Law and Sustainability: Tackling Global Environmental Challenges
Overview
Be a part of the University of Oxford’s mission to tackle global environmental challenges and use the law as a tool to catalyse the sustainability transition.
Program details
Delivered over eight weeks, entirely online, our course will address sustainable development and the law, environmental protection and climate change, and opportunities for intervention within health and food law and corporate and securities law.
Participants will be introduced to a range of definitions, concepts and themes which provide foundational knowledge in sustainability, with both theoretical and practical applications for how law can be used to mediate, prevent, and redress sustainability challenges.
Learners should leave the course empowered with confidence in their understanding of sustainability and equipped with tools and perspectives to act both as individuals and within their professional roles.
Modules
This course will allow you to effectively engage with or bring legal challenges in current and future environmental and sustainability disputes. Legal frameworks will cover regulation and governance outside of the courtroom.
Each week your assessment tasks will vary but each module gives you the opportunity to test your knowledge, ensuring you’re on track with your learning targets. You will be able to join discussions specific to your interests with peers and the Facilitator. In your final assignment, you will demonstrate your understanding of the various concepts that have been considered during this course and use them to develop a memorandum and video pitch to introduce sustainability challenges in relation to the law.
- Identify major sustainability challenges facing the world today;
- illustrate what is unique about sustainability challenges and attempts to mediate them;
- analyse the interactions between science, law, and public policy as they play out in key sustainability challenges.
- Identify some of the key legal tools available to address sustainability challenges;
- illustrate dynamics within and between jurisdictions;
- critique key international treaties governing global sustainability.
- Identify key scientific concepts pertinent to climate-related legal actions;
- discuss leading climate change research, including attribution science, and sources of evidence;
- analyse the way that science informs law and legal claims, including use of scientific evidence and expert witnesses in litigation.
- Describe systems thinking and system dynamics;
- illustrate systems thinking and the impact of legal intervention and implications for law and policy;
- analyse the effects of direct and indirect agents in systemic lawyering applications.
- Identify sustainability challenges for corporations and investors, including climate change and supply chain issues;
- give examples of the key parties involved in corporate and securities law as it deals with sustainability – including corporate boards of directors, management, shareholders, regulators, proxy advisory services, and standards-setting agencies;
- analyse different opportunities for legal involvement with corporate sustainability, including regulatory guidance, preventative steps like sustainability clauses in commercial contracts, environmental social and governance disclosures, and litigation in the form of shareholder derivatives suits and tort claims.
- Recognise the relationship between sustainability, public health and human health;
- illustrate the relationship between sustainability and food access and food security;
- advocate legal strategies for sustainability in the context of health and food law, focussing on farming and agriculture.
- Distinguish key challenges faced by jurisdictions in the global north versus the global south;
- illustrate the priorities and perspectives of the global south;
- analyse climate litigation in the global south.
- Understand the relationships between climate change, corporate governance, and directors’ duties;
- give examples of the aims of net zero and the tools available to achieve it;
- assess the notion of climate risk governance in light of climate risk management.
Entry requirements
This course does not have any specific entry requirements. However, although a legal background for the course is not critical, it may be useful for learners to have an understanding of legal systems and processes.
A certain level of commitment will be expected – we recommend dedicating 3-5 hours a week to your studies. All activities and tasks will take place online, so make sure you have a stable internet connection and suitable equipment to participate in group discussions.
Enrol on the course today
Learning outcomes
During this law and sustainability course, students will examine and develop an understanding of:
- the key sustainability challenges domestically and globally;
- legal principles and frameworks for environment and sustainability;
- the key international treaties developed to address sustainability issues like climate change and the loss of biodiversity;
- the relationships between science and the law;
- systemic lawyering for sustainability;
- the role of non-legal actors including NGOs, think tanks, and civil society; how corporate and securities law can address sustainability challenges.
Certificates
On successful completion of this course, you’ll receive a certificate from the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford.
You will also receive a digital badge, awarded by the Smith School. Digital badges are certifications that can be easily shared online — for example, on LinkedIn, in your email signature, or on a personal website. The badge is a visual representation of your skills and achievements, making it easier for employers and clients to verify your competencies.
Because this course is certified by CPD UK, you can also request a CPD certificate, using your Smith School certificate as proof of eligibility. (The course has an estimated 40 hours of learning, equating to 40 CPD points.)
Please note, the onus is on students to request their CPD certificate at the end of their studies. The University and its partners accept no responsibility, and cannot be held responsible, for the claiming or validation of hours or points.
Learning experience
This course, including all activities and assessments, will be delivered flexibly and entirely online without any need to come to the university.
In addition to learning from our expert world-leading academics, you will also benefit from a course Facilitator who will provide academic guidance throughout your learning journey – from beginning to end.
The Facilitator will be present during weekly discussions on specific topics relating to law and sustainability and provide guidance and feedback on project tasks and assessments.
Academic expertise
Dr Aisha Saad
Honorary Research Associate
Dr Aisha Saad is a Fellow at the Harvard Law School Program on Corporate Governance, and was previously the inaugural Bartlett Fellow at Yale Law School. Her current research focuses on ownership and its attendant rights and liabilities in the context of the modern corporation, and on the role of the corporation as a public actor. Aisha’s work has been published in the Berkeley Business Law Journal, the Boston College Law Review, the New England Law Review, and the Berkeley Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Law.
She holds a JD from Yale Law School and a DPhil and MPhil from Oxford University where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar. Aisha’s doctoral dissertation focused on public challenges to the modern corporation and the development of contemporary corporate responsibility regimes. Aisha was an extern for Judge William Fletcher on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and for Judge Edward Chen on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. She is a member of the New York and California Bars.
Frequently asked questions
Fees and funding
The total cost of this short course is £1,800 (inclusive of VAT), with discounts available to Oxford University alumni and those working in a public sector role (evidence is required).
It is possible to pay your fees in two instalments, laying down a deposit (and reserving a space) before settling the final balance and securing your place on the course ahead of its start.
For more information about our deposit scheme or discounts you may be entitled to, please feel free to call us on +44 (0)1865 692 268 or email us.
Duration:
Eight weeks (3-5 hours of study per week recommended)
Intakes:
February, May, August, October
Next start date:
31 January 2026
Fees:
£1,800 (including VAT)*
*Discounts are available to alumni, those working in the public sector and certain geographical regions. Register your interest to learn more.
Type:
Online short course
Award:
Certificate of completion
