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National Trends in Sustainability and Resulting Local Opportunities
Debra Rowe, Ph.D.President, U.S. Partnership for Education for
Sustainable Development – www.uspartnership.org Co-coordinator, Higher Education Associations
Sustainability Consortium – www.heasc.net Professor, Renewable Energies and Energy Management, Oakland Community College
Education for a Sustainable Future (EFS)
• Part I Why EFS and Growing Expectations?
• Part II What does it look like in higher education?
• Part III National Trends and Resources
• Part IV Next Steps
Sustainable Development is often defined as:
“meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs”
World Commission on Env. and Development. (1987). Our Common Future. England: Oxford University Press.
StrongEconomy
SocialWell-being
Flourishing Environment
SustainableSociety
Triple Bottom Line of Sustainability
The United Nations has declared a
Decade of Education for Sustainable Development
2005-2014
“The Millennium Development Goals serve as the new framework for sustainable development” – UN DESD website
Education for a Sustainable Society:
“enables people to develop the knowledge, values and skills to
participate in decisions …, that will improve the quality of life now without
damaging the planet for the future.”
Applied Knowledge/
TechnologicalSkills
Private Choices and Behaviors-Habits
Public Choices and Behaviors-Laws
Sustainable Communities
Sustainable Economies
EcosystemEcosystem
EcosystemEcosystem
We are the first generation capable of determining the habitability of the planet
for humans and other species.
The decisions of this generation are crucial.
Why the Environmental Issues are so important
Of the MDGs, the environmental one has the shortest timeline and
the highest priority.
If not addressed, it will decrease the possibilities for success of all the other
goals.
The goals are interdependent and interactive.
• Systems thinking is very important• Nirmala Nair from South Africa and India. Her message
– learn more about the interconnections of the MDGs to create a sustainable future - power and status of U.S. – be careful - recommend integrated solutions or don’t recommend!
Why the Environmental Issues are so important
1. Human presence on a global scale2. All living systems in long term decline at
unprecedented and accelerating rate3. Unprecedented growth in population and
consumption4. Climate change
Our decisions will create:more scarcity and suffering, or a future of greater abundance and quality of life
life supporting
resources
declining
consumption of life supporting
resources
rising
Global Perspective
Why is ESD such a high priority in the U.S.?
1. Much of the U.S. public doesn’t know that we are exceeding the carrying capacity of the planet. (www.myfootprint.org)
2. All of the life supporting ecosystems are in decline (http://www.worldwatch.org/topics/nature)
3. The U.S. has approximately 5% of the world’s population and is consuming 25% of the world’s resources. (Jucker, Our Common Illiteracy – Education as If the Earth and People Mattered, Peter Lang Publishers)
4. Public doesn’t know we can reduce human suffering, environmental degradation and social injustice now while building stronger economies
5. A rapid shift in mindset is needed and education for action is the key.
Why is environmental responsibility such a high priority?
• Freshwater withdrawal has almost doubled since 1960 and nearly half the world’s major rivers are going dry or are badly polluted (New Internationalist, no. 329 November, 2000. 18)
• 11 of the world’s 15 major fishing areas and 69% of the world’s major fish species are in decline (State of the World 1998, 60-67)
• Climate change (global warming) exists, a major culprit is fossil fuels, and impacts are very serious. (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report: Summary for Policymakers: The Science of Climate Change 1995)
Effects -Climate Change – U.S. #1 polluter
Disruption of food production and the food chain
More extreme weather events
Disruptions of ecosystems, including water supplies
Spread of disease e.g. West Nile, Malaria
Submersion of land masses – 1 to 4 foot sea level rise - now up to 50 feet50% of world’s population lives on the coasts(75% in 2050)
Sources: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Global Transition -
From
Post-Industrial• Fossil powered• Take, make, waste• Living off nature’s capital• Market as master• Loss of cultural & biological
diversity• Independence• Materialism as goal
ToLife-Sustaining
• Non-polluting powered• Cyclical production• Living off nature’s income• Market as servant• Increased cultural &
biological diversity• Interdependence• Human satisfaction goal
Dominant Inaccurate Human BeliefsWhich ones do you have to eliminate?
