Stories of transformation 9781845443658, 9780861769223

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Volume 5 Number 1 2004

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ISSN 1467-6370

International Journal of

Sustainability in Higher Education Stories of transformation Guest Editor: Heila Lotz-Sisitka

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International Journal of

ISSN 1467-6370

Sustainability in Higher Education

Volume 5 Number 1 2004

Stories of transformation Guest Editor Heila Lotz-Sisitka

Access this journal online __________________________

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Editorial advisory board ___________________________

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Abstracts and keywords ___________________________

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GUEST EDITORIAL Stories of transformation Heila Lotz-Sisitka _______________________________________________

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An integrated approach to environmental education: a case study Nicolaas P. du Preez and Maryna Mo¨hr-Swart________________________

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Integrating value education and sustainable development into a Dutch university curriculum Heidi Muijen ___________________________________________________

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Sustainability in tertiary curricula: what is stopping it happening? Ian Thomas____________________________________________________

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Global environmental planning at the Technical University of Catalonia Didac Ferrer-Balas ______________________________________________

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CONTENTS

CONTENTS continued

An environmental management qualification through distance education Rudi W. Pretorius _______________________________________________

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Sustainability takes time Peter R. Downey ________________________________________________

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Environmental management at Swedish universities Karin Arvidsson ________________________________________________

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News _____________________________________________ 100 Books and resources _______________________________ 103 Diary _____________________________________________ 107 Feature ___________________________________________ 111 Call for papers ____________________________________ 112 Note from the publisher ____________________________ 113

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International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 5 No. 1, 2004 p. 4 # Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1467-6370

EDITORIAL BOARD Ulisses Azeiteiro Open University, Portugal Steve Breyman, PhD Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA Carol Carmichael Georgia Institute of Technology, USA

Karel Mulder, PhD T U Delft, The Netherlands Hayde´e Oliveira, PhD Federal University of Sa˜o Carlos, Brazil David Orr, PhD Oberlin College, USA

Sanjeev Chaudhari, PhD Indian Institute of Technology, India

Paul Pace, PhD University of Malta, Malta

Roland Clift, PhD University of Surrey, UK

Jacques Roturier, PhD Bordeaux, France

Peter Blaze Corcoran, EdD Florida Gulf Coast University, USA

Christian Strohmann, PhD UNEP, Kenya

Anthony D. Cortese President, Second Nature, Boston, USA

Farrukh Tahir, PhD Islamabad, Pakistan

Dr Harold Glasser Western Michigan University, USA

Kurt Teichert Brown University, USA

Don Huising, PhD University of Lund, Sweden and University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA

Hans van Weenen, PhD University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Robert Koester Ball State University, USA

Ronald Wennersten Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

Heila Lotz, PhD Rhodes University, South Africa

Robert S. Whyte, PhD Glen Helen Ecology Institute, USA

Gerd Michelsen, PhD University of Lu¨neburg, Germany

Tarah S.A. Wright, PhD Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada

Stories of transformation Heila Lotz-Sisitka Keywords Sustainable development, Universities, Higher education, Changing society Introduces the special issue on “Stories of transformation” in higher education (HE). Highlights that transformation in HE involves multi-disciplinary and applied orientations to curriculum change, which break down the modernist dichotomy of theory and practice. Also highlights the significance of change processes that are value-based and require the involvement of committed individuals and groups that are prepared to engage the often rhetorical nature of declarations and institutionalized commitments to sustainable development. Also highlights the absence of theorizing about change and action in institutional contexts amongst academics involved in transformation towards sustainable development in HE institutions.

An integrated approach to environmental education: a case study Nicolaas P. du Preez and Maryna Mo¨hr-Swart Keywords Curriculum development, Environment, Innovation, Partnership, Sustainable development In 1994, the Executive Management Committee (EMC) of Technikon Pretoria took a strategic decision to develop educational programmes in environmental management and sustainable development. The EMC also decided to integrate these programmes with the development and implementation of an environmental management policy for Technikon Pretoria. This paper describes, in the form of a case study, the project embarked upon, which brings together the development and implementation of the curriculum, research and development, management processes for sustainability, community service and national and international cooperation. The paper discusses successes and failures, and the significant lessons that could be learnt from the experience.

Integrating value education and sustainable development into a Dutch university curriculum Heidi Muijen Keywords Organizational change, Values, Education, Professional ethics, Sustainable development, The Netherlands Despite the mainstream technological approach of science in academic curricula, with its focus on specialisation, the Dutch history of higher education is an interesting example of an alternative development. The Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam has declared in its mission statement a pedagogical ideal of “broad academic education”, oriented towards educating students to become “morally responsible and reflective scientists and professionals”. This paper describes a pilot study focusing on organisational dynamics, learning processes involved in value education, and the question of how a philosophical/ethical perspective on sustainability can be integrated into the curriculum. A critical evaluation of this pilot study suggests that students need more insight into the status of values as different from empirical facts.

Sustainability in tertiary curricula: what is stopping it happening? Ian Thomas Keywords Environment, Education, Sustainable development, Universities, Australia The concepts of environmental education and education for sustainability have been acknowledged by many tertiary institutions for over a decade. An appreciable number of institutions have signed agreements to educate students in all disciplines about sustainability. Although several Australian institutions of higher education have signed the Talloire Declaration, a recent survey finds little indication that their curricula have been changed to include sustainability education. Despite the apparent widespread support for the concept of student education in sustainability, there is little implementation. The experience of Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University suggests that those concerned about education and

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environment/sustainability need more than conviction and vision. A strategic approach – based on change management and supported by staff development – is needed to implement these sorts of changes. Rather than attempting to outline a grand plan or model for implementation, this paper identifies key issues and looks into the current experience associated with implementation approaches. Global environmental planning at the Technical University of Catalonia Didac Ferrer-Balas Keywords Environmental management, Curriculum development, Environment, Universities, Management, Education, Spain In 1996 the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) adopted an Environment Plan which incorporated classical technical education, promoting multidisciplinary environmental research, and improving the environmental performance of university life as a whole. This paper outlines the first environment plan (1996-2001). It discusses its encouraging results and consequences, and describes how it was the main motivation for the design of a second environment plan for the period (2002-2005). The paper pays special attention to the curriculum greening experience of UPC: six years ago the university decided to start greening its entire range of courses, over a wide range of technical and scientific areas. The paper explains the most relevant projects, and attempts to evaluate their effectiveness in improving the environmental performance of the university. An environmental management qualification through distance education Rudi W. Pretorius Keywords Curriculum development, Environment, Higher education, Sustainable development, Universities, South Africa The department of geography and environmental studies of the University of South Africa recently played a pivotal role in implementing an inter- and multidisciplinary undergraduate programme in environmental management. This programme prepares students for entry-level occupations, and

equips them with the knowledge, skills and values needed to contribute to sustainable development. Both BA and BSc students are catered for, which contributes to the broadening of undergraduate education. This programme is unique because of its inclusion at undergraduate level and because it is offered through distance education. The teaching approach acknowledges that the causes of environmental problems are not simple, and are rooted in the nature of political, social and economic systems. It acknowledges that the solutions to environmental problems are equally complex, requiring not only specialist inputs, but also value and structural shifts. In line with the latest trends in education, a student-activating approach is followed, with emphasis on real case studies, the flexible application of knowledge, and formative and integrated assessment. An overview is given of the experience that has been gained through designing and implementing this programme. This experience may serve to stimulate discussion on how to improve education and training in this field. The results of a pilot survey conducted among the students enrolled for this programme are presented. Their responses reflect a positive attitude to the programme, especially concerning the interconnectedness of modules, the fostering of environmental awareness, and its usefulness for career objectives.

Sustainability takes time Peter R. Downey Keywords Sustainable development, Operations management, Environment, Universities, Targets, Partnership, United Kingdom This is a story of transformation at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. It describes the progress and thinking along the path to introducing the university’s vision of sustainability since the conclusion of EMSU 1999.It describes how sustainable practice has been incorporated within the formal democratic structures of the university, and describes the results of the initial environmental review and the early experiences and outcomes of target setting. The paper does not ignore those areas

where there has not been success. It considers the involvement of the university in the UK Higher Education Programme for Sustainability (HEPS) directed by the Forum for the Future, and the advantages of engagement with the student community. The paper considers the early introduction of corporate social responsibility. It concludes with an aide memoir (currently in development) to assist all managers at the university in considering the impact of their planned actions on sustainability. Environmental management at Swedish universities Karin Arvidsson Keywords Environmental management, Universities, Sweden Since 1996, all Swedish public authorities, which includes most universities, have been

made responsible for contributing to the sustainable development of the society. Swedish universities are thus required to submit annual environmental reports about their policies, structures and actions. This study provides a review of the activities that Swedish universities have undertaken so far. Reports from the year 2000 show that all 25 participating universities conducted the first environmental review. Most universities stopped there, although one – Ma¨lardalen University – has gone all the way to ISO 14001 certification. The findings of the study suggest that universities, which have been participating for some years in the project, are further along the line than those that joined recently. There is also some indication that environmental-management-system (EMS) work is easier for the smaller universities, which can mobilise around a single goal.

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The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1467-6370.htm

GUEST EDITORIAL

Stories of transformation Heila Lotz-Sisitka Murray & Roberts Chair of Environmental Education, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa Keywords Sustainable development, Universities, Higher education, Changing society Abstract Introduces the special issue on “Stories of transformation” in higher education (HE). Highlights that transformation in HE involves multi-disciplinary and applied orientations to curriculum change, which break down the modernist dichotomy of theory and practice. Also highlights the significance of change processes that are value-based and require the involvement of committed individuals and groups that are prepared to engage the often rhetorical nature of declarations and institutionalized commitments to sustainable development. Also highlights the absence of theorizing about change and action in institutional contexts amongst academics involved in transformation towards sustainable development in HE institutions.

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education Vol. 5 No. 1, 2004 pp. 8-10 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1467-6370 DOI 10.1108/14676370410512553

In 2002 the Environmental Management for Sustainable Universities Conference (EMSU 2002) was held in South Africa as a follow-up event to the World Summit on Sustainable Development. The theme of the conference highlighted the role of higher education (HE) in sustainable development, and leaders in HE were challenged to report on environmental innovations, research and management practices that are making a difference. They were asked to share “stories of transformation”. Holding the conference in Africa drew attention to the global paradox that poverty alleviation cannot be separated from wealth alleviation, and that all have a responsibility to ensure global equity and sustainable utilization of resources for present and future generations. As can be seen from the conference contributions selected for publication in this special edition of the ISJHE, this involves changes in values, actions and habit. It also involves commitment, motivation and a sense of purpose. It involves high quality socio-ecological and socio-economic research, and it involves challenging conventional teaching methods and approaches to enable capacity building amongst students, and the current managers and leaders in HE institutions. The stories of transformation shared here indicate that bringing about transformation in HE towards sustainable development involves engaging in multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary curriculum development. The first paper by Nicolaas P. du Preez and Maryna Mo¨hr-Swart from Technikon Pretoria, present a case study from where lessons from an integrated approach to environmental education are taken. Heidi Muijen from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam discusses in the second paper the significance of providing students with a “broad academic education” which is oriented towards educating students towards becoming morally responsible and reflective

scientists and professionals. Her story of transformation describes a pilot study focusing on organizational dynamics, learning processes involved in value education, and the question of how a philosophical/ethical perspective on sustainability can be integrated into curriculum. Bringing about transformation in HE towards sustainability also appears to require a strong focus on applied studies, emphasizing the integration of theory and practice. The third paper, written by Ian Thomas from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, illustrates that one of the key challenges in transforming HE towards sustainable development involves clarifying the “real meaning” of the institutional mechanisms that are being put in place to guide HE institutions to re-orient towards sustainable development. His paper indicates how, despite the fact that many HE institutions in Australia have signed various declarations and agreements (e.g. Tailloires), the adoption of sustainability education in HE is at a low level. He argues that integrating sustainability education in HE requires more than just values, action and commitment on the part of individuals and groups. By drawing on his “story of transformation”, Thomas argues that to move beyond a rhetorical adoption of sustainability education, a strategic approach based on change management, supported by staff development is required. All of the papers in this volume indicate that while innovative individuals and groups working towards changes in various ways in local context can make a difference, there is also a need for changes in the “architecture” of HE institutions to make real change meaningful and lasting. Evidence of what is involved in changing the “architecture” of HE institutions is provided in the story of transformation by Didac Ferrer-Balas from the Technical University of Catalonia in Spain, in the fourth paper in this volume. His story of transformation is a reflexive review of the implementation and re-development of an environmental plan. This story indicates the significance of incorporating both the management of the university as well as the teaching and research programmes in processes of re-orienting HE towards sustainable development. Multi-disciplinary, inter-disciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches to curriculum are a key feature of the “changed architecture” of education for sustainability in HE. Rudi Pretorius from the University of South Africa, author of paper five, highlights the importance of inter-and multi-disciplinary approaches. His story is situated in a distance education context, and he reflects on how the UNISA programme advocated a multi-disciplinary, student-activating approach, despite the constraints of distance education. The sixth paper in the volume, written by Peter Downey, presents the story of transformation at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. It describes the progress and thinking along the path to introducing the university’s vision of sustainability since the conclusion of EMSU 1999 and how sustainable practice has been incorporated within the formal democratic structures of the

