Introduction to Environmental

Accounting
Session 1: Introduction and course overview
Canberra,
30 November - 9 December 2015

Dr Michael Vardon,
Course coordinator and Visiting Fellow
Fenner School of Environment and Society,
Australian National University
michael.vardon@anu.edu.au

Outline of session
Welcome and introductions
Facilities
Emergency procedures
Resources

Course facilities
Course outline, presenters and
expectations of students
Assessment
Group photos
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Facilities and emergency procedures

Emergency procedures
Prayer room (FSTY 101)
Lunch, morning and afternoon tea
Water
Toilets

Course resources

SEEA Central Framework

Course folder and alliance website
Coordinators and presenters
Administrative assistance

Ice breaker
Everyone number off (1-5)
Move into your groups numbers
Find 5 things everyone in the group has in
common (apart from being at this course
and having a head and other body parts)
Report back

Find a friend
Everyone write down the following
Favourite food
Last film seen
A song you would sing at karaoke
A book you would recommend reading
The best holiday destination
Using this information find someone in the group
that best matches the answers (the answers do
not have to be exactly the same)
Report back
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Course outline (see course folder)

Course presenters
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Ross Alexander, Andrew Cadogan-Cowper, Sarah
Coleman, Peter Comisari, Sean Lawson, Mark Lound,
Steve May, Peter Meadows, John Power, Tom Walter,
Australian National University
Peter Burnett, Bob Costanza, Steve Dovers, Phil
Gibbons, Janette Lindesay, David Lindenmayer, Albert
Van Dijke, Michael Vardon
Other institutions
Neil Byron (Univeristy of Canberra), Mark Eigenraam
(DELWP), Carl Obst (University of Melbourne)

Expectations of students
You are here to learn
From the presenters and each other
Not just knowledge but the skills needed
Excepting illness, injury or other such circumstances you
will attend all sessions of the course. If you cannot
attend then please let us know via email or phone as
soon as possible
In order to complete the course you will need to
complete all assessment tasks
Please refrain from using laptops and other devices
during the course
Switch mobile phone to silent!
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Course assessment
Participation in all activities, including
Two field trips (Sessions 11&12 and 27&28)
Completion of worksheets (continuous)
Questions to panel

Written test (Session 29)

Multiple choice
Short answers
Completion of diagrams and accounting tables

3 group tasks
Working sessions 3, 8, 15, 20, 23
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Group Task
In groups of (3 or 4) select one aspect of environmental or
ecosystem accounting and how it can be used in policy or
management as well as a proposal for implementation. For
example: this can be by issue or area:
How environmental accounting can address the
sustainable development goals
How land and ecosystem accounts can address
biodiversity conservation
How environment accounting can address a particular
issues in a specific country or area
Other by negotiation
Groups will be formed in Session 3, later today
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Three Group Assessment Tasks

Prepare
1. An elevator speech. This is a 2 minute pitch to the
chief executive with the main points of the proposal.
Everyone should practice this but only one person will
present (Session 31)
2. A short written brief, 3-4 pages including a one page
executive summary. Due by 9 am Wednesday, 9
December.
3. A15 minute PowerPoint presentation for presentation to
the group (Session 31)

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Course feedback
At the conclusion of the course (session
32) you will be asked to provide feedback
to help us make the course better next
time
Also feel free to let me know at any point
how you think things are going
Please keep in mind that a key issue with
environmental accounting is that it draws
on many disciplines and that what is easy
for some, in new and difficult for others.
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Group photo

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