• Humans dominant species separate from environment• Resources free and inexhaustible• Technology the answer• Earth can assimilate all wastes• All human needs can be met by human means• Individual success independent of health of communities,
cultures and ecosystems
Old Worldview
vs. Updated Worldview of Sustainability
Many myths must be dispelled. Which of these myths
do you believe?
• Sustainability is mostly about the environment• Sustainability is just another issue, like
international studies or computer literacy• Sustainability is primarily a scientific and
technical problem• I don’t have the skills or power to make big
changes in society for sustainability.
Potential is enormous for social and environmental justice and health
Higher Education Sector as one example
• 4,096 U.S. Colleges and Universities (1)• 14.8 million students (1)• $277 billion annual expenditures; 2.8% of the GDP(1)• HE expenditures > the GDP of all but 25 countries in
the world(2)
1 From: 2001 Digest of Education Statistics, US Dept. of Education.
2 From: 2001 CIA World Factbook and Dowling, Mike., "Interactive Table of World Nations," available from http://www.mrdowling.com/800nations.html; Internet; updated Friday, June 29, 2001
Part II
What does
education for a sustainable future
look like within higher education?
What if higher education were to take a leadership role, as it did in the space race and the war on cancer, in preparing students and providing the information and knowledge to achieve a just and sustainable society?
What would higher education look like?
(Could replace higher ed with K-12 or media or government – great learning tool for action.)
For higher education, Sustainable Development integrated into:
Curricula Research
Operations
CommunityOutreach andPartnerships
Student Life Professional Development
Mission andPlanning Purchasing
KEY THRUST
Change operational and policy norms so all students can learn and practice how to be:
• environmentally responsible
• socially responsible
• economically responsible
• active citizens in a global economy
Goals:
• All students engaged as effective change agents in our sustainability challenges
• From apathy caring involvement.
• Students know that their daily decisions affect the quality of life of people around the globe.
• Students have the skills to engage in the complexity of sustainability problems and solutions
Skills for students and educators (and all of us):
1) Teach/learn sustainable development literacy
2) Teach/learn optimism skills (Seligman)
3) Teach/learn efficacy; tell stories of “normal” people making a difference
4) Teach/learn interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences – e.g. civil discourse, conflict resolution, emotional intelligence
5) Teach/learn systems thinking, futurist skills and change agent skills
The campus as a living lab for sustainability practices and skill building.
Academics, Student Life, Facilities and Purchasing collaborating to create
Sustainability as the Campus Context“Latent Currricula”
Provides the models and opportunities for practicing the changing of behaviors
Building values, behaviors, and identities
A community of learners. A community of real life problem solvers.
Key places to place sustainability and institutionalize it:
• Mission
• Strategic Plan
• Budget
• Orientation
• Campus Map and Signage
• Building Policies
• Operations and Purchasing Policies
• Student Life
• Residential Living
• Infused throughout curricula
• First Year Experience
• Gen Ed Core
• Curricula Review
• Community Partnerships
• Workforce Developmt.
Mission and Planning
Already in most mission statements
Tie it to the academic, student life and facilities/operation plan
Include it in the budget
Purchasing and Operations
• NEW NORM IN HAWAII• LEED – can be done without extra funds (Interface
Engineering) – www.usgbc.org• Life Cycle Costing = Cradle to cradle analysis• Conservation first, renewables next (higher ed is #1
purchaser of wind power) – www.energystar.gov • Campus Climate Challenge and the mainstream Higher
Education Climate Action Partnership – measure and reduce greenhouse gases – www.hecap.org
• Environmentally and socially responsible purchasing – www.coopamerica.org, www.newdream.org, NAEP purchasing coalition - Rutgers, National Association of Campus Stores
Student Life
• Presidential Taskforce on Sustainability – ACPA
http://www.myacpa.org/task-force/sustainability/ , including overview, learning outcomes, residential sustainable living campaigns (with ACUHO-I), first year experience, orientation, film series and sustainability media festivals, examples and templates for members…
• ACUI and NACA national initiatives• NACUFS for dining halls and food services• Harvard Campus Greening by students -
http://www.greencampus.harvard.edu/greenteams/ - How-to manuals for staff and students
• Works best when integrated with academics
HE Sustainability Examples
• Systemic integration• University of Florida• Georgia Tech• University of North Carolina• University of British Columbia• Arizona State• Lane Community College
• Transportation• UC Boulder• Cornell
• Energy & Climate Change• SUNY Buffalo• University of California System• Western Washington University• University of Minnesota
HE Sustainability Examples
• Curriculum• Northern Arizona University• University of Georgia – Article in ACE Presidency W ‘06• Comm. Colleges – Article at AACC site/sustainable
• Food• University of Montana• UC Santa Cruz
• Green Building• University of Washington• South Carolina universities
Make sustainability an integral part of
planning, operations, facility design, purchasing, investments, and student life,
and tie all of these efforts to the formal curriculum.