Guest editorial

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university, outlining the results of the initial environmental review and the early experiences and outcomes of target setting. Many of the papers also emphasise the time required for real changes to take place, noting that transformation of HE towards sustainability requires a long-term vision. The final paper in this volume, by Karin Arvidsson from the University of Gavle, Sweden, illustrates that fostering transformation in HE towards sustainability is a slow process, but possible! Her research reviews progress made by a number of Swedish universities following a 1996 requirement that all Swedish public authorities (including universities) were made responsible for contributing to the sustainable development of the society. The stories of transformation shared in this volume have been selected for the diverse yet practical insights that they provide into the real challenges facing HE institutions in bringing about transformation towards sustainable development – in the context of their own practice, and in society more broadly. The contributions all raise questions about the role of HE in society, and while most papers demonstrate a clear commitment to ensuring that HE contributes to socio-ecological change, this is not discussed in any depth in the papers. This theme rather situates as habitus or the “taken for granted”. Similarly, few of the authors have thought to consider their own practice critically in a broader context, beyond the localized boundaries of the cases presented. Broader socially critical deliberations about the role of HE in enabling sustainable development appear to be largely absent, and few of the papers appear to be informed by deliberations on theories of change or theories of action. Their experiences are, however, worth sharing and they may hopefully inspire an enlargement of the scope within which sustainability in a HE context is seen today. These dimensions may provide a useful “critical foil” for readers when reading through the contributions in this volume. (Dr Heila Lotz-Sisitka holds the Murray & Roberts Chair of Environmental Education in the Faculty of Education at Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa. It is the only Chair of Environmental Education in Africa. Her current research interests focus on curriculum transformation, educational policy development and environmental education research processes that foster social change, equity and more sustainable living practices in southern Africa. E-mail: [email protected])

The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1467-6370.htm

An integrated approach to environmental education: a case study Nicolaas P. du Preez and Maryna Mo¨hr-Swart

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Technikon Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa Keywords Curriculum development, Environment, Innovation, Partnership, Sustainable development Abstract In 1994, the Executive Management Committee (EMC) of Technikon Pretoria took a strategic decision to develop educational programmes in environmental management and sustainable development. The EMC also decided to integrate these programmes with the development and implementation of an environmental management policy for Technikon Pretoria. This paper describes, in the form of a case study, the project embarked upon, which brings together the development and implementation of the curriculum, research and development, management processes for sustainability, community service and national and international cooperation. The paper discusses successes and failures, and the significant lessons that could be learnt from the experience.

Introduction In 1994 the Executive Management Committee (EMC) of Technikon Pretoria took a strategic decision to develop educational programmes in environmental management and sustainable development. The EMC also decided to use an integrated approach, including the development and implementation of an environmental management policy for Technikon Pretoria. This paper describes, in the form of a case study, the project we embarked on, which integrates development and implementation of the curriculum, research and development, management processes for sustainability, community service and national and international cooperation. This paper details our successes and failures, and the significant lessons that could be learnt from our experience. The first step in the process was the appointment of a project leader. Although the Technikon was already offering programmes in environmental health and nature conservation, it was decided to appoint a person from outside the Technikon. In retrospect, this was a wise decision. It was also important to appoint someone who had a passion for sustainable development and the environment. This appointment illustrated two important management principles. The first is the importance of technological gatekeeping (Maidique, 1982; Rhoades et al., 1978; Gemu¨nden, 1988; Burgelman and Sayles, 1986; Utterback, 1982), which shows that many innovations in an organisation have their origins outside the organisation or are brought into an organisation through new

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appointments (Utterback, 1982; Marquis, 1982; Morison, 1988). The second principle is the importance of a product champion for the success of product development and innovation (Maidique, 1982; Quinn, 1988; Peters, 1988; Morison, 1988). During 1999 and 2000, Technikon Pretoria developed more than 20 new degree programmes, and in all those cases except one, there were passionate and committed product champions. The one case that failed miserably did not have a project leader. Curriculum development The curriculum in environmental management was developed from October 1994 to August 1995. It was the first curriculum in South Africa to include an undergraduate qualification. At that time, some universities were already offering a Master’s degree in environmental management with entry requirements rooted mainly in the natural sciences. The process started in October 1994 with an extensive literature study (Cairncross, 1992a, b; Stead and Stead, 1992; Carson and Moulden, 1991; Harrison, 1993; Elmer-Dewitt et al., 1992; The Economist, 1990; Foy, 1990; Shearman, 1990; Adams, 1990; Black, 1991; Rolfes, 1990; Schlossberg, 1991; Adriaanse and Jettes, 1989; Cocklin, 1998; Guogang et al., 1991; Shibouta and Mori, 1991; Bryce, 1990; Rubin et al., 1991; Bowman and Davis, 1989; Choucri, 1991; Dilts and Prough, 1989; Hobbs and Boland, 1990; Hunt and Auster, 1990), as well as preliminary discussions with prominent experts in the field of environmental management. From this study, a number of disciplines were identified to form a possible core for the curriculum. During the latter part of 1994 and early in 1995, more than 40 organisations and stakeholders were visited, as part of a research project, to develop the curriculum. The group included private companies such as Agricura, Pick ‘n Pay, Samancor, Sasol, Sentrachem, Nissan SA, Gencor, Iscor, Sappi, Transvaal Sugar Limited, Shell and Mondi Paper. Discussions were also conducted with the Department of Environmental Affairs and other parastatals, including City Councils, Eskom, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Lethabo Power Station and the Atomic Energy Board. Discussions with the Industrial Environmental Forum, a powerful association comprising some of the top companies in South Africa, also played a significant role in the development of the curriculum. During this process, valuable information was gathered regarding employment opportunities in the market, and the profile of environmental managers in industry, state and semi-state organisations. Most environmental practitioners had a background in natural sciences or engineering, but there were also practitioners with nursing or other health-related backgrounds. The survey also found that approximately 60 employment opportunities per year were becoming available in South Africa, covering corporate environmental managers, environmental management consultants, environmental technicians, environmental auditors and environmental impact experts.

The curriculum that was finally approved by the Advisory Committee for Universities and Technikons (AUT) comprised the following subjects: . Chemistry I, II and III, with the emphasis in the second and third years on environmental chemistry. . Environmental ecology I, II, III and IV. These subjects cover topics such as industrial ecology, general ecology, waste management, recycling techniques, risk management, climatic studies, environmental quality, environmental health and sustainable resource management. . Environmental management I, II, III and IV. These subjects include introductory management aspects such as public relations, marketing, finance, production management, human resources management, organisational behaviour, and strategic management from an environmental perspective. More specific environmental aspects include life-cycle analysis, environmental audits, environmental impact analysis and sustainable development. . Auxiliary subjects such as communication skills, statistics, computer skills, microbiology, environmental legislation, environmental biotechnology, environmental geology and entrepreneurial skills. In the final year of the National Diploma, students would do six months’ experiential training in industry. The Baccalaureus Technologiae (BTech) degree included, over and above environmental management IV and environmental ecology IV, a compulsory research methodology course and an environmental technology project. Students would have to select one of the following subjects: international trade, ecotourism, production management, marketing and environmental rehabilitation. Over the years, the curriculum has been adapted to reflect trends in the external environment. The qualifications are now awarded in environmental sciences, and no longer in environmental management, while an option in environmental geology has been introduced. The development and adaptation of the curriculum over the past eight years has re-emphasised the crucial role of industry and other stakeholders in this process. In 1995, Technikon Pretoria appointed an advisory committee to ensure that the standards and quality of our programmes are in line with the expectations of industry. The following companies and other stakeholders had representatives on the first advisory committee: Eskom, Iscor, Billiton, Ingwe Coal Mine, Nissan SA, Agrihold and the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. From curriculum development to implementation Technikon programmes are national programmes and are cooperatively “curriculated” (Technikon Pretoria Press, 1995). The environmental

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management curriculum was submitted for approval at a meeting of the Committee for Tutorial Matters (CTM), or Academic Committee of the Technikons, in February 1995. However, the new degree was rejected by the CTM. The major reason was that the concept was so new in South Africa that there was no one with real expertise at other technikons to evaluate the content. At some technikons, it was evaluated by staff in the civil engineering departments, at others by their environmental health departments. It was opposed by the environmental health departments and seen as a threat to the degrees in environmental health being offered by a number of technikons in South Africa.The period after the February meeting was used to seek support for the new degree. Meetings were held with the technikons that had rejected the proposed programme, with officials from the Department of Education, the Department of Environmental Affairs and the Industrial Environmental Forum (IEF), a powerful body which was a strong supporter of the new programme. By June 1995, more than 90 percent of the technikons supported the new programme, with only one still opposing it. The curriculum was finally approved at the August 1995 meeting of the CTM, based on the notion of “sufficient consensus” in the policy of the technikons regarding the introduction of new programmes or qualifications. In September 1995, the Advisory Committee for Universities and Technikons finally approved new qualifications, and soon afterwards permission to offer the programme at Technikon Pretoria was obtained from the Department of Education. Many hours of hard work had finally came to fruition and the attention was now focused on the planning and preparation for the first intake of students in January 1996. Since it was already late in the year, a special marketing campaign was launched to attract the right calibre of students for the new programme. A further hurdle However, our elation was short-lived. In October 1995, the deputy vice-chancellor (academic) of Technikon Pretoria was summoned to attend a meeting of the National Environmental Health Forum (NEHF) in Cape Town. The NEFH is an association of stakeholders who act as a national advisory body to the environmental health degree. The argument of the NEHF was that there was too much overlap between the two degrees and that a new process of “curriculation” should be undertaken. It was clear that they would be satisfied with a single curriculum for the first three years, with the emphasis on environmental health, and an elective in the final (fourth) year that could relate to environmental management. At the meeting in Cape Town, Technikon Pretoria maintained that there were sufficient differences between the two curricula, as regards their stakeholders, the industries in which the students were going to work, the careers for which the students were being educated, and the two programmes’

objectives. It was clear to the delegation from Technikon Pretoria that the NEHF was not convinced. It was agreed that further discussions should be arranged in 1996. The BTech programme was first offered in 1996 and the first intake of students received their National Diplomas (a three-year qualification) at the graduation ceremony in 1999. In 2002, the first Magister Technologiae degree in environmental management was awarded. Up to the end of 1995, only the project leader and the supporter in the EMC – the deputy vice-chancellor (academic) – was involved in the process of curriculation, planning and organising. Late in 1995, both the Senate and the Council of Technikon Pretoria approved the creation of an academic department for environmental management. At that point, an interesting debate started on the placing of the department within the faculty structure of the Technikon. An analysis of the curriculum revealed that approximately one third concerned economic management, one-third natural sciences, and the remaining third natural resources. The latter formed part of the curriculum of the department of nature conservation within the faculty of agriculture and nature conservation. The newly created department was first offered to the faculty of economic sciences, which did not want to accommodate it. Then the dean of natural sciences requested that the department should be located in his faculty, and the request was granted. The success of the department over the last eight years can be directly ascribed to: . the presence of a product champion; . a staunch supporter with a passion for the environment in the EMC of the Technikon, that is, a business innovator (Maidique, 1982); . the acceptance of the newly created department in the Faculty of Natural Sciences and the strong support of the Dean of that faculty.

Research and development During the early stages, emphasis was placed on teaching and learning, on the marketing of the programme both within the Technikon and externally, and on liaison with industry and other stakeholders. Research was limited to industrial projects. In 1997, a substantial donation was received from an industrial donor, payable over three years. Part of the donation was used to obtain Technology and Human Resource for Industry Programme (THRIP) funding for the development of an environmental management system (EMS) at one of the plants of the donor. A number of smaller projects were handled during the latter part of the 1990s, specifically for postgraduate students.

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Focus on applied environmental technology A merger with the department of geology in 2000 gave the research capacity in the department a substantial boost. At a departmental meeting held in April 2002, the development of a research focus area in environmental technology was discussed. It was agreed that a suitable title for the research focus area would be applied environmental technology. The focus would be on the development of the human resources in the department of environmental sciences, in research capacity and research output, as well as developing an integrated approach in environmental sciences and environmental management. The aim of the applied environmental technology research focus area is to conduct research that could be applied in the implementation of integrated environmental management, and to manage data, information and knowledge pertaining to the study fields concerned. A second aim is to develop a team of experts and a technology base in applied environmental technology. Proposed themes and projects within the department are geo-technology, land use and water quality, biological assessment and biodiversity management, waste management, and the impact of air pollution on land degradation. These projects are joint research projects undertaken by a number of departments at Technikon Pretoria, including the departments of civil engineering, water care, environmental sciences and environmental health. International liaison In 1999, the head of the department of environmental sciences joined 21 international higher education institutions at the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics, University of Lund, Sweden, for a training programme on cleaner production. This programme, entitled “Educate the educators”, was the beginning of the effective communication and exchange of knowledge between these institutions. Some of the countries represented were New Zealand, Hungary, Bahrain, Jordan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Zambia, India, China, Thailand, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Poland. Good cooperation also exists between our department and the Hoogeschool Ijselland in The Netherlands. One of their lecturers worked in our department for two months during the first semester of 2002. One of our lecturers visited that institution for three weeks during December 2001. A cooperation programme was entered into with the Brandenburg Technological University (BTU) in Germany, which has proved to be active and successful. In 1999, a total of 13 international tertiary educational institutions held a workshop at the BTU in Cottbus, Germany, to establish a student exchange programme. The BTU offers an international environmental resource and management programme, which includes a semester abroad. Technikon Pretoria and a university in Egypt sent the only representatives from the African continent. Other countries that participated were Poland,

Russia, the Czech Republic, the UK, France, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, China, and India. Our department hosted three students from the BTU during the second semester of 2000, as well as three students in 2001. We hope to be able to send the first three of our students to Cottbus in 2003.

