Concept Proposal for Integrating Awareness of Sustainability Through Student Assignments

Globalization has changed the economy of the whole world: today, products are being transported all over the globe to arrive at the place of sale whereas before many articles, food and drink products in particular, were mostly supplied by nearby producers. Goods often cover distances over the whole continent or even across oceans by travelling to the destined store. This logistic network creates jobs and commercial connections by transporting the product supply to its demand. It enables the availability of various articles everywhere at any season of the year not obtainable otherwise. However, the transport with all its attributes are impacting the nature. These adverse effects are often not included in the calculated end price - occurrence called tragedy of commons. The aim of this paper is to propose a concept of assignments in a course intending to enhance students' awareness of the impact of industrial globalization on nature to include sustainability in their consumer behavior.