General Education and Student life is both the content, the context and the
glue for this learning.Latent Professors
Example of Student Sustainability Projects for all campuses Part I
• Campus sustainability audits
• Green and fair trade purchasing research
• Higher Ed. Climate Action Partnership (http://www.campusclimatechallenge.org and www.hecap.org)- move to conservation and renewables
• Fellowships through National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Ecology - http://www.nwf.org/campusecology/
Example of Student Sustainability Projects for all campuses Part II
• Film and speaker series and positive futures fairs
• Green building designs and sustainable living “campaigns”
• Info on sustainability in career office, orientation, first year experience and freshman pledge
• Many more possibilities– sustainability related assignments in all courses with an integrated gen. ed. core - project website!
Part III
National Trends and Resources
GREAT NEWS!!!Growing National Trend:
Seventeen national HE associations and thirteen national disciplinary
associations are creating initiatives on Education for
Sustainable Development
Engaged National Associations
1. ACE–Am. Council on Ed.–Presidency Magazine W’06
2. AACU – Ass. of American Colleges and Universities
3. AACC – Am. Ass. of Community Colleges
4. AASCU – State Institutions 5. ACUHO – Housing 6. NACAS – Aux. Officers7. NAEP – Educational
Buyers8. NACA – Campus Activities
9. APPA – Facilities 10. NACUBO – Business 11. SCUP – College and
University Planners12. ACUI – Student Unions13. ACPA – Student Life14. NACUFS – Food15. ACEED-I – Events and
Conference Directors16. NACS – Campus Stores17. NIRSA – Recreation18. AGB – Ass. of Governing
Boards AND MORE
Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium
www.heasc.net
HEASC founding members
ACPA – student affairs and student lifeAASCU – state colleges and universitiesAPPA - facilities directorsSCUP - plannersNACUBO - business officersNAEP - buyersAASHE - sustainability leadersACUI - student unions
Members in HEASC as of 6/06
College Student Educators International (ACPA)American Association of State Colleges & Universities (AASCU)APPA: Serving Higher Education Facilities ProfessionalsAssociation for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)Association of College & University Housing Officers International (ACUHO-I) Association of College Unions International (ACUI)Association of Governing Boards of Universities & Colleges (AGB)National Association for Campus Activities (NACA)National Association of College & University Business Officers (NACUBO)National Association of College Stores (NACS) National Association of Educational Procurement (NAEP)National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA)Society for College & University Planning (SCUP)
Higher Education Associations
• Collaboration with national higher education associations on:• Rating system• Socially and environmentally responsible procurement• President’s pledge on climate change• Higher Education Climate Action Project –
www.hecap.org• Team building on campus at VP and other levels for
sustainability• Learning Outcomes• Essential questions for any course to infuse
sustainability
More Exciting News!!
Association for the Advancement of
Sustainability in Higher Education
AASHE(AY-shee)
www.aashe.org
AASHE’s Mission
• Catalyze sustainability in all sectors of higher ed - from governance and operations to curriculum and research
• Vision: campuses modeling sustainability in all learning, operations, and outreach
AASHE Resources
• Case Studies of curricula, planning, operations…• Tools (e.g. sustainability assessments/indicators,
greenhouse gas calculators)
• Conferences and professional development• Web resources – over 800 syllabi, institutional profiles• Listservs (for faculty, business officers, purchasing agents, facilities managers, students)
• Inform local, state & national policy• Encourage & facilitate collaboration• Awards and recognition
National Discipline Associations have become engaged!