Environmental education

Community service Community service projects are conducted jointly by the department of nature conservation, the department of environmental sciences and some departments from the arts faculty. The main purpose is to awaken in the future generation a deep and lasting concern for the environment and for sustainable development. These projects are part of a well-planned and implemented environmental awareness programme. Since 2000, Technikon Pretoria has celebrated World Environmental Day as a joint venture of the whole institution. The department of nature conservation has adopted 30 schools throughout Pretoria. Senior nature conservation students are involved in this project, which forms part of their training programme. In these “hands-on” programmes, active participation is the key element. The schools range from private schools to previously disadvantaged schools. We also present environmental programmes to schools and organisations that cater for those with disabilities, including hearing-impaired, sight-impaired and physically challenged. All schools and organisations are visited at least 20 times per year. These visits encourage the use of the South African government’s curriculum 2005 for schools, as well as dealing with other environmental issues. We create an “outdoor classroom” where children learn while having fun! Technikon Pretoria is not only active in Gauteng province, but has also introduced this environmental awareness programme in the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal, where the Ndumo and Ingwavuma communities have been set on a path towards achieving a positive environmental change. It has been an amazing challenge to them as well as to us. Despite the language barrier, we are challenged to learn more about Zulu traditions. Once again, we are involved in changing attitudes towards and perceptions of the natural environment. Eight schools are involved in the programmes, together with one of our full-time BTech students.

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Environmental law and management clinic Another interesting development has been the establishment of an Environmental Law and Management Clinic (ELMC) within the Department of Environmental Sciences. This is an advisory office, which has been accredited by the Law Society of the Northern Province. The ELMC offers specialist environmental, legal and management services to people who cannot afford to pay for the services of an environmental consultant or an environmental attorney. The criteria of the Legal Aid Board are used to assess which clients will qualify for assistance by the ELMC. Students of the

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department of environmental sciences are involved in rendering advice on and drafting environmental impact reports and environmental impact assessments, and attending public participation meetings. They review public participation projects on behalf of clients, advise them on environmental litigation, advise on the formation of voluntary associations, and carry out various other tasks that fall within the ambit of the ELMC. A member of staff who is a qualified attorney coordinates the students’ activities. This is the second year that the ELMC has been in operation. The clinic has been very active in assisting several clients, such as the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa, some (voluntary) landowners’ associations and some individual clients. The ELMC has also participated in an international research project on the implementation of “Principle 10” of the Rio Declaration. The role of the EMC The ongoing support of the EMC has been essential for the success of the departments at Technikon Pretoria that are involved in environmental programmes, and specifically the department of environmental sciences. In 1998, the EMC included the caring principle or philosophy as one of the Technikon’s values in its mission statement. This value is expressed as: “Caring – to make a difference through being actively involved with other people in the institution and to care for the environment”. In 2001, a new programme in ecotourism was introduced. This programme is offered jointly by the departments of tourism management and nature conservation. Our MBA programme also contains an environmental management component. Last but not least, we are currently developing a module on environmental management that will be included in virtually all our degree programmes. Conclusion The September 2, 2002 issue of Time Magazine carried a special report (Sullivan et al., 2002) on sustainable development with a quote on the front page: “The wild weather is a sign of things to come. But fresh ideas and new technology can help us make this a green century” (Time Magazine, 2002). Technikon Pretoria has eight degree programmes that deal with sustainable development. We will, more than ever before, make a contribution to sustainable development in South Africa. References Adams, R. (1990), “The greening of consumerism”, Accountancy, June, pp. 81-3. Adriaanse, A. and Jettes, R. (1989), “Information requirements of integrated environmental policy experiences in the Netherlands”, Environmental Management, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 309-15. Black, S.S. (1991), “The great green movement”, Bobbin, Vol. 32 No. 8, pp. 28-30.

Bowman, J. and Davis, C. (1989), “Industry and the environment: chief executive officer attitudes, 1976 and 1986”, Environmental Management, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 243-9. Bryce, A. (1990), “Business and the law in a cleaner world”, Accountancy, June, pp. 75-8.

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Burgelman, R.A. and Sayles, L.R. (1986), Inside Corporate Innovation, The Free Press, New York, NY. Cairncross, F. (1992a), Costing the Earth, Harvard University Press, Boston, MA. Cairncross, F. (1992b), “How Europe’s companies reposition to recycle”, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 70 No. 2, pp. 34-45. Carson, P. and Moulden, J. (1991), Green is Gold, Harper Business, Toronto. Choucri, N. (1991), “The global environment and multinational corporations”, Technology Review, Vol. 94 No. 3, pp. 52-9. Cocklin, C. (1998), “Environmental values, conflicts and issues in evaluation”, The Environmentalist, Vol. 8 No. 2, pp. 93-105. Dilts, J.C. and Prough, G.E. (1989), “Strategic options for environmental management: a comparative study of small vs. large enterprises”, Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 27 No. 3, pp. 31-8. Elmer-Dewitt, P., Linden, E., Graff, J.L. and Lemonick, M.D. (1992), “Summit to save the earth”, Time Magazine, Vol. 139 No. 22, pp. 24-41. (The) Economist (1990), “Cleaning up”, The Economist, September, pp. 4-32. Foy, G. (1990), “Economic sustainability and the preservation of environmental assets”, Environmental Management, Vol. 14 No. 6, pp. 771-8. Gemu¨nden, H.G. (1988), “Promotors – key person for the development and marketing of innovative industrial products”, in Grønhaug, K. and Kaufmann, G. (Eds), Innovation: A Cross-Disciplinary Perspective, Norwegian University Press, Oslo, pp. 349-74. Guogang, H., Zhiqi, Q., Bingsheng, H., Shuangjin, L., Zhongjie, Z., Rongqing, S., Wenyong, M. and Xingquo, Z. (1991), “China’s environmental protection objectives by the year 2000”, International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 18 No. 8/9/10, pp. 180-92. Harrison, E.B. (1993), Going Green, Irwin, Homewood, IL. Hobbs, J.C.A. and Boland, R.G.A. (1990), “Owning the environmental problems – from rhetoric to action in South African business”, Institute of Personnel Management Journal, December, pp. 1-15. Hunt, C.B. and Auster, E.L. (1990), “Proactive environmental management: avoiding the toxic trap”, Sloan Management Review, Winter, pp. 7-18. Maidique, M.A. (1982), “Entrepreneurs, champions, and technological innovation”, in Tushman, M.L. and Moore, W.L. (Eds), Readings in the Management of Innovation, Ballinger, Cambridge, MA, pp. 562-81. Marquis, D.G. (1982), “The anatomy of successful innovations”, in Tushman, M.L. and Moore, W.L. (Eds), Readings in the Management of Innovation, Ballinger, Cambridge, MA, pp. 42-50. Morison, E. (1988), “Gunfire at sea”, in Tushman, M.L. and Moore, W.L. (Eds), Readings in the Management of Innovation, 2nd ed., Ballinger, Cambridge, MA, pp. 165-78. Peters, T. (1988), “The mythology of innovation, or a skunkworks tale, part II”, in Tushman, M.L. and Moore, W.L. (Eds), Readings in the Management of Innovation, 2nd ed., Ballinger, Cambridge, MA, pp. 138-47.

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Quinn, J.B. (1988), “Innovation and corporate strategy: managed chaos”, in Tushman, M.L. and Moore, W.L. (Eds), Readings in the Management of Innovation, 2nd ed., Ballinger, Cambridge, MA, pp. 123-37. Rhoades, R., Roberts, E.B. and Fusfeld, A.R. (1978), “A correlation of R&D laboratory performance with critical function analysis”, Research Management, October, pp. 13-17. Rolfes, R. (1990), “How green is your market basket”, Across the Board, Vol. 27 No. 1/2, pp. 49-51. Rubin, D.K., Setzer, S.W., Kosowatz, J.J. and Ichniowski, T. (1991), “After the bomb, a war against waste”, ENR, Vol. 227 No. 21, pp. 35-41. Schlossberg, H. (1991), “Greening of America awaits green light from leaders, consumers”, Marketing News, Vol. 24 No. 6, pp. 16-17. Shearman, R. (1990), “The meaning and ethics of sustainability”, Environmental Management, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 1-8. Shibouta, S. and Mori, J. (1991), “Environmental management on the rise”, Tokyo Business Today, Vol. 59 No. 3, pp. 26-8. Stead, W.E. and Stead, J.G. (1992), Management for a Small Planet, Sage Publications, Newbury Park, CA. Sullivan, K., Kluger, J., Dorfman, A., Bradford, L., Annan, K., McCarthy, T., Roston, E., Hamilton, A., Lacayo, R., Rooseveldt, M., Taylor, C., Goldstein, A. and Goodall, J. (2002), “Green century”, Time Magazine, Vol. 160 No. 10, pp. 2-60. Technikon Pretoria Press (1995), A Framework for the Introduction of Degrees at Technikons, Technikon Pretoria Press, Pretoria. Time Magazine (2002), “How to save the earth”, Time Magazine, Vol. 160 No. 10, p. 1. Utterback, J.M. (1982), “Innovation in industry and the diffusion of technology”, in Tushman, M.L. and Moore, W.L. (Eds), Readings in the Management of Innovation, 2nd ed., Ballinger, Cambridge, CA, pp. 29-41. Further reading Executive Management Committee (Technikon Pretoria) (1999), Positioning Technikon Pretoria as a University of Technology: The Philosophy, Technikon Pretoria, Pretoria.

The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1467-6370.htm

Integrating value education and sustainable development into a Dutch university curriculum

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Heidi Muijen Education Expertise Group “On Values” and “Sustainable Development”, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Keywords Organizational change, Values, Education, Professional ethics, Sustainable development, The Netherlands Abstract Despite the mainstream technological approach of science in academic curricula, with its focus on specialisation, the Dutch history of higher education is an interesting example of an alternative development. The Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam has declared in its mission statement a pedagogical ideal of “broad academic education”, oriented towards educating students to become “morally responsible and reflective scientists and professionals”. This paper describes a pilot study focusing on organisational dynamics, learning processes involved in value education, and the question of how a philosophical/ethical perspective on sustainability can be integrated into the curriculum. A critical evaluation of this pilot study suggests that students need more insight into the status of values as different from empirical facts.

Introduction Almost five years ago the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam in the Netherlands started a programme of integrating sustainable development into the curricula. This programme is meant to enrich scientific education with transdisciplinary knowledge and issues concerning sustainable development. It is linked to another programme, called “On values”, which aims to promote communication and reflection on values in the scientific enterprise. This paper describes a pilot study focusing on the implementation of value education, transdisciplinary contents, and didactical models, in the curriculum of the university. The pilot study involved a complex interaction of organisational dynamics and learning processes, and included the management of didactics, philosophical and ethical perspectives and content development concerning sustainability issues. This complex intermingling of processes and perspectives resembles the art of cooking. When you want to prepare good food, a recipe book is a help. But the hands of a good cook and the use of fresh quality products are also absolutely necessary. Whether you get a fine meal depends on the integration process of how these elements are mingled. Starting from this metaphor, the success of the pilot study depends on the process of fusing these different elements into a fine meal of knowledge. Thus it

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education Vol. 5 No. 1, 2004 pp. 21-32 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1467-6370 DOI 10.1108/14676370410512571

