Skills for Work: Sustainable Economic Development
Sustainable Economic Development is an Open Awards Skills for Work unit about contributing to a sustainable workplace through recycling, saving energy, clean air and green travel, rising to planning, carrying out and evaluating a sustainability activity at Level 2. Each level is 10 GLH and is assessed through provider-set tasks, observation and a portfolio. Digital demand is low: no criterion asks learners to use technology, and the honest digital links are the energy used by computers and other devices and the option of a digital portfolio.
- Awarding body
- Open Awards
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 10
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of digital work
- Low
- Specification
- Open the specification
How this unit is assessed
- Entry Level 1 (CBM171), 1 credit, 10 GLH: Three learning outcomes: recognise materials for recycling and where recycling goes, identify ways to use and save energy, identify ways to keep the environment clean and recognise the impact of littering and pollution. Suggested tasks are sorting, identification, simple verbal responses and picture selection, set and marked by the provider.
- Entry Level 2 (CBM172), 1 credit, 10 GLH: Identify items that can be recycled and give examples of waste that cannot, identify equipment that uses electricity and ways to save energy when leaving a room, identify green ways to travel and state how plants help air quality. Tasks include matching, short responses and picture selection.
- Entry Level 3 (CBM173), 1 credit, 10 GLH: Explain how to recycle waste and the benefits of reducing waste, describe ways to reduce energy use and identify ways to save energy when leaving a room, explain how individual actions affect the environment, describe ways to reduce impact and take part in activities that reduce it, such as a litter pick. Evidence includes scenario and cause and effect tasks and assessor observation.
- Level 1 (CBM174), 1 credit, 10 GLH: Define sustainable development, analyse the benefits of a sustainable environment, explain the impact of non-recyclable waste, outline ways to conserve and waste energy, create a plan to conserve energy and reduce waste, take part in an activity that contributes to a cleaner environment and reflect on it. Evidence includes explanation and planning tasks, observation and a reflection.
- Level 2 (CBM175), 1 credit, 10 GLH: Analyse the benefits of a sustainable environment and the impact of non-recyclable waste, explain ways to conserve energy and analyse ways it is wasted, plan an activity that conserves energy, reduces waste and contributes to a cleaner environment, carry it out and evaluate its impact on individuals and the environment. Evidence includes planning, practical and evaluation tasks with assessor observation.
The digital skills in this qualification
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Recognising the energy used by digital devices
Learners identify ways energy is used, such as using computers, at Entry 1, identify equipment that uses electricity, such as interactive whiteboards, computers, laptops, TVs and phones, at Entry 2, outline waste such as leaving appliances on standby at Level 1, and analyse waste such as overuse of electrical devices and standby power at Level 2. The energy criteria are assessed, and digital devices are the main examples.
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils list every device in the classroom that uses electricity and mark which ones are left on standby at the end of the day.
- Year 8
- Pupils read the energy labels on 3 devices, such as a laptop, a TV and a games console, and rank them from least to most energy used.
- Year 9
- Pupils reflect on their own device habits over a week, such as charging overnight and leaving consoles on standby, and write two changes that would save energy.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Entry Level 1 AC 2.1, page 11; Entry Level 2 AC 2.1, page 14; Level 1 AC 2.1 and AC 2.2, page 19; Level 2 AC 2.2, page 22
“interactive whiteboard, computers, laptops, tvs, phones”
Progression step 3
I can identify the wider positive and negative influences of technology, e.g. on my life, on society, on the environment.
Progression step 4
I can reflect on the role of digital media in my life and habits.
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Collecting evidence in a digital portfolio
Learners collect their evidence in a portfolio, which can be digital or paper-based, and Open Awards encourages e-portfolios wherever possible. Photographs of a litter pick, a recycling activity or an energy-saving campaign, and a typed plan and reflection, can be uploaded and organised as evidence. The portfolio is required, but its digital form is not, so this is taught, not assessed.
DCF: Storing and sharing
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils take a photo of their class recycling display and save it in a named folder in their school online storage.
- Year 8
- Pupils upload photos and notes from an energy survey to an online folder, naming each file so a teacher can find it easily.
- Year 9
- Pupils organise a project portfolio online with folders for the plan, evidence and evaluation, and use version history to restore an earlier draft.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Assessment Approach, page 7
“Wherever possible, e-portfolios are encouraged”
Progression step 3
I can manage files and folders locally or online, e.g. move files to a folder.
I can upload files from a local drive to online storage.
Progression step 4
I can use appropriate advanced file management techniques, e.g. version history, restore previous version, tagging, compression.
Good to know
- Every level is 1 credit and 10 GLH, with unit codes CBM171 (Entry 1) to CBM175 (Level 2) (Unit Content, pages 10, 13, 15, 18 and 21), matching the Level 1 Qualification Guide (Qualification Units, page 20). It is a small unit, so learners need other Skills for Work units to reach the 60 GLH Award.
- Only one level counts towards a qualification: "with the exception of British Sign Language (BSL), units with the same title at different levels are barred for completion within the same qualification" (Qualification Guide, Qualification Units, page 16).
- Assessment is set by the school and every criterion must be met: the suite is "assessed through assessment tasks and activities designed by the provider" and "No partial award can be made if any assessment criteria is not met" (Assessment Approach, page 7).
- Evidence goes in a portfolio that "can be presented digitally (e.g., through an e-portfolio system) or as paper-based", and "Wherever possible, e-portfolios are encouraged" (Assessment Approach, page 7). Tasks need pre-course verification and are checked by internal and then Open Awards external quality assurance.
- Neither the unit specification nor the Level 1 Qualification Guide says anything about AI tools, so the school's own malpractice and authentication rules apply.
- Practical participation is assessed from Entry 3: Entry 3 and Level 1 learners take part in sustainability activities, Level 2 learners must "carry out the planned activity" (Indicative Content, page 22), and the task tables list "Assessor observation of participation and skills" (Assessment Approach, pages 8 and 9).
- Resources are light: "access to digital devices where appropriate" (Physical Resources, page 5), with practical materials for recycling, planting or environmental projects (page 6).
- Some labels look like a draft: the Level 1 content for the non-recyclable waste criterion, AC 1.3, is headed "AC 3.1 Learners must explain the impact non-recyclable" waste (page 19), and Entry Level 3 AC 2.2 repeats the Entry Level 2 criterion on saving energy when leaving a room (pages 14 and 16).
Links with other qualifications
The Pearson Sustainable economic development unit is 20 GLH and ranges more widely over climate change, transport and actions in the community, while the Open Awards unit is 10 GLH and concentrates on recycling, energy and a cleaner environment. Both have low digital demand. The content supports GCSE Geography and the science of energy and pollution, and Open Awards maps it to the Humanities statement that the natural world is shaped by human actions. It overlaps with the Pearson and Open Awards Sustainability in Action units, so a school should check the two are not taught together, and the Digital Competence Framework statement on the environmental influence of technology fits the work on device energy use.
Source: Open Awards Skills for Work Unit Specification, Sustainable Economic Development, Entry Level 1 to Level 2.