• Convened this year in May• Political Science, Religion, Philosophy, Sociology,
Chemistry, Biology, Engineering, Geography, Anthropology, Communications, Psychology, Modern Languages…
• Cosponsors = AAC&U, AASHE,ULSF
• Academic learning combined with real life problem solving for sustainability in all disciplines and as gen. ed. core
Ignite faculty imaginations. “Each of you have a unique contribution to make to create a sustainable future.”
1) Examples at www.ncseonline.org/EFS/DebraRowe.pdf , www.aashe.org and www.ulsf.org
2) Textbook revisions to infuse ESD- creating a consistently updated worldview across disciplines
Curricula: Sustainability Gen. Ed. requirements
and infusion into multiple disciplines
Disciplinary Associations
• Sustainability resolutions
• Featured workshops at conferences
• Inclusion in journal publications
• Make educating for sustainability “part of the professional responsibilities of anyone in the discipline”
• Articles on how to infuse sustainability into Intro to Psych, Sociology, Religion…
Other higher ed resources
• Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future – www.ulsf.org – Tailloires Declaration
• Second Nature – www.secondnature.org• Grey Pinstripes for business schools through the
World Resources Institute - http://projects.wri.org/project_description.cfm?ProjectID=18
Part IV
• Next Steps
What are your next steps in making education for and practice of sustainability a major goal and new norm in the society?
Who and how can you include key constituencies for a critical mass of support?
If you feel overwhelmed or unsure, don’t give up!!
There are people you can talk to about how to create success.
U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development
• Non-partisan
• Multiple Sector Teams: Business, Higher Ed., K-12, Youth, Faith…
• Convene, Catalyze, Communicate
www.uspartnership.org
www.uspartnership.orgJoin for free
Participate in a sector or action team
Helpful tools!!!!!!!!!!
• “We Can Afford to Solve the World’s Problems – The World Game Institute - 18 strategies for confronting the major systemic problems confronting humanity” - http://www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/TLSF/theme_a/mod02/www.worldgame.org/wwwproject/index.shtml
• Learning outcomes from ACPA• Essential Questions to be infused into any discussion• Sustainability web casts and annual Campus Sustainability
Day from www.scup.org • Conservation first, renewables next – www.energystar.gov• Environmentally and socially responsible purchasing –
www.coopamerica.org, www.newdream.org
Tools continued
• Businesses – World Business Council for Sustainable Development (www.wbcsd.org)
• State, city and county government (Mayors’ Climate Protection Act)
• Environmental Electronic Resources Library – www.eerl.org
• Today’s resources!!
Continuum of Awareness and Action
Less evolved to
1. Taste each other’s food
2. Experience each other’s culture
3. Learn how to compete in a global economy
4. Analyze issues
More evolved
5. Explore interdependencies
6. Understand my impact on others
7. Learn change agent skills and practice better choices as consumer, investor, community member, family member, career, think local and global and act global
Key EFS Ideas
• Making invisible impacts visible
• Making better choices as an individual, community, nation and species
Local and National Opportunities
YOU AND…..• Energy planning• Sustainability Education – multiple projects to work on• Socially and environmentally responsible businesses
– convening trade associations• Sustainable design and community development
LEVERAGE UP what you are doing.
The world needs YOU.
Challenges and Answers
Challenges• Already busy – outside of my job description• Don’t know this stuff• Putting out fires, don’t have time to do the right thing• Issues complex and systemic• Societal & environmental impacts invisible and ignoredAnswers• Don’t have to know the answers. Just keep asking the
sustainability questions.• Use national and local resources to work/volunteer with
and help you learn, grow and implement• Step outside your normal job description and personal
activities
Conclusions
1. The U.S. public is not educated enough about sustainability issues and solutions.
2. We need sustainability literacy and effective engagement for ALL. This is no longer optional for a viable future. To be given a higher education degree and not be sustainability literate and effectively engaged in solutions is inappropriate.
3. Climate change is the highest priority with the shortest time line, and we have to stop burning fossil fuels as soon as possible. Conservation and renewables must be fully utilized to create the triple bottom line.
4. Some exciting developments, too many to report, but much more needs to be done.
5. We all need to learn more about how to change consumption, investment and civic behaviors to create appropriate market modifications for sustainability (heart modifications too)
6. Your time is needed in this effort. (Need more - I can help you find your ways to contribute.)
The Power of What You Do
• We are leaders in the world• We can choose a sustainable
future