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requires a level of capability similar to that of a good cook – to have a feeling for the right moment and the right mix of ingredients, using transdisciplinary contents (food) of good quality and the aid of well designed plans, strategies and models (recipes). First, the historical and cultural setting of the two educational programmes is described, revealing the roots and reasons behind the university’s interest in integrating sustainable development and ethical reflection into the curriculum. Then the context of the fusion process is described, which resulted in a particular course on “Sustainability in food supply” in the faculty of earth and life sciences, based on a specially designed didactical model. The last part of the paper focuses on a critical evaluation of the learning processes, which consider values in sustainable development from a philosophical point of view. A critical evaluation of this pilot study, as seen from our educational ideal, suggests that students need more insight into moral values, as distinct from empirical facts, methodological norms and international conventions. The results suggest that it is possible to improve the learning effects in three ways, through intuition, reflection and communication. More specifically, the research findings indicate a need for value education along the route of enhancing the competences of intuitive awareness, philosophical reflection on conceptual frameworks, and dialogue on issues of values and sustainable development. Finally, these results are translated into a philosophic-didactical design. Historical and philosophical setting of programmes The concept of value education is embedded in a long philosophical tradition, starting from the Greek concept of paedeia (from which our word “pedagogy” stems) and culminating in the Enlightenment idea and ideal of a systematic improvement of our rational faculties, leading to the moral, cognitive and technical development of the individual and of society as a whole. Thus the whole concept of value education is part and parcel of a broader conception of development as a process of developing the human being as a “whole person”, including the “cultural”, “political” and “spiritual”. The concept has been transformed into the German concept of Bilding, articulated by Wilhelm von Humboldt as the ideal of a “free university”. “Free” in this context means “free from external principles”, for example economic, legal or utilitarian principles, and free to carry out the purpose of “liberal education”. The Romantic concept of Bilding aimed at an integrative development of the sciences, the humanities and the arts. This integrative perspective was articulated in the philosophic tradition of Idealism, with authors like Schelling, Goethe, Herder, Hegel and Von Humboldt counterbalancing the one-sided aspect of the Enlightenment ideal of the privileging of our rational faculties. The Romantic correction aimed at a rehabilitation of our intuition, empathy and imagination as “non-rational” faculties for generating knowledge. Maybe it

is an irony of history that this ideal of “liberal education” from a broad perspective was gradually impoverished in Europe, and has been transported to the West and implemented in some prestigious universities of the USA. Nowadays most Dutch universities suffer from a narrowed scope and a specialist-technical orientation which applies knowledge from a utilitarian-economical perspective. This type of thinking is characterised by, for example Heidegger, as being “instrumental-calculating” in orientation, and opposed to the more “original-poetical form of thinking” that he articulated in his philosophy. Habermas elaborated on the social consequences of the “instrumental” type of thinking in society in terms of the “colonisation” of our “private world” by the subsystems of politics and economics. As a consequence, questions of mental, spiritual and moral development are articulated in a materialistic and instrumental discourse. This implies that academic curricula and developmental programmes for improving the “output” of our universities are dictated by “economic thinking”. We talk about the “human capital” of our organisations, and we see universities as “business enterprises”, expecting them to generate profitable “educational products”. Our government sanctions universities financially according to the rates by which they maximise the output of scientific products. Facing the social and ecological consequences of “economic thinking” in society in terms of our threatened cultural and natural resources, we seriously question whether quantitative standards alone can guarantee a quality test for the improvement of universities and “academic curricula”. What other perspective do we need for qualitative refinements to counterbalance further rationalisation of our educational system? Broad vision behind the programmes offered Our educational programmes titled “Values in science” and “Sustainable development” are embedded in a broad vision of education in which students of all departments receive an introductory course in philosophy, especially in respect to the main themes of the disciplinary field, and a historical overview of the development of the sciences and humanities, called “encyclopaedia”. Thus the pedagogical ideal of the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam of “educating students to become reflective and responsible scientists and professionals” can be seen as inspired by a more original and integrated concept of education. From this historic-cultural point of view there is interconnectedness between the two programmes: starting from different angles they both contribute to the rehabilitation of moral responsibility and social engagement at the core of scientific and professional activities. The pilot study To implement the pilot study for value education and sustainable development into the curriculum required the cooperation of the management team of the

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Figure 1. The structure of the DOLM

earth and life sciences with our education expertise group, as well as cooperation with the institute for teacher education, with lecturers from several disciplines and with a professor of ethics of the Bezinningscentrum (Appel, 2002). This teamwork was a precondition for receiving the educational, disicplinary and didactical input for the course. In particular a dilemma oriented learning model (DOLM), focusing on choices in dilemma’s and dialogue (Boschhuizen, 2002a; Boschhuizen and Kee, forthcoming) was used. Working with this learning model, students in different disciplines are confronted with cases, containing choices in (ethical) dilemmas. This model was used to design a transdisciplinary course (van Langen et al., 2001; van Langen and van Straalen, 2002) on food supply, with sustainability issues in which a value perspective was integrated. DOLM is a four-phase model with nine steps (see also Figure 1): . Phase A. The intuitive phase: The students read a short description of a case study involving dilemmas. They intuitively choose a course of action in this specific situation and formulate the arguments and moral values underlying their choice (1). The students then discuss their choices and values (2). . Phase B. Knowledge acquisition: In the next stage, the students study relevant bodies of knowledge (3). Subsequently, they make another choice and offer their arguments and an explanation of their values (4). This is followed by a discussion between the students on choices and values (5). . Phase C. Reflection on the relevant bodies of knowledge: In this phase, the students reflect on the truth of the relevant bodies of knowledge from a philosophical perspective (6), after which they make their choices again, present their arguments and clarify their values (7). In this phase too, they discuss their choices and values with each other (8).

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Phase D. Reflection on the learning process: the students reflect on the three choices made in the earlier phases and give a verbal description of their learning process (9).

By means of these four phases, dialogical communication and reflection on moral issues and sustainable development are stimulated and structured. With respect to the specially designed course for the earth and life sciences, the following value-learning processes could be observed: . students confirm the values of justice for people, for future generations, and for all organic life on earth; . students broaden their values with one or two of the others; . students change their values into one of the others (Boschhuizen, 2002b). In total, 80 third-year biology students at the VU in Amsterdam attended the course. Reflection on values in sustainable development We now turn to the question of what the educational aim presupposes in a philosophical-didactical sense. This analysis focuses on improving the integration of sustainable development and value learning with respect to ethical and reflective competencies. This means cultivating an intuitive feeling for the way in which this perspective differs from the conventional disciplinary approach to the subject. Disciplinary perspectives on issues of sustainability in food supply offer scientific, technical and practical knowledge about the way in which food supply in the context of a particular case – a fictional poor country called Abundantia – could be reorganised on a sustainable basis. One option, for example, is the introduction of high-tech agricultural innovations, like genetic-modification; another option could be implementing an educational programme to improve the social and working conditions of the local people. These options imply different ecological, moral, religious and social effects on the people involved and on the country’s natural and cultural resources. In the course students had to choose between eight different options and justify their choice in terms of both scientific know-how regarding the effects, and philosophical and ethical terms. Weighing these options against each other is not just a technical exercise of balancing their positive against their negative social and ecological effects. Ultimately, choosing between different options implies choosing between different value systems that accompany the choice and its effects. These are ultimately choices between different ways in which a community conceptualises and values human beings in relation to each other, to the cultural and natural surroundings, and to a spiritual or religious dimension. When students acquire an intuitive feeling for these value aspects,

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that are inherent in professional choices and in different ways of behaving, the first target of value education is considered to have been attained.

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Student values emerge Let us look at some examples of students’ reflections on values with regard to food sustainability. The first example comes from a task set in the course. Students had to give advice to the president of Abundantia on the problematic situation in the country concerning food security. One student wrote: My advice has been changed during this course. First I considered everything to be permitted in order to improve the life conditions of Abundantia, even a war with neighbouring countries and people. After studying the literature my opinion changed dramatically. I found out that it is not right to improve your own situation at the cost of others. This would result in creating additional problems to the one you try to resolve: namely war and the problems that stem from it. The solution it offers works in the short term only.

In the sentence “. . . it is not right to improve your own situation at the cost of others”. The concept of “right” is ambivalent, referring either to an ethical or a practical-empirical evaluation. The reader first may think the student expresses an ethical judgement, but then later the meaning switches to pragmatic considerations, when the writer adds: “. . . creating additional problems to the one you try to resolve”. “The solution it offers works on the short term only”. This example shows how subtle and difficult it is for students to specify and differentiate the ethical dimension, as fundamentally different from other ways of evaluating the situation. In the next example, a student shows a similar difficulty in expressing the ethical dimension in a judgement. The example shows that students have a tendency to “translate” the ethical dimension either into a “subjective mode” of expressing feelings or “an objective mode” of referring to a factual situation. The student wrote: About all negative effects I consider unacceptable. The loss of rain forest continues now for years and years. This is really something abhorrible [sic], after a little longer there will be no piece of “natural land” left. Rain forest is one of the most important ecosystems of the earth and it is just not right that it will be lost.

These words reveal a personal involvement in the subject matter, which is a necessary starting point for value education. This shows especially in the following exclamation: “. . . This is really something abhorrible [sic]”. At the same time the student shows a difficulty in articulating the ethical dimension in this negative judgement (“. . . I consider unacceptable”) by means of argumentation, so that the statement does not transcend the level of emotional expression. This seems to be a general problem in value education: students have a tendency to perceive the ethical dimension either as “subjective”, being of an irrational nature and subjective to rhetorical arguments, or as “objective”,

referring to empirical facts or positive conventions. This ambivalence is manifest in the following statements: . . . This is really something abhorrible (a subjective exclamation). Rain forest is one of the most important ecosystems of the earth . . . (an objectification of a value judgement).

The question therefore seems to be: how can we define for students an ethical dimension that is “inter-subjective” in nature – that is open for rational debate as well as for personal involvement? In the third example a student shows a more reflective way of expressing value judgements: The reason why I think it is not acceptable anymore is because I think that every human being has an equal right to be “happy”. Happiness is embedded in the fulfilment of basic needs (having food, shelter, etc.). Because of these (to me unacceptable) consequences, this is not possible anymore . . . I think the values which are related to these issues are based on equality and the right of having “as much” happiness as every other human being . . . Related values to this issue are equality, autonomy and especially care for others. By this I mean future generations and the land as such.

This student adds argumentation to the moral judgement, by referring to values that are at stake: “The reason why I think it is not acceptable anymore is because I think that every human being has an equal right to be ‘happy’”. A justification of the judgement is given by means of defining a generally accepted notion of an equal human right to happiness and by referring to related values and needs: Happiness is embedded in the fulfillment of basic needs (having food, shelter, etc.). I think the values that are related to these issues are based on equality and the right of having “as much” happiness as every other human being.

The results show first of all an inherent ambivalence of moral judgement: that “value judgements” are generally interpreted by students either as “subjective exclamations” or as “objective facts”. Inter-subjectivity In order to grasp the specific epistemological status of the ethical it is helpful to introduce the concept of “inter-subjectivity” in relation to values. The cultivation of “value intuitions” and a basic understanding of the ethical perspective constitute a first and preliminary condition for value education. The construction of conceptual schemes and concepts for articulating value intuitions and an ethical dimension is an important second step. The educational aim of refining the discourse concerning value judgements can be realised by offering students a philosophical perspective and an ethical framework relating to issues of “sustainable development” within the different transdisciplinary fields. This would contribute to an improvement of the

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“colloquial language” and the dichotomic (“subjective” versus “objective”) way in which most students express their value interpretations and moral judgements. Correcting students’ inadequate dichotomic perspective on values, leading to discussions in which you want to convince the other that you are right and the other is wrong, constitutes therefore an important educational aim. To contribute to this aim, our educational programmes depart from a dialogical perspective. This implies a feeling for the fundamental difference between dialogue and discussion. Dialogue presupposes openness of mind and heart, both for one’s own intuitive awareness as well as for different points of view that will be expressed by others. From a dialogical perspective, the confrontation with other points of view and differences in moral judgement is positively valued in principle. That is, instead of perceiving other points of view as threatening to your own “truth”, you might perceive them as possibilities to sharpen, transform or enrich your own perspective. In this way dialogue is a pre-condition for the transformation of the first level of subjective intuitions, vague notions, and irrational opinions about values and sustainability issues, into a more scientific and profound articulation. The pivotal principle for value education is translated into the dialogical competence of careful conceptualising and judging ethical matters in more refined discourse, and of communicating in an open way. The development of dialogical competence thus constitutes a fundamental third track in value education. The concept of value education This analysis suggests that it is possible to improve value education by integrating a philosophical (i.e. ethical) perspective on issues of sustainable development. The aim of “value education” fits into the general pedagogical ideal of the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam of enhancing a professional and responsible attitude with respect to the use of scientific knowledge. Students have to learn to approach theoretical and practical problems or dilemmas in a more complex and multidimensional way than just finding a “technical solution”. This would imply developing intellectual, “dialogical” and moral competencies to consider the question what is the right way, from different perspectives. “Right” refers here to moral, ecological, spiritual, psychological and social dimensions that complement “technical know-how”. To elaborate further on the concept of value education, let us try to interpret these empirical findings from a philosophical point of view. The phenomenological-hermeneutical tradition inspired by the German philosopher Heidegger is particularly useful here, as his philosophical perspective incorporates a correction to the one-sided track in the Enlightenment ideal. This correction is similar to the Romantic idea that we, as human beings, are capable of having an empathetic direct relation to the

world and an intuitive faculty that enables us to become aware of this “inner relation” we have towards “being”. Normally we see and act from a paradigmatic view according to conceptual schemes that are instrumental to our goals and targets: for example the scheme of being a professional, of being a citizen, of being a mother, etc. Such schemes define our “normal” way of thinking and acting: how to behave, feel and talk like a good professional, citizen, or mother. We cannot see “brutal facts”, but we become aware of “interpreted” reality according to these disciplinary and social schemes. This conceptualised mode of reality is what Heidegger called “the world”, which is not to be identified with “being” or “Da-sein”. Our human truth is not “naked” (as Nietzsche put it) but “dressed” in conceptual “clothes”. By cultivating “openness” of mind and heart, we are able to see “reality” as it is: conceptually “clothed” by our continuous activity of conceptual framing. The development of our “moral faculty”, our intuitions, emotions and imagination concerning value judgements, can be seen as a necessary supplement to the project of Enlightenment by “emancipating” them as “non-rational” autonomous components of social, moral and emotional intelligence. With our intuitive, emotional and imaginative faculties we can become aware of this inner connection with being – “the phenomenological given” – a mode of being that Heidegger called “Da-sein”.

