling
Use of local materials; Embodied energy (Discussion of
Assignment 2)
Week 11
Sustainable material selection criteria: communication and
management of documentation
Effective plumbing methods
Drivers and barriers for the adoption of sustainable
Week 12
practices in the property industry, which includes the
business case for sustainability.
Critical awareness of a range of views from key
stakeholders on the importance of sustainability in real
Week 13
estate practices.
Business strategy for sustainability
Inclusion in scope of work and specifications
Week 14 Role of green building professionals in the built
environment
Final Course Review
Week 15
Final Course Review

10.SLO Mapping
Assignment 2
SLO Mid Term Test Assignment 1 (15%) End Term
No. (15%) (15%) Exam
Presentation (10%) Report (5%)

1. × × × × ×
2. × × × × ×
3. × × ×
4. × × ×

11.Assessment Scheme:
Theory Lecture / Tutorial (%) Lab / Practical / Studio (%)
100 0

Lab / Practical details, if applicable: NIL

Theory Assessment:
End Term
Continuous Assessment / Internal Assessment
Examination
Project / Home
Components Assignments Class Test Attendance
Assignments
50%
Weightage (%) 15% 15% 15% 5%
Lab / Practical / Studio Assessment: NA
Notional Hours:
Lecture Contact 30
Tutorial Contact 00
Self-Work 30
Field Work 00
Assessment 10
Total Hours 70

12.Indicative performance threshold for course work

Qualitative
Performance description
Value
 Clearly demonstrates a highly creative, critical and thought- provoking
understanding of the topic.
 Novel and complex problems are solved with reference to theory and
practice.
 Provides clear evidence of originality and independence of thought and
80% and with an exceptional ability to develop highly systematic and logical or
Above insightful argument, solution or evaluation.
(Outstanding)  Demonstrates exceptional ability in the appropriate use of the relevant
literature, theory, methodologies, practices, tools, techniques etc., to
analyze and synthesize the given problem.
 Shows an exceptionally high level of clarity, focus and strength in
communication.
 The writing perfectly accomplishes the objectives of the assignment.

 Clearly demonstrates a persuasive, critical and thorough understanding of

the topic.
 Some evidence of novel and complex problems solved with reference to
theory and practice.
 Provides evidence of independence of thought and clearly demonstrates
75 – 79% the ability to develop a highly systematic and logical or Insightful argument,
(Excellent) solution or evaluation of the problem.
 Demonstrates excellence in the appropriate use of the relevant literature,
theory, methodologies, practices, tools, techniques etc., to analyze and
synthesize the given problem.
 Shows a high level of clarity, focus and strength in communication.
 The writing perfectly accomplishes the objectives of the assignment.
 Clearly demonstrates a well-developed, critical and comprehensive
understanding of the topic.
 Provides some evidence of independence of thought and clearly
demonstrates the ability to develop a systematic and logical or insightful
argument, solution or evaluation of the given problem.
68 – 74%
 Demonstrates a high degree of competence in the appropriate use of the
(Good)
relevant literature, theory, methodologies, practices, tools, techniques,
etc., to analyze and synthesize the given problem.
 Shows clarity, focus and strength in communication
 Accomplishes the goals of the assignment with an overall effective
approach.
  Demonstrates a systematic and substantial understanding of the topic.
 Demonstrates the ability to develop a systematic argument or solution to
the given problem.
60 – 67%
 Demonstrates a significant degree of competence in the appropriate use of
(Above
the relevant literature, theory, methodologies, practices, tools, techniques
Average)
etc., to analyze and synthesize the given problem.
 Provides evidence of clarity and focus in communication.
 Minimally accomplishes the goals of the assignment.
 Provides evidence of a systematic understanding of the key aspects of the
topic.
 Demonstrates the ability to present a sufficiently structured argument or
solution to the given problem.
52 – 59%
 Demonstrates an acceptable degree of competence in the appropriate use
(Average)
of the relevant literature, theory, methodologies, practices, tools,
techniques etc., to analyze and synthesize the given problem
 Provides evidence of effective communication.
 Minimally accomplishes the majority of the goals of the assignment.
 Provides evidence of some understanding of key aspects of the topic and
some ability to present an appropriate argument or solution to the given
problem.
45 -51%  Demonstrates some competence in the appropriate use of the relevant
(Satisfactory) literature, theory, methodologies, practices, tools, techniques, etc. to
analyze and synthesize the given problem.
 Provides some evidence of effective communication.
 Minimally accomplishes the majority of the goals of the assignment
 Demonstrates limited competence in the appropriate use of the relevant
literature, theory, methodologies, practices, tools, techniques, etc. to
40 – 44%
analyze and synthesize the given problem.
(Border Line)
 Provides limited evidence of effective communication.
 Fails to accomplish the majority of the goals of the assignment
Less than
Work that is unacceptable. Erroneous/wrong, missing, extremely
40% (Fail)

13. Course Material

Lecture slides will be made available to the student’s post the lecture has been delivered and will be
uploaded on LMS. Also, specific reading material for Lecture components would be uploaded on LMS.

Text Book:
 Sustainable Values, sustainable change, Bryan G. Norton, The University of Chicago Press,
2015
 Modern Construction: Lean Project Delivery and Integrated Practices, Lincoln H. Forbes and
Syed M. Ahmed
 Reading material as provided during the lectures
References:
1. Goldratt, Eliyahu M. and Jeff Cox “The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement”, Great
Barrington, MA: North River Press. ISBN 0-88427-061-0
2. James Womack, Daniel Jones, and Daniel Roos, The Machine That Changed the World,
MacMillan Publishing, New York, NY. 1990
3. Alarcon, L. (1997), Lean Construction, Taylor and Francis
4. Na
Any other Study Material:
 PMBOK, IGLC Conference Papers, LCI White Papers

14.What is expected from students?

