UNIVERSITY OF MAURITIUS

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

FIRST SEMESTER EXAMINATIONS

(November/December 2015)

PROGRAMME MSc Total Quality Management & Performance Excellence/

MSc Project Management
MSc Industrial Engineering & Management
Exchange Programme

MODULE NAME Environmental Management I

DATE Monday MODULE CODE CIVE 6102

07 December 2015

TIME 09.30-12.30 Hrs DURATION 3 HOURS

NO. OF 4 NO. OF QUESTIONS 4

QUESTIONS SET TO BE ATTEMPTED

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

Answer ALL questions.

All questions carry equal marks.

 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT I – CIVE 6102

Answer ALL questions.

Question 1

(a) Explain the competitive advantages of a business which has made

sustainability a core strategy. (5 marks)

(b) What is the GHG protocol? Distinguish between scopes 1, 2 and 3.

(5 marks)

(c) Discuss the potential applications of Life Cycle Assessment(LCA) and

explain how LCA can deliver benefits to a business (6 marks)

(d) Explain the basic steps for a Design for Sustainability(DfS) of a

particular product (9 marks)
Total: [25 marks]

Question 2

(a) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the NPV, IRR, and the
Payback period in the cost-benefit analysis of projects? (5 marks)

(b) A Chemical Company is currently operating a process line that results

in 1000 barrels per year of a hazardous waste, which it must dispose of
at a cost of $250 per barrel in a hazardous waste landfill. It projects that
this process line will continue to operate for the next 5 years after
which it will be shut down. It is estimated that if the landfill liner were
to rupture, there would be a remediation/cleaning cost of
approximately $300 per barrel of waste. A proposed cleaner
production project, costing $400,000 to construct and $50,000 per year
in operation and maintenance costs, could reduce the amount of wastes
produced by half. Determine whether the Cleaner production project
investment be made? Assume a discount rate of 8 per cent and a
projected landfill liner failure time of 10 years from the present.
(20 marks)
Total: [25 marks]
Aide Memoire:

PW = F/ (1 + i)n

PW =A x PWF = A x [ (1+i) n – 1 ] / i x (1+i)n

1
 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT I – CIVE 6102

Question 3

(a) After giving the benefits of a Cleaner Production Opportunity

Assessment (CPOA) to an organisation, draw a step wise process of
conducting it. (10 marks)

(b) What are the major barriers to the adoption of cleaner production?
(5 marks)

(c) Explain the relationship between Cleaner Production and

Environmental Management Systems in promoting better
environmental management in a company? (10 marks)

Total: [25 marks]

Question 4

Consider a hypothetical company where the manager asks you as a

sustainability officer to advise on the way to proceed such that sustainability
becomes a core business strategy in the company. What would you advise the
manager on the way to proceed? Your answer should include the key
requirements of a company which has embedded sustainability in its daily
operations. Total: [25 marks]

END OF QUESTION PAPER