The philosophic-didactical design In this last part of the article, I present a philosophic-didactical design as a tentative interpretation of the empirical results of the pilot study described above. Starting from a common sense notion of “intuitions” as “ill-defined, vague or irrational ideas”, we may discern our faculty of the intuition now as our ability to relate to the “inner dimension of being” in the sense of cultivating “openness of mind and heart” in order to apprehend the phenomenological given. Elaborating the phenomenological perspective, in the sense of cultivating pre-reflexive faculties like intuition, imagination and empathy, constitutes therefore a philosophical precondition for value education. The second condition complements this phenomenological perspective with hermeneutics: it aims at the development of our reflexive and interpretative faculties. To reflect on “the phenomenological given” is a “product” of the way in which we interpret our world of experience as being a mix of intuitions, feelings, concepts, theories, values, etc. In this way we can become aware of what Nietzsche called “perspectivism” and what “post-modern” philosophers have articulated as the “fundamental otherness” in all our conceptualisations, i.e. the “infinite possible ways” in which we can structure our world: scientific, political, ethical, cultural, “naı¨ve”, religious... ways. Translated into our philosophic-didactical model for value education, we can then invite students to reflect on the legitimacy of these different perspectives.

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The third condition is the implementation of a dialogical approach to value education, both in the organisational context of lecturers, in order to invite them to innovate the disciplinary fields with philosophical and sustainability perspectives, and in the learning environments of students by means of interactive didactical models. The dialogical approach reflects the fact that the generation of knowledge is not an isolated enterprise but is embedded in a social context. This most fundamental condition generates the possibility of a continuous refinement of conceptual frameworks within the community of scientists, students and professionals. Dialogue stimulates creativity in communication processes both in the context of intra- and interpersonal learning processes – by relating theories to the world of experience of students – as in the organisational context by ultimately stimulating the development of a learning organisation. These three conditions can be translated into a philosophic-didactical design that aims at: (1) The development of an intuitive sense so that students get a feeling for moral, existential and religious questions inherent in the use of scientific knowledge. (2) The integration of adequate philosophical and ethical perspectives in conceptual frameworks, so that students learn to articulate questions of sustainable development and of values in the application of science. (3) The cultivation of a dialogical approach in learning processes, by which our “vague” and “equivocal” value intuitions are expressed and tested by communicating them to others. The phenomenologico-hermeneutical principle of “suspension of (one dimensional, exclusive) truth claims” is an important rule in dialogical communication in order to avoid a debating atmosphere in which only one perspective will be claimed to be the “right” one. Conclusions Seen from the historical and cultural setting presented in the first part of this article, our educational programmes depart from the Romantic idea of an intuitive, pre-reflexive awareness of values, complemented with the Enlightenment idea/ideal of developing reflective competence concerning moral intuitions, concepts and emotions in respect to values in sustainable development by means of dialogical communication. A pilot study in the faculty of earth and life sciences was presented in which three perspectives were combined: processes of organisational dynamics and change, didactical models enhancing students learning processes, and the articulation of a philosophical-ethical dimension inherent in issues of sustainable development. The results were analysed from a philosophical perspective focusing on the concept of value education. The analysis suggests

that obtaining the ultimate goal of value education may be a rather high expectation, but our hope is that we will be able to translate these empirical findings somehow in a pragmatic way; thus contributing to several targets: . The cultivation of dialogical communication at the level of organisational development as well as at the level of students’ learning processes, aiming at expressing, communicating and refining intuitions, ideas, feelings, concepts and common sense notions. This contributes to: . The development of a learning organisation as being an adequate context for the implementation of sustainable development and a value perspective in higher education. This contributes to: . The stimulation of learning environments for students with respect of sustainable development and value education, for example: . The development of the DOLM in which, especially learning processes that broaden perspectives are stimulated. . The development of other didactical instruments that enhance intuitive and reflective learning processes by other sorts of dialogical and expressive forms of communication, art-related means like creating metaphoric, narrative or scenic expressions, group (Socratic) dialogue, individual presentations, and debating forms, etc. . The refinement of conceptual frameworks, focusing on philosophical and ethical aspects related to transdisciplinary contents in issues of sustainable development. The long-term conclusion suggested by the pilot study is that along these educational lines our programmes on values and sustainable development could contribute to a larger cultural ideal: the re-integration of a value perspective in science, technology and education, enhancing a sense of moral and social responsibility in questions of sustainable development, thus modestly contributing to a “re-valuation of our world”.

References Appel, G. (2002), “Integrating sustainable development into a curriculum with emphasis on content, value education and reflection”, paper presented at the EMSU-Conference on The Role of Higher Education in Sustainable Development, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 11-13 September. Boschhuizen, R. (2002a), Dilemma Georienteerd Onderwijs aan de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Huisdrukkerij, Amsterdam. Boschhuizen, R. (2002b), “Broadening, changing and confirming as processes of students’ value-learning”, paper for the EMSU Conference on the Role of Higher Education in Sustainable Development, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 11-13 September. Boschhuizen, R. and Kee, B. (forthcoming), “From intuition to reflection: students’ values in teaching (the philosophy of) economics”.

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van Langen, M.C.T. and van Straalen, N.M. (2002), “‘Issues of sustainability in the earth and life sciences’: an insight view in the design process of a new multidisclinary course on sustainability issues at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam”, abstract for the 5th International Copernicus Conference, Go¨teborg, 12-14 June. van Langen, M.C.T., Appel, G. and van Straalen, N.M. (2001), Duurzaamheidsvraagstukken in de levenswetenschappen, Vrij Universiteit Huisdrukkerij, Amsterdam.

32 Further reading Achterhuis, H. (1988), Het Rijk van de Schaarste: Van Thomas Hobbes tot Michel Foucault, Ambo, Baarn. Baggen, P. and Weijers, I. (1995), De Toekomst van de Universiteit, Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam. Boschhuizen, R. and Goudzwaard, B. (1995), Van Waarden Weten: De Plaats van Waarden in het VU-onderwijs, Huisdrukkerij Vrije Unversiteit, Amsterdam. Clugston, R.M. (Ed.) (2002), “The Earth Charter”, Earth Ethics: Evolving Values for an Earth Community, Center for Respect of Life and Environment, Washington, DC. de Mul, J. (1993), De Tragedie van de Eindigheid: Diltheys Hermeneutiek van het Leven, Uitgeverij Kok Agora, Kampen. Dixon, N.M. (1998), Dialogue at Work, Lemos & Crane, London. Elkington, J. (1999), Cannibals with Forks: The Triple Bottom Line of the 21st Century Business, Capstone, Oxford. Filho, W.L. (2000), “Dealing with misconceptions on the concept of sustainability”, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 9-19. Gadamer, H.-G. (1975), Wahrheit und Methode: Grundzu¨ge einer Philosophische Hermeneutik, J.C.B. Mohr, Tu¨bingen. Habermas, J. (1981), Theorie des kommunikativen Handelns: Erkenntnis und Interesse, Suhrkamp, Frankfurt a.M.. Heidegger, M. (1978), “Brief u¨ber den Humanismus”, Wegmarken, V. Klostermann, Frankfurt a.M., pp. 311-61. Kirschenmann, P. (2001), “Must we develop sustainably? On certain limits of liberal concepts of justice and rights”, in Peczenik, A. and Karlsson, M.M. (Eds), Law, Justice and the State: Essays on Justice and Rights, Steiner, Stuttgart, pp. 226-38. Nietzsche, F. (1984), “Jenseits von Gut und Bo¨se”, Werke III, Ullstein Materialien, Frankfurt a.M, pp. 9-203. Scho¨n, D.A. (1999), The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action, Ashgate, Aldershot. Skolimowski, H. (1981), Eco-philosophy, Boyars, Boston, MA and London. Taylor, C. (1989), Sources of Self, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. Vrije Universiteit (n.d.), Vrije Universiteit Instellingsplan 2002-2004, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam.

The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1467-6370.htm

Sustainability in tertiary curricula: what is stopping it happening?

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Ian Thomas School of Social Science and Planning, RMIT, Melbourne, Australia Keywords Environment, Education, Sustainable development, Universities, Australia Abstract The concepts of environmental education and education for sustainability have been acknowledged by many tertiary institutions for over a decade. An appreciable number of institutions have signed agreements to educate students in all disciplines about sustainability. Although several Australian institutions of higher education have signed the Talloire Declaration, a recent survey finds little indication that their curricula have been changed to include sustainability education. Despite the apparent widespread support for the concept of student education in sustainability, there is little implementation. The experience of Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University suggests that those concerned about education and environment/sustainability need more than conviction and vision. A strategic approach – based on change management and supported by staff development – is needed to implement these sorts of changes. Rather than attempting to outline a grand plan or model for implementation, this paper identifies key issues and looks into the current experience associated with implementation approaches.

Introduction There is clear justification for introducing education for sustainability in tertiary institutions. The general community has identified the need to take account of the impacts of our activities on the environment, as is apparent in Caring for the Earth: A Strategy for Sustainable Living (IUCN/UNEP/WWF, 1991) and the United Nation’s Agenda 21. Equally, the business community and professional associations see the need to take better care of the environment (e.g. Barbera, 1994; Cairncross, 1995; Callenbach et al., 1993; Royal Australian Institute of Architecture, 1995; Schmidheiny, 1994). Clearly there is a rationale and need for graduates to develop a “literacy” in sustainability as part of their tertiary education. Many students already have a broad environmental awareness when they come to tertiary institutions (Ridener, 1997), although this does not necessarily give them the ability to assess environmental issues and take action on them. To a degree, this deficiency is redressed by the high and increasing incidence of specialised tertiary environmental programmes (Cosgrove and Thomas, 1996; Wolfe, 2001). However various conservation strategies and sustainable development processes have emphasised the need for a higher environmental education profile at tertiary institutions (Victorian Government, 1987; Commonwealth of Australia, 1994). Despite this history, in 1998 the

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President of the Australian Association for Environmental Education was moved to reiterate the need for the development of environmental literacy: Universities need to find the ingenuity to blend all the disciplines so that we will increasingly see schools of business and economics teaching environmental awareness and education . . . If we continue to produce lawyers, business people, teachers, doctors, politicians, and other graduates while failing to create in them a high degree of environmental literacy, a university is not fulfilling the obligations it has to society (Dingle, 1998, pp. 3-4).

Positive indicators The situation is not entirely negative. Some graduates are becoming environmentally literate through specialised programmes, such as environmental science, environmental engineering and environmental studies. However, these programmes are too often based on a single discipline and are not intended to develop environmental literacy in other programmes. Consequently, apart from occasional courses, which are often elective, most tertiary students have few opportunities for environmental education. Fortunately, there has been increasing support from across the community for the implementation of environmental literacy and sustainability education at tertiary level (Thomas et al., 1999, p. 2). At the international level this movement has been facilitated by the development of several initiatives aimed at the tertiary sector, especially: . Talloires Declaration of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future, October 1990. . Halifax Action Plan for Universities of the conference on “Creating a Common Future”, December 1991. . Swansea Declaration of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, August 1993. . Copernicus University Charter for Sustainable Development of the Conference of European Rectors, Autumn 1993. . Kyoto Declaration of the International Association of Universities, November 1993. . Student Charter for a Sustainable Future of the student unions of the United Kingdom, July 1995. . The Haga Declaration, for Baltic countries, March 2000 (Kliucininkas, 2001; University Leaders for a Sustainable Future, 2001). Particularly well recognised is the Talloires Declaration. According to University Leaders for a Sustainable Future (2002) it has been signed by over 280 institutions from 47 countries across five continents. Importantly, the institutions that signed this declaration commit themselves to operational activities and curriculum initiatives that lead to sustainable development.

