Thursday 24 January 2013

Sustainability: The definition

What is sustainability or sustainable development?

(Please note that the difference in their meaning is a source of debate, but here they would be lumped together.)

The term sustainable development (SD) first attracted global attention when the Brundtland Commission called for integrating environmental conservation with social and economic development. The commission defined SD as ‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs…’ (WCED, 1987)

Although this is the most popular definition, a number of others seem to emphasise the elements of sustainability more fully:

§  Sustainability strives to achieve reconciliation between society’s development goals and the planet’s environmental limits (Yarime et al 2012)
§  SD is about ‘harmonious development of the social, economic and environmental domains of society in the short and long term’ (Zilahy et al 2009)
§  Sustainability aims to ‘create an ecologically and socially just world within the means of nature without compromising future generations’ (Moore 2005 in Minguet et al 2011)

These definitions and other interpretations indicate that sustainability:
§  Is complex and comprises interconnected issues
§  Has a broad scope, is multi-dimensional and cuts across systems and time spans
§  Is mainly dependent on the interaction between natural and social systems, and consists of four key intertwined elements (i.e. ecology, economy, society and culture)
§  Involves values
§  Should be addressed at a range of levels, from the local to the global

Therefore, it seems that sustainability is not only a knowledge challenge but also a challenge that demands collaborative input from diverse disciplines.

What is the role of education in sustainability? That is next….

Photograph by Asitha Jayawardena
 

Resources on the definition of sustainability

2012
Sustainability (Wikipedia)             
Sustainable development (Wikipedia)
What is Sustainable Development? (International Institute for Sustainable Development)
Whatis Sustainability and Why Consider It?

2011
Sustainable development (defra)

2009
Whatis sustainability? (Humanities Education Centre)

Undated
United Nations Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform (UN)
What is Sustainability? (UN)
What is sustainability? (US Environmental Protection Agency)
Sustainable development (Europa: Summaries of EU Legislation)
TheDefinition of Sustainability (Sustainability Store)
Five types of sustainable capital (Forum for the Future)

 
References & Bibliography

Bartelmus, P. (2010) Use and usefulness of sustainability economics. Ecological Economics, 69, pp. 2053–2055.

Lukman, R., Krajnc, D. and Glavic, P. (2009) Fostering collaboration between universities regarding regional sustainability initiatives – the University of Maribor. Journal of Cleaner Production, 17, pp. 1143-1153.

Minguet, P.A., Martinez-Agut, M.P., Palacios, B., Pinero, A. and Ull, M.A. (2011) Introducing sustainability into university curricula: an indicator and baselines survey of the views of university teachers at the University of Valencia. Environmental Education Research, 17(2), pp. 145-166.

Moore, J. (2005) Is higher education ready for transformative learning? A question explored in the study of sustainability. Journal of Transformative Education, 3(1), pp. 76-91.

Parker, J. (2010) Competencies for interdisciplinarity in higher education. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 11(4), pp.325-338.

Selby, D., Jones, P. and Kagawa, F. (2009) Sustainability promotion and branding: messaging challenges and possibilities for higher education institutions. Sustainability, 1, pp. 537-555.

WCED (1987) Our Common Future. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [World Commission on Environment and Development].

Yarime, M., Trencher, G, Mino, T., Scholz, R.W., Olsson, L., Ness, B., Frantzeskaki, N. and Rotmans, J. (2012) Establishing sustainability science in higher education institutions: towards an integration of academic development, institutionalization, and stakeholder collaborations. Sustainability Science, 7 (Supplement 1), pp. 101-113.

Zilahy. G., Huisingh, D. Melanen, M., Phillips, V.D. and Sheffy, J. (2009) Roles of academia in regional sustainability initiatives: outreach for a more sustainable future. Journal of Cleaner Production, 17, pp. 1053–1056.

Photograph by Asitha Jayawardena


The Sustainable University One-stop Shop:

Thursday 10 January 2013

Sustainability: The challenge



Today, our human society’s wellbeing and survival on the planet Earth is under threat mainly because our impact on nature has stressed the delicate human-nature connection.

 
The concept of sustainable development appears to be our best solution to this sustainability crisis. Over the last couple of decades, sustainability and its associated issues have moved to the centre stage of public debate and government policy and sustainability has become an important aspect of both economy and society.

 

The trouble with sustainability is that its issues are complex and interconnected, making it very difficult to understand.

 

This complexity has generated much debate on the meaning and rigour of the term ‘sustainability’. As a result, the terms ‘sustainability’ and ‘sustainable development’ (SD) have many definitions and interpretations, contested meanings and interesting arguments. For example, Paul Maiteny argues that, for any development to be identified as ‘development’, it must be sustainable in the first place. So the term sustainable development (SD) is misleading and unnecessary!

