From environmental education to education for sustainable development in higher education: a systematic review

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Mauricio Acosta Castellanos ◽  
Araceli Queiruga-Dios
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Education ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Systematic Reviews ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
The World ◽  
The United Nations

Purpose In education concerning environmental issues, there are two predominant currents in the world, environmental education (EE) and education for sustainable development (ESD). ESD is the formal commitment and therefore promoted by the United Nations, to ensure that countries achieve sustainable development. In contrast, EE was the first educational trend with an environmental protection approach. The purpose of this systematic review that seeks to show whether the migration from EE to ESD is being effective and welcomed by researchers and especially by universities is presented. With the above, a global panorama can be provided, where the regions that choose each model can be identified. In the same sense, it was sought to determine which of the two currents is more accepted within engineering education. Design/methodology/approach The review followed the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyzes parameters for systematic reviews. In total, 198 papers indexed in Scopus, Science Direct, ERIC and Scielo were analyzed. With the results, the advancement of ESD and the state of the EE by regions in the world were identified. Findings It was possible to categorize the geographical regions that host either of the two EE or ESD currents. It is important to note that ESD has gained more strength from the decade of ESD proposed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. For its part, EE has greater historical roots in some regions of the planet. In turn, there is evidence of a limited number of publications on the design and revision of study plans in engineering. Originality/value Through this systematic literature review, the regions of the world that are clinging to EE and those that have taken the path of ESD could be distinguished. Moreover, specific cases in engineering where ESD has been involved were noted.

scholarly journals Civic Education for Sustainable Development and its Consequences for German Civic Education Didactics and Curricula of Higher Education

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Brunold
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Educational Policy ◽  
Civic Education ◽  
Development Policy ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Global Learning ◽  
Global Development ◽  
The World ◽  
The United Nations

Abstract Since the nineties, the principle of sustainable development has increasingly been adopted by policy makers and civil society in Germany and, of course, in many countries of the world. With the acceptance of this principle, the significance of education for sustainable development (ESD) has also been recognised. Increased awareness of the problems of environmental challenges, globalisation and poverty has meant that the concepts of environmental education, global learning, and education in development policy have been consistently oriented towards more sustainability. This leads to an increased awareness that globalisation processes must be shaped in accordance with the objectives of sustainable development, both nationally and internationally. By encouraging the idea of sustainability to take root in all areas of education systems, the World Decade of Education for Sustainable Development from 2005 to 2014 intended to take significant steps towards greater educational sustainability. The curricula for civic education for sustainable development and global learning in Germany are, therefore of course, very closely linked to global development and globalisation processes, and because of that, they are to be seen within the mandate of the United Nations educational policy. The paper shows, that the learning area of global development objectives is structured in an inter-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary manner. It carries the essential features of a domain: a delimited object area, a specific approach to the world, and the reference to a basic teaching concept in the educational policy traditions of one-world or development-policy education and global learning. Therefore the aim is clear, that these curricula should contribute to the sustainable development goals of the United Nations, towards inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, as it is mentioned in goal number 4 (United Nations, 2014).

Education for Sustainable Development: Configuration and Meaning

2005 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edgar González-Gaudiano
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Education ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Education Field

The inception of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005–14) has excited controversy over the validity of the concept of education for sustainable development (ESD), as well as reactivating a critical review of the environmental education field as a whole. This article analyzes the peculiarities of ESD, the conditions that gave rise to it, the characteristics of its proposed configuration and the implications for environmental education.

Community-Based Sustainability: Conservation in the Ballarat Region

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 33-43
Author(s):  
Barry Kentish ◽  
Ian Robottom
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Education ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Education For Sustainability ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Sustainability Strategy ◽  
The United Nations

AbstractThe discourse of sustainability is promoted internationally, with the United Nations declaring 2005-2014 as a Decade for Education for Sustainable Development. There is discussion concerning the nature, status and significance of Education for Sustainability and its relationship with the somewhat established discourse of environmental education. This debate requires continuing theorising and one approach is to reflect critically on specific examples of sustainability within specific communities. This article seeks to promote further discussion about sustainability, and to contribute to ongoing theorisation about Education for Sustainability, by considering a particular instance – that of environmental sustainability in the Ballarat region of Victoria. The case study suggests that implementation of this local environmental sustainability strategy was dominated by technocratic and individualistic ideologies.