Defining education for sustainability Sustainability in There has been much discussion about the meaning of sustainability education: tertiary curricula this issue is covered in Leal Filho (2000) and Thomas et al. (1999, 2000). For the purposes of this paper I will be taking the terms sustainability education, education for sustainability, environmental literacy (even triple bottom line literacy) to all embody Orr’s (1992) points. In his terms, “education for 35 sustainability”, contains several aspects: . the need to accept the probability of survival of our species; . an attitude of care or stewardship – particularly an “. . . uncompromising commitment to life and its preservation” (Orr, 1992, p. 133); . the knowledge necessary to comprehend inter-relatedness, of “. . . disciplines and of the disparate parts of personality: intellect, hands, heart” (Orr, 1992, p. 137); . the practical competence required to act on the basis of knowledge and feeling. Environmental literacy The above key elements are also the basis of environmental education expressed in its broad sense, and of environmental literacy (Thomas et al., 2000). Importantly, specifically related to the element of “heart”, recent discussion relating to education “for sustainability” indicates the need for a focus on values and environmentally ethical activity to be an integrated component of the curricula (Sterling, 1996). To achieve this literacy and environmental understanding, the broad pedagogical models for the incorporation of environmental discussion have been worked out. As identified by Dyer (1996) and Woods (1994) they are, in summary: . the inclusion of the coverage of some environmental issues and material in an existing course of the programme; . having a separate course that deals specifically with environmental matters; . integrating environmental issues and discussion into all courses so that environmental understanding is developed in the context of the discipline, the programme, and the course material. In programmes attempting to introduce environmental discussion, the first two approaches appear to have been used. The third approach has usually been reserved for the specialist environmental programmes – although Klaschka (2001), in arguing for the adoption of sustainability education, also argues for the integration of environmental understanding in science programmes. The advantage of the course-based approaches is that they are relatively easy to introduce, provided staff feel comfortable about working outside the strict

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boundaries of their disciplines. The disadvantage is that students may view the environmental material as additional to their core studies, and therefore not as important. To support these models, curriculum structures and materials are required. These materials are readily available (e.g. Alvarez and Kyle, 1998; Second Nature, 2002); however, they do not seem to have been widely used. We can speculate on the reasons for this. The key issues may be academics’ limited knowledge of the availability of the materials, how to use them, and why their engagement with sustainability education is important. Even with the flexibility of curriculum models and the availability of support materials, we still see little indication that the majority of graduates have the sort of education or literacy outlined by Orr (1992). Consequently, from this point the paper focuses on some institutional issues that could be inhibiting curriculum change, and how they may be overcome. Sustainability education in Australia A survey of Australian tertiary institutions by Carpenter and Meehan (2002), with a low response rate of ten, indicated that environmental management could not be identified as a key activity. At a basic level, the specific teaching and research activities of the universities were connected to environmental principles for most of the institutions. However, at a deeper level, only one made a specific reference to “greening” the curriculum. A parallel but unrelated survey in 2000 achieved responses from 21 institutions (slightly more than a third of all Australian institutions) and found considerable confusion over the concept of sustainability education (Thomas and Nicita, 2002). In part this may have been associated with Leal Filho’s (2000) observation that the concepts of sustainability and sustainable development are contested. His investigations indicated that people in the institutions sampled in his study thought: . sustainability is too abstract, or too broad; . institutions have no personnel to deal with sustainability; . sustainability demands substantial resources that institutions either do not have or cannot justify; . sustainability lacks a scientific basis. Nonetheless, at the time of our survey the majority of responding institutions said education related to sustainability was covered in their curricula. This is a good start, however, only a small minority replied that sustainability education was included in all disciplines. The results indicated there was a general appreciation that sustainability education has a clear place in tertiary curricula, but only a handful of Australian institutions had worked on, or were working on, implementing it. This was in contrast to the number that were including sustainability education in the curricula of specific departments or disciplines.

Subsequently, a web-based survey and a written questionnaire survey was Sustainability in conducted by Bekessy and Burgman (2001) to gain an understanding of the tertiary curricula environmental practice in Australian universities and a selection of international universities. They specifically sought information about the institutions’ operations and curricula and concluded that, “. . . most universities in Australia and elsewhere in the world have moved significantly towards 37 sustainable practices in recent years.” (Bekessy and Burgman, 2001, p. 2). Regarding the curriculum, a slight majority of Australian institutions responded that the extent to which courses addressed sustainability within their institution was either “quite a bit” or “a great deal”. Responses related to the integration of environmental knowledge, values and ideas into courses across institutions, however, indicated that participation was at a low level; fewer than a quarter indicated “quite a bit” or “a great deal”. If the confusion that was apparent in the 2000 survey (above) still exists, this level of participation could be even smaller. Further, as an adjunct to the limited curricula coverage of sustainability, Bekessy and Burgman (2001) found that funding to students or departments, as an incentive to take or offer environmental studies, was generally low. Clearly, the results of these recent surveys indicate that the adoption of sustainability education that will empower all tertiary students in Australia, is at a low level. This suggests there are still substantial barriers evident in the Australian tertiary system, and it is more than possible these barriers are also operating at institutions internationally. Barriers to sustainability education – RMIT University Since 1996, two attempts have been made to introduce sustainability education at RMIT University. The first used the “lever” of staff interested in the coverage of waste minimisation (see Thomas et al., 1999). A strategy for introducing curriculum change was developed through working with the staff of four programmes from different disciplines, and involving three faculties. This strategy did not include the development of specific materials, as it was apparent that staff members, who were generally interested in waste, did have difficulty gaining access to relevant materials. Rather, it focused on working with the support provided by the institutional (RMIT), educational, and professional/industry contexts, and establishing a process to work with staff and students. But without the resources to support staff and pursue the strategy across the institution, the initiative languished. However, using the waste minimisation study as a guide, a modest study of the development of environmental literacy within three programmes, based in one multidisciplinary faculty, was attempted. The report of the project concluded: The Environmental Literacy Project demonstrated that the “diffusion model”, in which already committed individuals are expected to change the entire culture of departments from the bottom up, is not going to work. What is also required, if RMIT is to fulfil the

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commitments it has made by signing the Talloires Declaration, is active leadership from the top, a new approach to staff development, and adequate resources to allow staff to integrate environmental content into their teaching material (Findlay and Thomas, 2000, p. 8).

Again, the initiative lapsed for want of sustained motivation for the staff involved. In both cases there was enthusiasm from the staff who were directly involved, but no opportunities were provided to expand that enthusiasm to the other staff of the programmes through staff training and development. As a consequence, the motivated staff were quickly caught up in the day-to-day demands of their programmes. Even though the opportunity to broaden the curricula of the programmes to include waste minimisation and to develop broader environmental literacy were not taken, some staff involved in the two studies did take the concepts into their own teaching and courses. Barriers to change – general experience In some situations Alabaster and Blair (1996, p. 98) may be correct when they suggest that academic staff are “. . . often ideologically resistant to curriculum changes that emanate from outside the bounds of their discipline”. However, it had been apparent that those involved in the RMIT studies had expressed strong interest in sustainability education. Presumably, other considerations dissuaded them from developing this focus in their teaching. For instance, in the opinion of Cowell et al. (1998), resistance to change can come from structural constraints, such as the financial and administrative difficulties of developing cross-departmental (usually cross-disciplinary) initiatives. These authors have also identified many pressures faced by individual academics in an institution. Coupled with the observations of the RMIT study group, these pressures lead to a substantial list of barriers to change, i.e. academics may: . not know enough about the environment; . not know where or how to obtain relevant information; . not see how to combine information about the environment with the core knowledge of their course; . not feel comfortable working across disciplines, which is needed when disciplinary knowledge is taught in the context of environmental understanding; . be concerned that this environmental understanding would not be considered appropriate for their graduates, or their disciplines; . not be rewarded for such innovation; . feel unsupported; . see the possibilities for changing current programmes as being too difficult; . be concerned that what is appropriate for one programme or discipline is not transferable to another;

have increasing calls on their time for administrative, research and Sustainability in discipline related matters (Thomas et al., 1999). tertiary curricula After reviewing a number of empirical studies and commenting on their own studies, Dahle and Neumayer (2001) summarised the factors they felt act as barriers to tertiary institutions actively implementing green actions as: . 39 a fundamental lack of interest and commitment towards green initiatives among administrators, staff and students; . a lack of financial resources and environmental education within the campus community (also identified by Kliucininkas, 2001); . the organisational structures and the predominating culture of the university preventing the introduction of greening initiatives; . the lack of expertise and lack of tradition; . a long period before the benefits of the efforts of change are seen; . a general lack of incentives and information on environmental issues; . misconceptions related to the topic of “sustainability”. .

They also drew attention to: the need for institutions to have staff trained and competent in sustainable development; the need for all students to be provided with relevant sustainable development learning opportunities; and the role of the “campus culture” as another key barrier to undertaking environmental initiatives. The common threads coming from all these experiences can be summarised as: . a lack of a culture of value or priority given to greening and sustainability; . a lack of organisational and resource support for staff; . a lack of training for academic staff. These barriers provide clear directions for change. Confronting the barriers – directions for change Looking at the development of improved environmental management in business organisations provides some general directions for what may be expected in tertiary institutions. For example, Bharagava and Welford (1996) and Scallion and Steen (1997) have discussed the various perspectives that organisations hold about the need for change and the degree of change organisations are seeking. A specific mechanism for change is the growing use of environment management systems (EMS), now enshrined in the international standard ISO 14001 (see Sheldon, 1997). A key element of these EMSs is the requirement for the organisation’s staff to receive training and, as Thomas and Olsson (1998) argue, this provides an important vehicle for changing individual and organisational approaches to the environment.

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However, while some tertiary institutions have developed EMSs, the emphasis seems to be on the campus operations (waste management for example) rather than on the activities of the whole institution (Herremans and Allwright, 2000). Tertiary institutions are complex organisations. Their diversity of “products” (teaching, research, consultancy, community connections and training) is daunting enough, but when these are interconnected with the range of disciplines at a typical institution, administration and operation become increasingly difficult. Added to this is the variety of staff – particularly the academics who have been encouraged to bring their individuality of expertise and research, to their jobs. This makes it difficult for top management to direct change, since guiding a group of academics who prize their individuality, analytical skills and creativity is not unlike “herding a mob of cats”. In an attempt to encourage these “cats”, there are many proposals for how to develop sustainability education in tertiary institutions. As examples the suggestions of Jucker (2002) and Kliucininkas (2001) are outlined below: (1) Strategies of Jucker (2002), with particular relevance to individual teachers: . make education for sustainability the transdisciplinary core of all education; . redefine notions of excellence; . enable self-determination in learning; . do, and you will learn; . go for the big picture and face the consequences; . practice what you preach; . we are the problem, not the solution; . open your eyes (to relearn ways of achieving change); . don’t wait for leaders to get round to acting; . education for sustainability means learning for all, including the experts. (2) Proposals outlined by Kliucininkas (2001), with relevance to tertiary institutions and the general community: . extended dissemination of the sustainable development concept in the society; . development of study materials and methodologies for sustainability studies at universities and colleges; . inclusion of fundamental courses on sustainable development into undergraduate level curricula; . implementation of dynamic modes of study (Internet, video-conferences, etc.);

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preparation of vocational and in-service training of secondary school Sustainability in teachers; tertiary curricula support of sustainability principles and their implementation into the specialty studies (programmes of sustainability and environmental studies).

These suggestions cover a lot of territory, ranging from actions for an individual teacher to actions for the general community. This leaves open the issue of what specifically can be done at the level of institutions. The nature of organisational change To develop education for sustainability, we need to recognise that the scope of curriculum change we are looking at is in essence organisational change. There is ample literature on organisational change (e.g. Bennett et al., 1993; Dawson, 1992; Dunphy and Griffiths, 1998; Henry and Walker, 1991). This literature provides guidance for instituting change, especially the recognition of the stages of change. In this context attention has been given to categorising organisations in relation to the extent that they have embraced change to become “greener” or more sustainable. Bharagava and Welford (1996) review a range of terms, but ones that are broadly consistent, to indicate the transition of business organisations from indifference about environmental matters to the position of a green firm. Carpenter and Meehan (2002) comment on Hunt and Auster’s continuum, which describes the stages whereby environmental management becomes a mainstream activity. These stages progress from “beginners”, through “fire fighters”, “concerned citizens”, and “pragmatists”, to “proactivists”. A model by Laughlin (referred to by Carpenter and Meehan, 2002) looks at the factors that move a tertiary institution through these stages. Initially, when pressures for change arise – as a result of new commercial realities, community expectations or legislation – the change is externalised and largely ignored. In the next stage, some changes occur, but only in sub-systems. Finally, changes become deeply embedded, either as a result of regulative or other outside pressures, or where the organisation becomes a market leader and takes a proactive approach. These observations are useful at a theoretical level. The key issue for change has been succinctly stated by Walton (1995, p. 151): Full and complete change means changing peoples’ behaviour, and that inevitably means changing . . . the values, culture, climate, informal operating style, rituals, communications patterns, and so on . . ..

In a traditional analysis of organisational change we would expect the direction for change to come from the top, meaning management and/or academics. In the context of change for improved environmental management, Emerson and Welford (1997, p. 18) note that there is usually an acceptance that change is top-down:

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It is commonly argued that environmental policy change starts with a “commitment from the top management”, which is enshrined in the mission statement, which includes “total change in the organisational culture and strategy” and then “policy is defined”, which is “cascaded down the organisation”. Rarely do we see the whole process being owned by those who will have to ensure that it is operable.

