Bob Gaglardi School of Business and Economics

Bachelor of Science - Environmental Economics and Sustainable Development Minor

The Environmental Economics and Sustainable Development Minor provides students with an understanding of current issues in environmental economics, development economics, natural resource management, and sustainable development. Sustainable development involves meeting “the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Due to the growing importance of corporate social responsibility, companies are devoting considerably more resources to ensure they are operating in a sustainable manner. Future managers in any industry will benefit greatly from a knowledge of this important field.

 Learning objectives

Upon completion of this program, students are able to:

  • Analyze the effects of climate change on economic development and the domestic and international policy initiatives undertaken to mitigate these costs.
  • Develop a plan that utilizes local resources to promote sustainable community economic and social development.
  • Assess the efficiency and effectiveness of current or proposed projects utilizing benefit-cost analysis.
  • Examine environmental issues and the public policies developed to address problems relating to resource over-utilization and pollution.
  • Apply microeconomics principles to forest management, conservation and policy development.
  • Investigate land use issues and the public polices relating to the preservation and conservation of agricultural lands.
  • Research issues, challenges and policies options relating to sustainable economic development.
 Minor requirements
At least four of:
ECON 3410 Economics of Climate Change
ECON 3690 Community Economic Development
ECON 3700 Cost Benefit Analysis
ECON 3710 Environmental Economics
ECON 3730 Forestry Economics
ECON 3740 Land Use Economics
ECON 3990 Selected Topics in Economics
ECON 4720 Sustainable Economics Development
ECON 4990 Selected Topics in Economics

ECON 3990 and ECON 4990 can only be used if the selected topics covered are related to environmental economics and sustainable development.

At least two of:
BIOL 3020
BIOL 3030
BIOL 3100
BIOL 3290
BIOL 3430
BIOL 4020
BIOL 4090
BIOL 4100
BIOL 4160
BIOL 4260
BIOL 4270
Community and Ecosystem Ecology or
Population Biology or
Introduction to Animal Behaviour or
Ichthyology or
Plants and People or
Limnology or
Field Methods in Terrestrial Ecology or
Field Methods in Marine Ecology or
Principles of Conservation Biology or
Plant Ecology or
Terrestrial Vertebrate Zoology
CHEM 3010
CHEM 3020
Aqueous Environmental Chemistry or
Atmospheric Environmental Chemistry
PHIL 4350 Environmental Ethics
An upper level geology course
An upper level natural resource science course
An upper level ECON course from the list above