 Attend the class regularly on time.
 Be respectful, respect their faculty and respect each other.
 Switch off mobile phones or keep it in a silent mode during the class time.
 Come to class each day ready to learn, prepared, focused and motivated.
 Take notes in class, be active learners and participants and enjoy the learning process.
 Do homework /assignments and submit it on time as per the specified date.
 Refer to the text books for more information.
 Read the course guide carefully.
 Check the LMS and notice board regularly for information/announcement.

15.What the students can expect from Faculty?

 Provide a mutually respectful environment
 Present the materials clearly and systematically
 Prepare and present an intellectual lecture notes and slides
 Adopt a positive and professional approach towards teaching process
 Creative use of teaching and learning methods / aids
 Be more supportive and understand the students’ difficulties
 Motivate the students to participate actively in the class
 Encourage the students to refer to the text/reference books for more information
 Inspire the students to thinks independently, creatively and critically
 Supporting topics with real life examples and useful classroom exercises.

16.Plagiarism
“Plagiarism is defined as presenting another person’s work as one’s own work. Presentation includes
copying or reproducing it without the acknowledgement of the source.”
Plagiarism involves copying of phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs or longer extracts from
published or unpublished work (including from the Internet) that exceeds the boundaries of the
legitimate cooperation without acknowledgement of the source. Plagiarism could be intentional
(dishonest plagiarism) or non-intentional (negligent plagiarism). This definition also applies for figures
and figure legends and for tables and table legends which you copy into your text.
It is mandatory that each course work shall be checked for plagiarism through Turnitin or similar
software before submission. The content which is based on existing published work must come from
properly quoted material and from the references cited section. After checking the accuracy of the
citations and references of such content the plagiarism report should not return similarity index of
more than 15% in any circumstance. However, if the matching text is one continuous block, the index
of 15% could shall be considered plagiarism. Any report with higher than this percentage matching
must be explained by the student. The details of copy rights, professional ethics are given in Plagiarism
Prevention Policy of the University.

Referencing Guidelines
Referencing helps to acknowledge other peoples’ ideas and helps the reader/instructor to locate the
cited references easily, also to evaluate the interpretation of our ideas. It reduces risk of plagiarism
(i.e. taking other peoples’ thoughts, ideas or writings and using them as though they are your own).
Direct quotations, paraphrases, facts and figures, ideas and theories both from published and
unpublished sources must be referenced. The sources for written (text) and graphic material may
include books, journal or magazine articles, newspapers, company, government or institutional
reports, websites or personal communication. Please note improper or no referencing will be penalized
in terms of marks awarded.

Referencing style at RICS School of Built Environment – In-text referencing

The Harvard style is an example of an in-text referencing style. In this system within the text, the
author’s name is given first followed by the publication date and usually the page number/s for the
source (Citation). The list of references or bibliography at the end of the document contains the full
details listed in alphabetical order for all the in-text citations.
Citation
Although Handy (1994) has argued that education is the key to economic success for individuals,
organizations and nations, a majority of adults in the UK have yet to be convinced or persuaded of
this argument. Of these, a significant majority was from social class groups A, B and C. Only a quarter
of adults from semi-skilled or unskilled work backgrounds had involved themselves in formal
education (Tuckett 1999).
List References in Full at the End of an Assignment
Start with the last name(s), followed by initials of the author(s), contributor, editor, producer or
speaker. If you don’t have the name of an author, start with the name of the originator. This can be
an organization name, e.g. BBC, or name of a website, e.g. Bized.
This is followed by the year of publication; put this in brackets. In this event date is missing, put (no
date), or (n/d). With Internet sources, look for a year the item was placed on the site, or in the absence
of this, when the site was last updated (the year in question), or if unsuccessful with either of these
two, the year you looked at the information.
This is followed by the title of the source. The main source is usually emphasized in some way, e.g.
underlined or italics. The main source would be, for example, the title of a book, name of the
magazine, journal or newspaper, broadcast production source, video or CD-ROM etc. Whichever mode
of emphasis you choose- underlining or italics - keep it consistent throughout. The pattern in this
booklet is to emphasize main sources by the use of italics.
In most printed items you would give details of the publisher. You first give the name of the town or
city where the source was published, followed by the name of the publisher.
In the case of a journal article, you finish with the reference details of volume, edition/issue number
(if shown) of the journal and the page numbers of where the article can be found.
Example: Hagen, J. (2002). Basic Skills for Adults. Birmingham: The Guidance Council.
Tuckett, A. (1999) ‘Who’s Learning What?’ The Guardian 18/5/1999, p. 13.

Citation: (Introna et al 2003)

Reference: Introna, L., Hayes, N., Blair, L., and Wood, E. (2003). Cultural Attitudes Towards
Plagiarism. http://www.jiscpas.ac.uk/apppage.cgi?USERPAGE=7508 [Accessed 13/12/2005].

17.Attendance policy
5 marks are allocated for 100% attendance and 75% is required for appearing for examinations (as per
Amity University guidelines). Record of the student’s attendance will be taken at the beginning of each
class. All absences/ late entries to class will be considered unexcused absences, and no changes will
be allowed. Please refer to the student Handbook for further information.

18.Academic Policies
Refer Amity University Guidelines for the academic policies and procedures