Education for Sustainable Development

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Meghna Tare
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
South Carolina ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Informal Education ◽  
Local Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Solutions ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

In 2003, in response to the United Nations (UN) Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, the United Nations University (UNU) Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability launched a global multi-stakeholder network of Regional Centers of Expertise (RCEs) on education for sustainable development (ESD). RCEs facilitate multi-sector collaboration and utilize formal, non-formal, and informal education to address sustainable development challenges in local and regional communities. In essence, RCEs are a tool for transformation to a more sustainable society, combining education and action for sustainable development. As we enter the new "ESD for 2030" decade, RCEs will continue to construct platforms for cross-sectoral dialogue between regional stakeholders and actors to promote and strengthen ESD at the local level. RCEs have committed to helping advance the five priority areas of action established in the Global Action Program on ESD and the new UN decade "ESD for 2030": advancing policy by mainstreaming ESD, transforming learning and training environments using whole-institution approaches, building capacities of educators and trainers, empowering and mobilizing youth, and accelerating sustainable solutions at the local level. RCEs are uniquely positioned to serve as shepherds in the realization of the new "ESD for 2030" decade. As of January 2019, 174 RCEs have officially been acknowledged by UNU worldwide, with eight RCEs in the United States: Georgetown, South Carolina; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Greater Atlanta, Georgia; Greater Burlington, Vermont; Greater Portland, Oregon; North Texas, Texas; Salisbury, Maryland; and Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. RCEs serve an essential role in the achievement of "ESD for 2030" goals by translating global objectives into the local contexts of our communities.

Is It the End of the COP as We Know It? An Analysis of the First Year of Virtual Meetings in the UN Environment and Sustainable Development Arena

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Pamela Chasek
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
First Year ◽  
Multilateral Negotiations ◽  
The World ◽  
Initial Shock ◽  
Virtual Meetings ◽  
The United Nations

Abstract The year 2020 started much like any other on the United Nations multilateral calendar. But then the COVID-19 pandemic forced the UN and the world to shut down. After the initial shock wore off, secretariats and governments began to contemplate how to conduct multilateral negotiations during a pandemic. As they created new virtual working methods, they also had to figure out how to maintain trust among delegations and in the process itself to ensure the outcomes of these meetings would be respected. To understand how UN meetings adapted to a virtual environment and maintained trust, this article analyzes a sample of 18 meetings of UN environmental and sustainable development bodies that took place in the 12 months between April 2020 and March 2021. The research examines these cases to see how these meetings were conducted, how they built the necessary trust, and what can be learned from this experience.

The Denaturation of Environmental Education: Exploring the Role of Ecotechnologies

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Gough ◽  
Noel Gough
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Education ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Citizenship Education ◽  
Global Citizenship ◽  
Intrinsic Value ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Resource Base ◽  
Natural Resource Base

AbstractThis article explores the changing ways ‘environment’ has been represented in the discourses of environmental education and education for sustainable development (ESD) in United Nations (and related) publications since the 1970s. It draws on the writings of Jean-Luc Nancy and discusses the increasingly dominant view of the environment as a ‘natural resource base for economic and social development’ (United Nations, 2002, p. 2) and how this instrumentalisation of nature is produced by discourses and ‘ecotechnologies’ that ‘identify and define the natural realm in our relationship with it’ (Boetzkes, 2010, p. 29). This denaturation of nature is reflected in the priorities for sustainable development discussed at Rio+20 and proposed successor UNESCO projects. The article argues for the need to reassert the intrinsic value of ‘environment’ in education discourses and discusses strategies for so doing. The article is intended as a wake-up call to the changing context of the ‘environment’ in ESD discourses. In particular, we need to respond to the recent UNESCO (2013a, 2013b) direction of global citizenship education as the successor to the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2005–2014 that continues to reinforce an instrumentalist view of the environment as part of contributing to ‘a more just, peaceful, tolerant, inclusive, secure and sustainable world’ (UNESCO, 2013a, p. 3).

scholarly journals Sustainable Finance and the 2030 Agenda: Investing to Transform the World

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 10505
Author(s):  
María Mar Miralles-Quirós ◽  
José Luis Miralles-Quirós
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Member States ◽  
2030 Agenda ◽  
The World ◽  
Sustainable Finance ◽  
The United Nations

On 25 September 2015, the member states of the United Nations approved an initiative in New York called “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” [...]

A multi-level analysis of sustainability practices in Ghana: examining the timber, cocoa, and gold mining industries

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
James P. Hess
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Gold Mining ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Timber Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
The United Nations

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the macro-, meso- and micro-level approaches to building sustainability in Ghana's timber, cocoa and goldmining industries s Ghana works to align sustainability efforts with the sustainable development goals proposed by the United Nations. Design/methodology/approach Using qualitative content analysis, a synthesis of contemporary literature on Ghana's timber, cocoa and gold mining industries was conducted to provide a descriptive evaluation of sustainability efforts in those industries. Findings At the macro-level, Ghana continues to invest in infrastructure, privatize industries and develop an urban development agenda to encourage foreign direct investment (FDI); improved forest management and green building policies and reduction of galamsey are also implemented. At the meso-level, the timber industry encourages land reclamation and green building technologies; the cocoa industry works to replenish lost trees, develop supply-chain partnerships, and encourage certifications; the goldmining industry works to regulate informal mining and reduce galamsey and the use of toxins in exploration. At the micro-level, alignment has developed between the micro- and meso-levels in the timber and cocoa industries, whereas micro-level players in the timber industry are less successful, given its large, unregulated informal sector. Originality/value Existing literature is missing discussion on the alignment of macro-, meso- and micro-level approaches to sustainability in Ghana's timber, cocoa and gold mining industries with attention to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals as the premise for the work.

Exploring the applicability of sustainable development goals in Costa Rica: case examples from Mastatal and Conchal

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 597-607
Author(s):  
Juan Miguel Kandler Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Costa Rica ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
Corporate Websites ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The United Nations

Purpose This paper aims to investigate, which sustainable development goals (SDGs) are most mentioned in the sustainability programs of two hospitality companies, Rancho Mastatal and Reserva Conchal, in Costa Rica. In so doing, it is possible to evaluate the level of integration of sustainability principles with hospitality practice. Design/methodology/approach This paper features a case study based mainly on secondary information sourced from the corporate websites of the two companies, augmented by published studies about specific aspects of the SDGs, hospitality and news articles about both companies. Finally, the hotel-specific information was analyzed using studies about SDG progress, and also related frameworks, proposed by the United Nations (UN) and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Findings Consistent with UNWTO studies, the two companies’ sustainable programs align the most with SDGs 11, 12 and 13. These are goals classified as difficult to achieve meaning that tourism has a pioneering and innovative role to play in this regard. Mastatal has fully implemented sustainability and Conchal demonstrates an advanced level of integration, using different types of technological solutions to increase sustainability. Finally, the advice is given for companies seeking to embrace the SDGs as a way of being innovative and better positioned in a highly competitive tourism market. Originality/value As SDG overviews exist for large global brands, this paper adds country-specific knowledge, that of Costa Rica a pioneer in tourism sustainability, of sustainable practices of a management company and also of an independent small company, broadening the scope of prior research.

scholarly journals Business’s Commitment to Sustainable Development Goals: An analysis using the Five Ps framework

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 54
Author(s):  
Soma Ghosh
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Global Analysis ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

There has been a long-standing demand on businesses to play an increasingly larger role in sustainable development. This demand is for issues that contribute to the creation of a sustainable world; ranging from poverty alleviation to climate change. The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were unanimously adopted by 193 UN member states in September 2015 and calls upon the central and diverse role that the private sector can play to deliver on the SDGs during the 15-year period, 2016-2030. This paper has two major contributions: First, it analyzes member companies of Business Call to Action (BCtA), an international initiative launched at the United Nations in 2008, to identify SDGs that are most impacted by the private sector. Second, the global analysis draws attention to the role of the private sector in addressing the sustainability challenges in five geographical regions of the world, through their contributions to the SDGs. Using the ‘five Ps’ framework, the results show that some SDGs are more impacted than others, thereby implying that these SDGs will substantially benefit from the success of the private sector while others could be left behind. The findings provide practical recommendations for businesses and stakeholders to use BCtA members as role models to integrate specific SDGs into their business activities and thereby contribute to the achievement of the SDGs.

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