SUSTAINABILITY LITERACY A CORE COMPETENCY

A Progress Report

Prof. Stephen and Maureen Martin

Open University Centre for Complexity & Change

Policy Drivers

To maintain a more competitive economy…we will need…to make sustainability literacy a core competency for professional graduates.

Aims and Objectives

• To explore progress in FHE towards making sustainability literacy a core competency

• To explore integrated approaches to campus, curriculum and community in meeting the objective

• To encourage a debate on how we can build on the good practice which exists

Sustainability Literacy: Skills, Knowledge & Attributes

• Environmental, social & economic context of each discipline

• Key principles of sustainable development

• Non-reductionist problem-solving skills

• Creative & holistic thinking

• Understand & adopt ethical values

• Participate in interdisciplinary teams

• Initiate & manage change

Local Action

ESD ,by definition demands practical, applied, interdisciplinary, holistic, problem solving thinking-global thinking but local action.

Martin Haig 2005

Environmental Impact of English HE Sector

• Consumes 5.2 billion kWh of energy/annum costing over £200 million

• Consumes over 16 million cubic meters/annum of water

• Spends £3 billion/year on goods and services• Over 1 million people travelling to work &

study every day• Produces hundreds of thousands of tonnes of

waste / annum

Number and Capacity of CHP Schemes in non industrial use by sector 2005(DTI)

Number of Schemes

Electrical Capacity M/We

Leisure 419 45.7

Health 212 117.9

Universities 36 42.7

Education 21 10.2

Retail 12 2.6

Total 1092 347.9

New College Durham

Embedding ESD into Teaching & Learning in HE –

Key Report Findings

• Good practice in Engineering, English, Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences

• Limited progress in Biosciences, Leisure, Sport & Tourism, Philosophy & Religious Studies

• Negligible progress in IT, Maths, Statistics, Performing Arts, Psychology and Economics

Courses & Curriculum in the Learning and Skills Sector

• 67% report that they embed some SD concepts or approaches into some of their courses & programmes.

– Using existing SD modules & materials– Developing own SD materials– SD links with ‘healthy college’ programme

Buildings, Estates & Procurement in the Learning and Skills Sector

• 45% are addressing aspects of SD in this area.

– Buildings design & operation

– Biodiversity

– Procurement (including Fair Trade)

– Travel plans

Good Practice Using an Integrated Approach

• Pershore Group of Colleges – Project Carrot

• Somerset College of Arts and Technology - Genesis Project

PERSHORE COLLEGE

• The College Sustainable Development Committee has a series of task groups that monitor and develop work in curriculum, biodiversity, energy use, recycling, health, sustainable buildings, water management, procurement, local sales of produce and community work.

 

Water Conservation at Pershore Campus

Composting Big Time at Pershore

Somerset College - Genesis Project

• consists of a series of pavilions constructed of earth, straw, clay and timber, with living roofs, and a water pavilion demonstrating the latest water-saving devices

• is used by the local community and regional networks as a hub to promote sustainable development in its widest sense

• provides a wide range of resources and learning opportunities for schools, colleges and universities.

• offers access to the general public through open days and other events

Genesis @ Somerset College

Key Messages

• Make SD more tangible in FHE • Bring it down to earth for a wider audience• Communicate the SD message inside and

out of the classroom• Identify and promote the skills or learning to

be exemplified through the campus and community

• Encourage all staff to seek ways to integrate local SD learning opportunities

• Make integration a key institutional strategy

Transitional Towns, Universities, Colleges – A Community-wide strategy

• We must increase the emphasis on applied local research

• Identify and work with local employers and community stakeholders

• Collaborate with transitional towns and cities like Totnes, Lampeter & Kinsale

• Build on the benchmarking process initiated by EAUC and BiTC

Leadership?Saint Stuart - The man who is turning M&S green

Stuart Rose is the UK's greenest grocer. His mission: to turn Marks & Spencer carbon neutral by 2012. Stuart Rose, chief executive of Marks & Spencer and architect of the store's renaissance, has gone green. Very green. He had An Inconvenient Truth moment on holiday last summer. 'I took the Al Gore book with me and I read it, because I'd heard a lot about it. And I thought, "Yeah, this is interesting".