 

Next, let’s explore in more detail what sustainability and SD mean…

 

Resources on the challenge of sustainability

 

2011


 
 
2005


 

2003

Thechallenge of sustainable development (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya)


 

2002


The Challenge of Sustainability (Global Environment Facility)

 

Undated


 

 

Bibliography

 

Baumgartner, S. and Quaas, M. (2010) Sustainability economics — General versus specific, and conceptual versus practical. Ecological Economics, 69, pp. 2056–2059.

 

Beringer, A. and Adomssent, M. (2008) Sustainable university research and development: inspecting sustainability in higher education research. Environmental Education Research, 14(6), pp.607-623.

 

Chalkley, B. and Sterling, S. (2011) Hard times in higher education: the closure of subject centres and the implications for education for sustainable development (ESD). Sustainability, 3, pp. 666-677.

 

Clark, B. and Button, C. (2011) Sustainability transdisciplinary education model: interface of arts, science, and community (STEM). International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 12(1), pp. 41-54.

 

Ferrer-Balas, D; Lozano, R; Huisingh, D; Buckland, H; Ysern, P; Zilahy, G (2010) Going beyond the rhetoric: system-wide changes in universities for sustainable societies, Journal of Cleaner Production, 18, pp.607-610

 

Hopkinson, P., Hughes, P. and Layer, G. (2008) Sustainable graduates: linking formal, informal and campus curricula to embed education for sustainable development in the student learning experience. Environmental Education Research, 14(4), pp.435-454.

 

Hopkinson, P. and James, P. (2010) Practical pedagogy for embedding ESD in science, technology, engineering and mathematics curricula. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 11(4), pp.365-379.

 

Maiteny, P. (2009) Completing the holistic perspective: emotions and psyche in Education for Sustainability and the development of an ecosystemic conscience. Article 6.61.4.2 of The UNESCO Encyclopaedia of Life Support Systems.

 

Minguet, P.A., Martinez-Agut, M.P., Palacios, B., Pinero, A. and Ull, M.A. (2011) Introducing sustainability into university curricula: an indicator and baselines survey of the views of university teachers at the University of Valencia. Environmental Education Research, 17(2), pp. 145-166.

 

Raivio, K. (2011) Sustainability as an educational agenda. Journal of Cleaner Production, 19, pp. 1906-1907.

 

Rieckmann, M. (2012) Future-oriented higher education: Which key competencies should be fostered through university teaching and learning? Futures, 44, pp. 127-135.

 

Ryan, A., Tilbury, D., Corcoran, P.B., Abe, O. and Nomura, K. (2010) Sustainability in higher education in the Asia-Pacific: developments, challenges, and prospects. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 11(2), pp.106-199.

 

Sherren, K. (2008) A history of the future of higher education for sustainable development. Environmental Education Research, 14 (3), pp.238-256.

 

Sibbel, A. (2009) Pathways towards sustainability through higher education. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 10(1), pp.68-82.

 

Waas, T., Verbruggen, A. and Wright, T. (2010) University research for sustainable development: definition and characteristics explored. Journal of Cleaner Production, 18, pp. 629-636.




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Tuesday 1 January 2013

Sustainable University (SU) Notes: An introduction

Welcome to Sustainable University (SU) Notes blog!

 

Sustainable University (SU) Notes is my new blog on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Sustainability in Higher Education (SHE). It is part of the second anniversary celebration of my online experiment, The Sustainable University One-stop Shop (http://www.sustainableuni.kk5.org/).

 

SU Notes aims to share knowledge, perspectives and debate on ESD and SHE among communities who are interested in or have a stake in these two overlapping areas. In fact you will enjoy this blog even if you are simply interested in sustainability, especially from a perspective of higher education, business, media or charity sector.

 

The driving force behind this blog is my belief that universities should place themselves at the forefront of the sustainability endeavours of their wider communities, from local to global. This can be summed up as follows: Capability, Responsibility and Opportunity. Universities have the CAPABILITY to drive the sustainability endeavours of their wider communities; universities have a social RESPONSIBILITY to do so; and universities will consequently enjoy a wealth of OPPORTUNITY in a number of areas, ranging from student recruitment to graduate employability.

 

SU Notes will mainly be based on contemporary research on ESD and SHE and a list of academic articles I have read for a particular day’s Note will appear in Bibliography. Despite its academic origins, the blog will be presented in simple language in order to suit to non-academics too because ESD is about working together.

 

A list of online resources will appear at the end as further reading relevant for the day’s topic.

 

The first blog entry will be on the challenge of sustainability.

 

I hope this blog will be useful and interesting to you….
 
 
Photograph by Asitha Jayawardena
 
The Sustainable University One-stop Shop: