Going beyond the rhetoric: system-wide changes in universities for sustainable societies |
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| Authors: | Didac Ferrer-Balas Rodrigo Lozano Donald Huisingh Heloise Buckland Pere Ysern Gyula Zilahy |
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| Institution: | 1. Institute of Sustainability (IS.UPC), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 08034 Barcelona, Spain;2. BRASS Centre, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK;3. Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA;4. Barcelonya Creatividad y Comunicación, Barcelona, Spain;5. Environment Office, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain;6. Department of Environmental Economics and Technology, Corvinus University of Budapest, 8 F?vám tér, Budapest 1093, Hungary;1. University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, Japan;2. Australian National University, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australia;3. University of Manchester, School of Environment, Education and Development, United Kingdom;4. Lund University, International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics, Sweden;5. University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Public Policy, Japan;6. University College London, Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy, United Kingdom;1. School of Science and the Environment, Manchester Metropolitan University, Chester Street, Manchester, M1 5GD, United Kingdom;2. Wroclaw School of Banking, Ul. Fabryczna 29-31, 53-609, Wroclaw, Poland;3. Centre for Integrative Innovation Management, Department of Marketing & Management University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, DK-5230, Odense M, Denmark;4. Kaunas Faculty of Humanities, Vilnius University, Muitines g. 8, LT-44280, Kaunas, Lithuania;5. Turku University of Applied Sciences, Sepänkatu 1, 20700, Turku, Finland;6. University of Latvia, Raina blvd. 19, LV 1586, Riga, Latvia;7. Faculty of Chemical Technology, Kaunas University of Technology, Radvilenu pl. 19, LT-50254, Kaunas, Lithuania;1. Interdisciplinary Center for the Environment (NIMA), Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), Rua Marquês de São Vicente, 225, Gávea, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 22453-900, Brazil;2. Postgraduate Program in Metrology for Quality, Innovation and Sustainability (PósMQI), Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), Rua Marquês de São Vicente, 225, Gávea, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 22453-900, Brazil;3. Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation & Modeling Research Group (CCIAM), Center for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c), Faculty of Sciences, Lisbon University, Campo Grande, Lisbon, 1749-016, Portugal;1. Department of Science and Technology, Universidade Aberta, Campus do Taguspark, Edifício Inovação I, 2740-122 Porto Salvo, Oeiras, Portugal;2. Centre for Functional Ecology, University of Coimbra, 3001-455 Coimbra, Portugal;3. CENSE – Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research, Department of Science and Environmental Engineering, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Campus da Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal;4. School of Science and the Environment, Metropolitan University, Chester Street, Manchester, M15GDU, United Kingdom;1. Technology Foresight Group, Department of Management, Science and Technology, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran;2. Office of Sustainability, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran;3. Futures Studies Research Institute, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran;4. Clark University, Department of International Development, Community, and Environment, Massachusetts, USA;5. Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials Department, Materials and Energy Research Center (MERC), Tehran, Iran;6. School of Sciences and the Environment, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK |
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| Abstract: | In October 2008, the 5th Environmental Management for Sustainable Universities (EMSU) international conference was held in Barcelona, Spain. It dealt with the need to rethink how our higher educational institutions are facing sustainability. This special issue has been primarily derived from contributions to that conference. This issue builds upon related academic international publications, which have analysed how to use the critical position of universities to accelerate their pace of working to help to make the transition to truly SUSTAINABLE SOCIETIES!This issue focus is on the ‘softer’ issues, such as changes in values, attitudes, motivations, as well as in curricula, societal interactions and assessments of the impacts of research. Insights derived from the interplay of the ‘softer’ issues with the ‘harder’ issues are empowering academic leaders to effectively use leverage points to make changes in operations, courses, curricula, and research. Those changes are being designed to help their students and faculty build resilient and sustainable societies within the context of climate change, the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD), and the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).The overall systems approach presented by Stephens and Graham provides a structured framework to systematize change for sustainability in higher education, by stressing on the one hand the need for “learning to learn” and on the other hand by integrating leadership and cultural aspects. The “niche” level they propose for innovative interactions between practitioners such as EMSU is exemplary developed by all of the other documents in this special issue. To highlight some of the key elements of the articles in this issue, there are proposals for new educational methods based in sustainability science, a set of inspirational criteria for SD research activities, new course ranking and assessment methods and results of psychological studies that provide evidence that participatory approaches are the most effective way to change values within university members in order to facilitate the development and sharing of new sustainability norms. |
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