Educating for sustainable production and consumption and sustainable livelihoods: learning from multi-stakeholder networks

This paper examines how education for sustainable development (ESD) can be concretely advanced using the theoretical approaches of sustainable consumption and production (SCP) and sustainable livelihoods (SL). Five case examples illustrate a diverse set of strategic educational interventions focusing on: (1) education of specific organizational actors about these theoretical frameworks illustrated with case examples (such as SCP training by the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies [UNU-IAS] and CSR-Asia of government and business representatives), (2) regional education strategies focused on production and consumption in specific sectors (such as the food sector in Sk?ne, Sweden), (3) social learning directed at innovation for sustainable development (such as competitions of solar boats developed by universities in the region of Friesland, the Netherlands), (4) education of consumers and firms made possible by the adoption of certification systems affirming SCP and SL (such as Cradle-to-Cradle certification of a paper company in the Netherlands or the establishment of Fair Trade cities in Sweden), or (5) reorienting communities to address underutilized productive physical capital within communities (such as the sharing productive capital project in rural areas of Saskatchewan, Canada). The cases are drawn from the projects that the UNU-IAS, four of its regional centers of expertise (RCE) on ESD and other affiliates have conducted. In addition to documenting the educational processes emerging from specific regions, the paper highlights findings related to the success of these projects and opportunities for further research, including regional and inter-regional approaches.     

Lead immobilization in mechanochemical fly ash recycling

In previous studies, we focused on a mechanochemical process for recycling fly ash for use in cement; this process was expected to immobilize heavy metals in the fly ash, a desirable outcome in light of the fact that recycled fly ash is commonly used in the synthesis of inorganic materials. Here, we investigated the leaching of lead (Pb) from fly ash treated by a mechanochemical process and from cement prepared from the treated fly ash. We used lead oxide (PbO), a typical Pb compound in fly ash, as a model substance. Mechanochemical treatment of the fly ash inhibited Pb leaching by 93%, and further inhibition (more than 99.9%) was observed in cement produced from the treated fly ash. During the mechanochemical treatment, PbO was reduced to Pb by iron from the stainless-steel mill used for processing, and the lower solubility of Pb in water resulted in immobilization of the Pb.