“Our biggest challenge in this new century is to take an idea that seems

abstract -- sustainable development -- and turn it into a daily reality for all the

world’s people.”

Kofi Annan, Secretary-General United Nations

Governments Industry

NGOs Academics

General Public Not Engaged

GeneralPopulation

The Power of SD Remains DormantLocked in Isolated Issues

CleanAir

AIDSPrevention

SafeWater

ClimateChange

RainforestPreservation

SustainableConsumption

Poverty Eradication

Bio-diversityPopulation

Growth

Sustainable Development

Global Disjointed Approaches

STEMTrade Barriers

Tax policiesCurrency manipulation

Towards Global Sustainability?

Strong Global Warming Observed

Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and ResearchBased on Folland et al (2000) and Jones and Moberg (2003)

Development at whose expense?

Bonn Declaration – A Call for Action

Encourage and enhance scientific excellence, research and new knowledge development for ESD through the involvement of higher education institutions and research networks in ESD. Mobilize the core functions of universities: teaching, research and community engagement to strengthen global and local knowledge of ESD, and utilize the UNESCO ESD Chairs and UNESCO program networks in this process.

Why are HEI Addressing Sustainability?

• To better take advantage of globalization• To help your institution compete• To attract funding• To create global citizens• To make life better for others• To infuse relevancy, meaning, etc., to better their

ed.• To improve the life of all future generations

Northern Problem As Well

• Hard to serve students suffer• Preferred learning style other than reading• Poverty related issues• Irrelevant curricula• Engaging the disenfranchised• Home/family related issues• Student/school conflict• Narrowing the curriculum for testing

Surface area Volume PercentageSquare miles Cubic Miles of Total

Salt water• The oceans 139,500,000 317,000,000 97.2%• Inland seas and 270,000 25,000 0.008%

saline lakes

Fresh water• Freshwater lakes 330,000 30,000 0.009% • All rivers (average level) — 300 0.0001% • Antarctic Icecap 6,000,000 6,300,000 1.90% • Arctic Icecap and glaciers 900,000 680,000 0.21% • Water in the atmosphere 197,000,000 3,100 0.001% • Ground water within half

a mile from surface — 1,000,000 0.31% • Deep-lying ground water — 1,000,000 0.31%

Total (rounded) — 326,000,000 100.00

%

Understanding World’s Water

Type Yards Feet InchesSalt Water 95 0 7.53Fresh WaterAntarctic 5 8.41Ground < 1/2 mile deep 11.16Ground > 1/2 mile deep 11.16Arctic Ice Caps 7.56Lakes .3240Atmosphere .0360Rivers .0036

A Perfect Storm … of Opportunities

Innovation

Productivity

Growth

Brand

Image

CompetitiveAdvantage

$aving$Revenue

Business Value

10 Market Forces

5 Mega-Issues 5 Demanding Stakeholders

Climate Change Green Consumers

Pollution & Health Activist Shareholders

Globalization Backlash

Civil Society / NGOs

Energy Crunch Government Regulators

Erosion of Trust Financial Sectors

Preparing for the World of Work

• Linking to TVET• ESD for all• Right to work• Right to change the world of work• Forming an international network of

exploration• First meeting in Thailand in summer of

2007

I. Policy Level

1. Educational System IntegrationTo Integration of TVET into Education System——Articulation, mobility, career guidance——Qualification Framework ——Collaboration with relevant industries/stakeholders——Decent Work – salary——Selection and hiring process of TVET teachers——International Cooperation (faculty exchange)——Vocationalization of the General Education

Economy / ProfitsSustainable business

Profits

Taxes, R&D

Jobs

Expenditures

Training

Fair trade

Core values

The Sustainability “3-Legged Stool”

Environment / PlanetEco-Efficiency

Manufacturing efficiencies

Operations efficiencies

Product efficiencies

Smart design

Cradle-to-cradle, take-back

Beyond compliance

Restorative to nature

Equity / PeopleEthical business

Internal employeesHuman rightsHealth & SafetyEmpowermentRespect, Caring

Local community

Rest of the world

Sustainable Development (SD)Corporate SocialResponsibility (CSR)

Sustainability

Triple Bottom Line (TBL) 3Es / 3Ps

Corporate Responsibility (CR)

Humanities in decline• We are in a major crisis of education.• Nations change educations for economic purposes, humanities

are being cut back. (useful skills for short term profits)• Technology and engineering, applied science, emphasized.• Abilities crucial to democracy and more humane world not

developed.• Old development model emphasizes GDP growth. But mere

pursuit of growth does not necessarily improve other aspects of quality of life.

• Critical thinking (philosophy), history, literature & arts is not very important in the education systems oriented towards economic growth.

• Singapore good example.• Martha C. Nussbaum

The Real Bottom Line!“We Need A World We Can Live In”

At the global scale, there is only one bottom line: “Maintenance of the earth’s life support system for humans. If critical thresholds are crossed and the earth system shifts to another state much less amenable to human life, then everyday life as we know it –social systems, economics, politics – ceases to have meaning.”

Uno Svedin – Swedish Research Council for the Environment, Agriculture Sciences and Spatial Planning

Re-discovering Commerce

Social entrepreneurshipThe arts

Service to others?

The Challenge for Education

• Our greatest experiment-civilization itself-will succeed only if it can live on natures terms, not man’s. To do this we must adopt principles in which the short term is trumped by the long; in which caution prevails over ingenuity; in the which absurd myth of endless growth is replaced by respect for natural limits; in which progress is steered by precautionary wisdom.

Ronald Wright-A Short History of Progress

UNU Regional Centre of ESD Expertise

Outcomes• Improved academic outcomes• More knowledgeable/supportive citizenry• More sustainably oriented production and consumption• Perhaps a shift in behaviour as learning is relevant and in scale

etc.

MessengersNon Formal Formal Informal

Ngo’s Tertiary Media

Zoo/etc Secondary Peers

Gov Agencies Elementary Society

Corp Training Preschool Life Exp.

Local InformationSources

Regional/National

Local Government

Private Sector

Research (HE, NGO) etc.