Online courses

Overview

Law and Sustainability: Tackling Global Environmental Challenges

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.

The law is both a driver of the contemporary environmental, natural resource, and sustainability challenges which humanity faces today, and a critical tool for addressing them. From climate change and biodiversity loss to water scarcity and energy efficiency, the law plays a critical role in society’s ability to mobilise an effective response. This course surveys the most pressing sustainability issues and the existing and emerging legal frameworks that may address them across a range of jurisdictions.

Law and Sustainability: Tackling Global Environmental Challenges is certified by CPD UK’s (Continuing Professional Development) Certification Service.

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  • Type:
    Online short course
  • Length:
    Eight weeks (3-5 hours of study per week recommended)
  • Upcoming intakes: February, May, August, October 2024
  • Next start date: 3 February 2024 (deadline 12pm (GMT) on 2 February)
  • Fees:
    £1,500 (including VAT)*
  • Award:
    Certificate of completion

*Discounts are available to alumni, those working in the public sector and certain geographical regions. Register your interest to learn more.

Outcomes

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. 

Upon completion of the course, you will receive a certificate that will enhance your resume and support your career progression.

This programme is also certified by CPD UK. Learners will be able to request their CPD certificate after successfully finishing the course, using their certificate of completion as proof of eligibility. The course has an estimated 40 hours of learning, equating to 40 CPD points.

Note, the onus is on students to request these CPD certificates at the end of their studies. The University and partners accept no responsibility, and cannot be held responsible, for the claiming or validation of hours or points.

Law and Sustainability: Tackling Global Environmental Challenges

Requirements

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.

Modules

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.

  • Module 0: Getting started
  • Module 1: Introduction to sustainability and the law
  • Module 2: Legal frameworks, regulatory guidance, and soft law
  • Module 3: Science and the law
  • Module 4: Systemic lawyering
  • Module 5: Sustainability challenges in corporate and securities law
  • Module 6: Sustainability challenges in health and food law
  • Module 7: Sustainability challenges in the global south
  • Module 8: Law and sustainability: The case of climate change
View full module information

Teaching team

Teaching team

Dr Aisha Saad Lead academic, Law and Sustainability

Dr Aisha Saad

Lead academic, Law and Sustainability

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Learning experience

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.

Fees and funding

Fees and funding

The total cost of this short course is £1,500 (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 email us or book a time for our team to give you a call.

Regional fees and funding text:

The total fees are £1,500 (inclusive of VAT). However, students in your region can currently benefit from a discount of around 33% – simply use the code SSFEESUPPORT at checkout and pay just £990 for the course.

It is also 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 email us or book a time for our team to give you a call.

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*Students in your region are eligible for financial support. At check out, please use the code SSFEESUPPORT to receive around 33% off and pay £990.**

STANDARD TEXT – This admin note won’t be visible on preview or live – Do not remove this text, instead update the below text block instead:

*Discounts available to alumni and those working in the public sector. Evidence required.

REGIONAL TEXT – This admin note won’t be visible on preview or live – Do not remove this text, instead update the below text block instead:

*Students in your region are eligible for financial support. At check out, please use the code SSFEESUPPORT to receive around 33% off and pay £990.**

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About the course

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

Module 0: Getting started

Introduce yourself to your fellow cohort and meet the Facilitator, who will be providing support to you throughout the duration of the course. Learn more about what the course offers and how to navigate through it. Tell us more about yourself by answering the questions and posting to the discussion board.

Module 1: Introduction to Sustainability and 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.

Module 2: Legal Frameworks, Regulatory Guidance, and Soft Law

  • 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.

Module 3: Science and the Law

  • 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.

Module 4: Systemic lawyering

  • 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.

Module 5: Sustainability challenges in corporate and securities law

  • 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.

Module 6: Sustainability challenges in health and food law

  • 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.

Module 7: Sustainability challenges in the global south

  • 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.

Module 8: Law and sustainability: The case of climate change

  • 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.

Academic expertise

Dr Aisha Saad Lead academic, Law and Sustainability

Dr Aisha Saad

Lead academic, Law and Sustainability

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

Who is Oxford’s Law and Sustainability course for?

This course is for you if you have a basic familiarity with the law and a real interest in using it as a tool to address the sustainability challenges of today and the future. This course is suitable for you if you’re a paralegal, a lawyer or an NGO advocate, or if you work in government or a business that may deal with legal procedures or contracts.

How long does Oxford’s Law and Sustainability course take to complete?

The course takes eight weeks to complete, with 3-5 hours of study required per week.

What are the entry requirements for Oxford’s Law and Sustainability course?

There are no specific entry requirements for this course. However, an understanding of legal systems and processes may be useful. In addition, 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 you will need a stable internet connection and suitable equipment to participate.

**Applies to countries in Africa, Brazil, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar