This Sustainability Science and Full Cost Analysis module is presented in three sections along with an FCA Primer Worksheet to ensure student attention to the video and improve retention.
Before launching this module through FUSE, the David E. Shi Center for Sustainability conducted faculty workshops, faculty reviews, and beta testing of the materials. Through these mechanisms the module has high quality lecture and case study formats. Faculty seeking to use these modules may want to use the primer for their own lecture development or ask their students to watch this primer as background for their classroom experience. As part of this module, the David E. Shi Center for Sustainability has provided real-world 4-5 minute video documentaries that illustrate FCA concepts through a case study format. These case studies can be viewed in or out of class and faculty will likely want to pair these with the provided worksheets, also on this website. The case studies examine campus and community projects that can be analyzed with Sustainability Science and FCA lenses.
After your students have watched the Primer, you can assign any number of case studies to enable students to explore the principles of FCA on their own. Each case study has a customized worksheet with additional information and web links to related materials.
Finally, we have provided additional materials to help you go into more depth with your class. These resources include suggested readings, online resources, and a case study worksheet to assist students in considering Full Cost Analysis on your campus or in your area.
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Chapter 1
Shi Center for Sustainability
This video starts off our discussion of Full Cost Analysis by defining accounting and an explanation of the components of accounting and their functions.
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Chapter 2
Shi Center for Sustainability
In this Chapter we dig deeper into the basic components of accounting and discuss direct and indirect costs as well as learn the importance of including externalized costs into the true price.
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Chapter 3
Shi Center for Sustainability
This chapter defines Sustainability and Full Cost Analysis, then describes how these two concepts are connected, finally it covers all of the tools in the Full Cost Analysis Toolkit and describes their functions.
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Chapter 4
Shi Center for Sustainability
The final chapter of this Full Cost Analysis Primer introduces the Case Studies provided within this learning module and invites students to put their new knowledge of FCA to use through the Case Studies.
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Sustainability & Full Cost Analysis Primer
Shi Center for Sustainability
This video contains all four chapters displayed individually above. It covers the basics of accounting (Chapter 1), Direct, Indirect Costs, True Price and externalities (Chapter 2), definitions for Sustainability and Full Cost Analysis and the FCA Toolkit (Chapter 3) and finally an introduction to the Case Studies (Chapter 4).