In tertiary institutions the top-down approach also faces inertia generated by the academic “cats”. Nonetheless, support, if not guidance from the top, is clearly an important factor in sustaining curriculum change. At the same time there are many indications that for the sort of curriculum change we are discussing, a “bottom-up” approach may be important. This is the current situation, it seems, where the tertiary leaders have generally not given priority to developing a culture to support sustainability education. In this case, students could be involved in acting as advocates for environmental change. Dahle and Neumayer (2001) suggest that this type of “bottom-up” approach might be effective, as students may feel freer to criticise campus actions. As “customers” at their institutions, students can have power to demand change. They also comment on the role of students as examples to their fellow students in bringing about attitude and behaviour changes. However, Dahle and Neumayer (2001) caution that while the students’ advocacy role is necessary in raising awareness, a “top-down” approach is an essential component for change, since it is the academics who have unique power to inspire students to follow their example. Bottom-up approaches also relate to the institution’s lower and middle level staff. Academics as individuals and networks can, and have, promoted change. Meima (1997) comments that commitment from key individuals and “charisma” can be very important in initiating and sustaining change. Rice (2000) sees opportunities for “strategic termites” who can bring about change through strategic actions within the organisation. However, for this to be a “groundswell”, other staff would have to appreciate the relevance of sustainability to their work. Change at staff level The possibilities for these lower level staff to precipitate change have been identified by authors like AtKisson (1999) and Whiteley (1995). They have written generally about the instigation of change, but particularly about the importance of appreciating innovation diffusion and of the role of shared core values amongst the key staff. Overlying the specifics of the implementation approach are three strategies for motivating change. According to AtKisson (1999), transformation will be assisted by: . promoting the new – highlight the benefits of the innovation, noting its superior features; . critiquing the old – attack the status quo, directly or subtly, and pointing out the problems and weaknesses;

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facilitating the change – reduce the perceived cost of the change, and put Sustainability in effort into making the change as easy as possible; hopefully turning the tertiary curricula change into a perceived net gain;

Atlisson (1999) sees these strategies being used by a network of people. The key players and their relationships are summarised as follows. Significant change is seldom the result of just one person, rather it comes from co-operation, as in an “amoeba of culture”. The connections (and stages) within this amoeba are as follows (AtKisson, 1999): . innovation will come from an innovator, usually poor at communicating and “selling” their idea or vision; . a change agent actively promotes the idea, by translating the innovator’s concepts into explanations that others can understand; . the change agent promotes the idea to “early adopters” or “transformers” (leaders among mainstream people, open to new ideas but cautious about ones that they promote, because they want to maintain their status); . “mainstreamers” adopt the idea – the transformer may have toned down the idea, by reducing how radical is appears, to ensure that the mainstreamers follow; . innovators, change agents and transformers may have developed connections to develop this strategy of change, but equally there may be no specific plan, and the individuals come together, or take their cues, by chance. The importance of staff training, to develop awareness and the ability to incorporate sustainability education into curricula, has been identified previously. It also relates closely to the broader issue of an institution’s culture and behaviour change. Specifically, for Lynton and Pareek (2000), training of staff is a fundamental aspect of the process of organisational change. With a focus on tertiary institutions, Dahle and Neumayer (2001) believe that the most important action for reducing barriers to these institutions adopting sustainability approaches is to raise environmental awareness within their communities. In particular, they see the need to help staff and students understand the benefits and importance of engaging with sustainability practices. For staff development programmes, there have been many suggestions related to the details of the training component of an institutional change strategy. For instance, proposals from Leal Filho (2000) include: . in-service training on matters related to sustainability; . using working groups to identify and implement specific projects; . developing networks within and across institutions to exchange ideas and experiences.

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Similarly, Bird (1996) has outlined the training elements that levels of staff need, and suggests how the training could be delivered, while Wemmenhove and De Groot (2001) have emphasised the issue of student-activating approaches to teaching sustainability. Some institutions provide staff training. A survey of Lithuanian tertiary institutions by Kliucininkas (2001) found that about a third provide staff training programmes on sustainable development, but only a small number provide in-service training for teachers. Outside Europe, specific institutions such as Tufts University, in Boston, have several years of experience in staff training (Creighton, 1998) and can assist those beginning the process. Likewise, Chameau (1999) outlines the strategies that Georgia Institute of Technology has developed to enable academic staff members to establish close connections between learning in the classroom and the discovery that comes from research and practice in the environmental management of the campus. There is no shortage of suggestions and examples for how staff development can be undertaken. The deficiency seems to be the inability of tertiary institutions to accept the need for these programmes, and especially, to implement them. Conclusion (and a starting point) Clearly, the arguments to introduce sustainability education across all the programmes of an institution are strongly supported. It is difficult to see anyone arguing against the general principles of this curriculum initiative. Internationally there has been a steady move by institutions to commit themselves to the introduction of sustainability education, and researchers and practitioners have been working to develop appropriate pedagogy and support materials. Yet only a small number of institutions have accepted the need for curricula development, as epitomised by the current situation in Australia. The reasons for this tardiness are related to the barriers identified earlier – the lack of: . a culture, where value or priority is given to greening/sustainability; . organisational and resource support for staff; . training for academic staff. A strategy to jump these barriers will involve an understanding of organisational culture and change. A key element of this change will involve academic staff development. Again, this is an area where there are many working models and considerable accumulated experience. It is not that we do not know what to do; rather, the issue is exerting the will to do it. At this stage we have plenty of guidance on what needs to be done. This paper has identified the possibilities for bringing about change, and provided some directions for where resources to facilitate change can be found. To date those of us concerned about environmental education in tertiary institutions have concentrated on the “low hanging fruit” (to use a term popular in environmental management) – producing curriculum materials, and

developing sustainability courses. These have been essential stages along the Sustainability in road to the bigger picture of sustainability education. However, now we are at tertiary curricula the point where we have to meet the much harder task of altering the system that directs curriculum – the institution or organisation itself. I trust that the discussion outlined in this paper will have two outcomes. First, that tertiary educators will be enthused to debate the issues I have raised. 45 Second, that the focus on organisational culture and change provide a direction for us to “get on with it” and work for the implementation of sustainability education.

References Alabaster, T. and Blair, D. (1996), “Greening the university”, in Huckle, J. and Sterling, S. (Eds), Education for Sustainability, Earthscan, London, pp. 86-104. AtKisson, A. (1999), Believing Cassandra: An Optimist Looks at a Pessimist’s World, Chelsea Green Publishing, White River Junction, VT. Alvarez, A. and Kyle, L. (1998), Integration of Waste Minimisation Principles into Higher Education Curricula, EcoRecycle Victoria, Melbourne. Barbera, M. (1994), Environmental Issues: A Challenge for Management Accountants, Australian Society for Certified and Practicing Accountants, Melbourne. Bekessy, S. and Burgman, M. (2001), “Environmental best practice in Australian and international universities”, unpublished report to the vice chancellor, University of Melbourne, November. Bennett, S.J., Freierman, R. and George, S. (1993), Corporate Realities and Environmental Truth: Strategies for Leading Your Business in the Environmental Era, John Wiley, New York, NY. Bharagava, S. and Welford, R. (1996), “Corporate strategy and the environment: the theory”, in Welford, R. (Ed.), Corporate Environmental Management: Systems and Strategies, Earthscan, London, pp. 13-32. Bird, A. (1996), “Training for environmental improvement”, in Wehrmeyer, W. (Ed.), Greening People: Human Resources and Environmental Management, Greenleaf Publishing, Sheffield, pp. 227-46. Cairncross, F. (1995), Green Inc: Guide to Business and the Environment, Earthscan, London. Callenbach, E., Capra, F., Goldman, L., Lutz, R. and Marburg, S. (1993), EcoManagement: The Elmwood Guide to Ecological Auditing and Sustainable Business, Berrett-Koehler, San Francisco, CA. Carpenter, D. and Meehan, B. (2002), “Mainstreaming environmental management: case studies from Australasian universities”, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 3 No. 1, pp. 9-37. Chameau, J.L. (1999), “Changing a mind-set, not just a problem-set: sustainable development in colleges of engineering”, paper presented at the Tools and Resources, Second Nature Northeast Regional Workshop on Education for Sustainability, November 5-7. Commonwealth of Australia (1994), National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development, AGPS, Canberra. Cosgrove, L. and Thomas, I. (1996), “Categorising tertiary environmental education in Australia”, Australian Journal of Environmental Education, Vol. 12, pp. 27-34.

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Cowell, S.J., Hogson, S.B. and Clift, R. (1998), “Teamwork for environmental excellence in a university context”, in Moxen, J. and Strachan, P.A. (Eds), Managing Green Teams, Greenleaf Publishing, Sheffield, pp. 131-44. Creighton, S.H. (1998), Greening the Ivory Tower: Improving the Environmental Track Record of Universities, Colleges and Other Institutions, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. Dahle, M. and Neumayer, E. (2001), “Overcoming barriers to campus greening: a survey among higher educational institutions in London, UK”, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 139-60. Dawson, S. (1992), Analysing Organisations, 2nd ed., Macmillan Press, London. Dingle, P. (1998), “President’s report”, OZEE News, No. 73, July, pp. 3-4. Dunphy, D. and Griffiths, A. (1998), The Sustainable Corporation: Organisational Renewal in Australia, Allen and Unwin, St Leonards. Dyer, C. (1996), Moving from Rhetoric to Reality: An Initial Exploration of Theories and Approaches to Curriculum Greening Appropriate to the Faculty of Environmental Design and Construction, RMIT University, Melbourne. Emerson, T. and Welford, R. (1997), “Defining the problem: diagnostic tools to explore the evolution of unsustainable practices in organizations”, in Welford, R. (Ed.), Corporate Environmental Management 2: Culture and Organizations, Earthscan, London, pp. 11-25. Findlay, M. and Thomas, I. (2000), “Environmental literacy project: a report”, unpublished report to Faculty of the Constructed Environment, RMIT University, Melbourne. Henry, J. and Walker, D. (1991), Managing Innovation, Sage Publications, London. Herremans, I. and Allwright, D.E. (2000), “Environmental management systems at North American universities – what drives good performance?”, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 1 No. 2, p. 168. IUCN/UNEP/WWF (1991), Caring for the Earth: A Strategy for Sustainable Living, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, United Nations Environment Program and World Wildlife Fund, Gland. Jucker, R. (2002), “‘Sustainability? Never heard of it!’ Some basics we shouldn’t ignore when engaging in education for sustainability”, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 3 No. 1, pp. 8-18. Klaschka, U. (2001), “Six suggestions on how to improve environmental education at universities of applied sciences”, in Leal Filho, W. (Ed.), Environmental Careers, Environmental Employment and Environmental Training: International Approaches and Contexts, Peter Lang, Frankfurt, pp. 65-84. Kliucininkas, L. (2001), “Assessment of sustainability: studies at universities and colleges in Lithuania”, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 2 No. 3, pp. 250-6. Leal Filho, W. (2000), “Dealing with misconceptions on the concept of sustainability”, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 1 No. 1, p. 9. Lynton, R.P. and Pareek, U. (2000), Training for Organizational Transformation – Part 1: For Policy Makers and Change Managers, Sage, New Delhi. Meima, R. (1997), “The challenge of ecological logic”, in Welford, R. (Ed.), Corporate Environmental Management 2: Culture and Organizations, Earthscan, London, pp. 26-56. Orr, D.W. (1992), Ecological Literacy, Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World, State University of New York Press, Albany, NY.

Rice, S. (2000), “Strategic termites and you – perfect together”, Environmental Opportunities, Inc., available at: www.enviropps.com/ac_art4.html (accessed 28 August, 2001). Ridener, L.R. (1997), “University students’ attitude to the environment: an Australian/USA comparison and the effects of an educational program”, Australian Journal of Environmental Education, Vol. 13, pp. 77-84. Royal Australian Institute of Architecture (1995), Environmental Design Guide, RAIA, Melbourne. Scallion, M. and Steen, M. (1997), “Environmental positioning for the future: a review of 36 leading companies of the pacific northwest region of the United States of America”, in Legerwood, G. (Ed.), Greening the Boardroom: Corporate Governance and Business Sustainability, Greenleaf Publishing, Sheffield, pp. 145-64. Second Nature (2002), “Resource center”, available at: www.secondnature.org/resource_center/ resource_center.html (accessed 22 May). Schmidheiny, S. (1994), “Looking forward: our common enterprise”, in Kolluru, R.V. (Ed.), Environmental Strategies Handbook, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. Sheldon, C. (Ed.) (1997), ISO 14001 and Beyond: Environmental Management Systems in the Real World, Greenleaf Publishing, Sheffield. Sterling, S. (1996), “Education in change”, in Huckle, J. and Sterling, S. (Eds), Education for Sustainability, Earthscan, London. Thomas, I. and Nicita, J. (2002), “Sustainability education and Australian universities”, Environmental Education Research, Vol. 8 No. 4. Thomas, I. and Olsson, M. (1998), “Opportunities for environmental education provided by environmental management systems”, Australian Journal of Environmental Education, Vol. 14, pp. 93-100. Thomas, I., Kyle, L. and Alvarez, A. (1999), “Environmental education across the curriculum: a process”, Environmental Education Research, Vol. 5 No. 3, pp. 319-37. Thomas, I., Kyle, L. and Alvarez, A. (2000), “Introducing environmental literacy in the tertiary curriculum”, Australian Journal of Environmental Education, Vol. 15/16, pp. 95-101. University Leaders for a Sustainable Future (2001), “History”, available at: www.ulsf.org (accessed 1 April). University Leaders for a Sustainable Future (2002), “Talloires Declaration signatories list”, available at: www.ulsf.org (accessed 23 May). Victorian Government (1987), Protecting Our Environment – Victoria’s State Conservation Strategy, Victorian Government Printer, Melbourne. Walton, A.E. (1995), “Transformative culture: shaping the informal organization”, in Nadler, D.A., Shaw, R.B. and Walton, A.E. (Eds), Discontinuous Change: Leading Organizational Change, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, pp. 151-68. Wemmenhove, R. and De Groot, W.T. (2001), “Principles for university curriculum greening: an empirical case study from Tanzania”, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 2 No. 3, pp. 267-83. Whiteley, A. (1995), Managing Change: A Core Values Approach, Macmillian, Melbourne. Wolfe, V.L. (2001), “A survey of the environmental education of students in non-environmental majors at four-year institutions in the USA”, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 2 No. 4, pp. 301-15. Woods, S. (1994), The Environmental Agenda, Taking Responsibility, The Built Environment, Pluto Press, London.

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Global environmental planning at the Technical University of Catalonia Didac Ferrer-Balas Environment Plan Coordinator, Technical University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain Keywords Environmental management, Curriculum development, Environment, Universities, Management, Education, Spain Abstract In 1996 the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) adopted an Environment Plan which incorporated classical technical education, promoting multidisciplinary environmental research, and improving the environmental performance of university life as a whole. This paper outlines the first environment plan (1996-2001). It discusses its encouraging results and consequences, and describes how it was the main motivation for the design of a second environment plan for the period (2002-2005). The paper pays special attention to the curriculum greening experience of UPC: six years ago the university decided to start greening its entire range of courses, over a wide range of technical and scientific areas. The paper explains the most relevant projects, and attempts to evaluate their effectiveness in improving the environmental performance of the university.

Introduction The first UPC environment plan (1996-2001) In November 1996, Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) approved its first environment plan (EP1) in order to introduce environmental commitments by adopting a general approach within the university. As shown in the list below, the planning covered six major areas (undergraduate education, postgraduate education, research, university life, awareness raising and coordination):

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education Vol. 5 No. 1, 2004 pp. 48-62 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1467-6370 DOI 10.1108/14676370410512580

1.

Undergraduate education:

1.1

Greening of the curriculum.

1.2

Subject “Introduction to the environment”.

1.3

Optional subjects with an environmental focus.

1.4

Educational cooperation and final theses with environmental and “green” businesses.

1.5

Introduction to the study of environmental impact in final theses.

1.6

Introduction to the study of environmental impact in final theses.

1.7

Bibliographic collection on the environment in the libraries.

1.8

Book: Greened Problems in Scientific Areas.

1.9

Book: Environment and Technology: UPC Environmental Guide.

1.10 Specific material for three subjects of major environmental impact. 2.

Postgraduate education:

2.1

Map of postgraduate studies on the environment.

2.2

Postgraduate courses with environmental content.

2.3

Institutional links with environmental and “green” businesses.

2.4

Institutional links with the administration.

2.5

Greening of postgraduate courses (with emphasis on the doctorate).

2.6

Continuing education programmes for large enterprises and the administration.

3.

Research:

3.1

Map of environmental research.

3.2

Promotion of environmental research workshops and seminars.

3.3

Participation in the definition of environmental research framework programmes.

3.4

Active participation in management bodies.

3.5

Promotion of research greening.

3.6

Comprehensive integration projects.

3.7

Coordination centre for integration projects.

4.

University life:

4.1

Energy auditing.

4.2

UPC Campus transport study.

4.3

Promotion of responsible transport.

4.4

Selective collection of municipal (urban) waste.

4.5

Collection of special (toxic and hazardous) waste.

4.6

Collection of manuals to reduce environmental impact.

4.7

Training and information courses for administrative and service staff.

4.8

Environmental criteria in the design, construction and use of buildings.

4.9

Environmental criteria in specifications.

4.10 Environmental criteria in supply.

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5.

Awareness raising:

5.1

Support for UPC workshops aimed at awareness raising.

5.2

Support for environmental business forums.

5.3

Promotion of collective environmental guidance activities.

5.4

Support for environmental volunteering.

5.5

“Eco-tips”.

5.6

Environment telephone number and e-mail address.

5.7

Environment Web site.

5.8

Internal communication of environmental information.

5.9

External communication of environmental information.

6.

Coordination and monitoring:

6.1

Support and coordination tools.

6.2

Evaluation and monitoring mechanisms.

6.3

Sponsoring and funding programmes.

An accurate description of the plan and its development can be found elsewhere (Capdevila et al., 2002). The idea was not to create major new structures, but to get the existing structures within the university involved in the plan’s objectives (Universitat Polite`cnica de Catalunya, 1996). Though there was a vice-rector in charge of the whole plan, each major area was the responsibility of a different vice-rector. In addition, a small office – the Environment Plan Coordination Office – was created to coordinate and monitor the planned projects, through the publication of the annual Environment Report (Universitat Polite`cnica de Catalunya, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000a, 2001). UPC has 35,000 students, with seven campuses spread across an area of 50km around Barcelona, and 22 technical schools and faculties[1]. Main achievements of EP1 Education The main and most ambitious objective in the area of education was “greening the curriculum” of all the subjects at UPC. The first step was to prepare a collection of manuals (one for each school or faculty) to assist students and lecturers in introducing the study of environmental impact in final theses. The second step was to involve the schools in producing a school curriculum greening plan (SCGP) for each school, with what we call a “vertical approach” in the UPC context. These SCGPs had three main phases, which were:

(1) to establish the profile of environmental knowledge that a student needs to learn; (2) to design the optimal greened curriculum; (3) to establish an action plan at school level.

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Apart from the lecturers of each school, the process for producing these SCGPs involved professional associations and former students of the schools. They helped to establish a curriculum greening team (and greening responsibilities) in almost every school that produced a SCGP. Once the main schools at UPC had produced the SCGP[2] (11 SCGPs were produced in the period 1998-2000), the natural next step was to work with the “horizontal structure” of departments[3], to produce a department greening plan (DGP) for each department. Unlike the SCPGs, the DGPs covered not only curriculum greening, but also research and department life. The idea was to work with a structure closer to the reality of the lecturer, who, ultimately, is the key actor in the curriculum greening process. The main phases of the DGP were: . to establish the basic environmental aspects that should define the department’s actions; . to determine the priority greening lines at undergraduate and postgraduate education level; . to establish a short-term action plan.

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To date, 18 DGPs have been produced, while four DGPs are currently being produced. Information dissemination strategy The quantity of information generated, and the need to disseminate it through UPC and other universities and education centres, has led to the development of the Virtual Resources Centre on Curriculum Greening in Technology (e-ambiT)[4]. New subject introduced Another important project was the establishment of a new subject: “Environment and technology: environmental education in engineering”. This was developed in digital format (virtual learning), and is offered as an optional subject. This 60-hour course was coordinated by the UNESCO Chair for Sustainability at UPC. Besides its educational content, it gives students the opportunity to participate in a virtual discussion forum on sustainability. More than 700 students have chosen this subject since September 2000. As explained below, UPC is discussing the possibility of making this subject compulsory for all UPC students. The possibility of offering the course to other groups, such as university lecturers and secondary school teachers, is also being studied.

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Research The main research activities of EP1 have been developed through the establishment of an environmental research coordination unit (ERCU). The ERCU is responsible for several main tasks: . to carry out a general analysis of the environmental research production of UPC (by mapping it and elaborating indicators); . to act as a “hinge” between UPC research groups and organisations (public and private), which are interested in working with UPC on an environmental project or problem, in this way establishing multidisciplinary teams from different UPC research groups; . to help reduce environmental impact and seek environmental applications for any research (other than environmental research) carried out at UPC; . to develop new environmental postgraduate courses. University life and awareness-raising Although many activities have been developed in this area, the most important are the establishment of integrated selective waste collection plans (ISWCP), and the introduction of environmental criteria in new buildings and campuses. The ISWCPs have been implemented at school and/or campus level (depending on each situation), with a total of 13 plans having already been implemented, covering the entire UPC. To allow greater involvement of schools and campus management units, the management responsibility was almost totally decentralised. A second important project was to establish a methodology to ensure that each new building at UPC would fulfill environmental performance criteria. At the time of the approval of EP1, the additional interest of this project was that UPC was going to build a new campus in 1999. For this purpose, the approach consisted of establishing the criteria first. Coordination The Environment Plan Coordination Office was responsible for promoting the development of EP1 projects, seeking external funding and monitoring and evaluating the development resulting from implementation. As a monitoring tool, an annual report was published, which includes the main indicators and a description of the most relevant activities carried out during the year. Results of EP1 Education For undergraduate education, the indicator chosen to monitor the development of curriculum greening was the percentage of courses that introduce environmental contents in their programme. A list of keywords was established in order to be as objective as possible, and the information was checked from the annual study guide publication from each school on the

subjects being offered. As can be seen in Figure 1, the trend is positive, even if growth is not as fast as expected. Although this is one of the main tasks of the Environment Plan Coordination Office, one of the conclusions is that this indicator could be improved, since it cannot accurately reflect the complexity of introducing the concepts and values involved in sustainability into all the courses. Since 2000, a new measure of progress in curriculum greening is evaluation by means of a questionnaire of those students who have found employment through the university’s careers advisory office. Again, although two indicators are not sufficient proof, the trend seems positive (Figure 2). As far as postgraduate education is concerned, efforts are made each year to monitor the range of courses made available by the university in environmental issues and the popularity of these courses. The indicator is the sum of the product of credit points of each subject (hours) multiplied by the number of students enrolled on this course. As can be seen in Figure 3, the trend is again positive.

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Figure 1. Percentage of greened subjects

Figure 2. Results of a questionnaire addressed to former UPC students

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Research One of basic pillars of UPC’s environmental plan is that the driving force behind introducing sustainability in higher education is research in environmental and sustainability issues (ER). Thus, monitoring these research activities was a priority during the implementation of EP1. As can be observed in Figure 4, ER has grown substantially in terms of technology transfer, and represents approximately 30-35 per cent of the total. The monitoring has also permitted the objective identification of fields of expertise related to ER, by dividing it into eight areas (Figure 5), the main areas being the water cycle, environmental management in industry, and waste and soil contamination. University life and awareness-raising Changes in water consumption per campus inhabitant are visible (Figure 6), though it is difficult to attribute this trend to the existence of EP1. The same

Figure 3. Number of postgraduate environmental courses credit points multiplied by number of course students

Figure 4. Technology transfer points (PATT) in Me in environmental research and percentage of environmental research within total

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Figure 5. PAR points (related to contributions to books, journals, conferences, etc.) in environmental research

Figure 6. Electricity and water consumption per year and university member (students þ staff)

can be said of energy consumption. The changes brought about thanks to EP1 are basically long-term (new buildings with sustainability criteria (Universitat Polite`cnica de Catalunya, 2000b) are still a very low percentage among the total number of buildings, and will be so for many years). Improvements in awareness have been low to date, according to the questionnaires carried out. Other specific indicators, as shown in Figure 7, reflect the positive evolution of the implementation of ISWCPs. This is a useful tool for monitoring the

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Figure 7. Indicator of the integral selective waste collection plans (evaluates qualitative and quantitative aspects of the implementation)

Figure 8. Number of awareness raising activities carried out at UPC campuses

differences between the commitments of each unit with respect to waste management. A significant evolution is shown in Figure 8. This indicator is the number of awareness- raising activities carried out at UPC on sustainability and the environment. This includes conferences (other than research focused), seminars, presentations, exhibitions, events, dissemination activities, etc., organised by students, departments, schools or other university units. As can be seen, their number has declined significantly. There are two possible explanations for this. First, as UPC has shown a strong institutional commitment towards the environment, there are now different and more important needs to address; second, environment and sustainability is no longer a fashionable issue among students. We believe that a combination of both reasons exists, and that this is an important issue to consider when implementing a new institutional programme. Other indicators used are the number of visits to UPC environmental Web site (Figure 9), and the number of people subscribed to the environmental

e-newsletter (Figure 10). The evolution of the funding source of the EP1 projects is shown in Figure 11. Overall evaluation (positive and negative aspects) At the end of EP1 (autumn 2001), an evaluation of EP1 was carried out by a commission of 22 people from different university positions, all involved in the implementation of EP1. The purpose was to determine its positive and negative aspects, and offer ideas and recommendations for the second environment plan (EP2). The main conclusions of this evaluation were: . EP1 was correctly focused and has allowed UPC to become well placed in terms of greening, although some objectives need to be redefined; . the key point is the involvement of staff; . there is a lack of economic and human resources; external alliances would be a considerable help in this regard;

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Figure 9. Number of visits to the UPC environmental Web site (www.upc.es/ mediambient)

Figure 10. Number of subscribers to the environmental e-newsletter

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.

the organisational structure needs to be redefined in order to become more operative; processes in the area of university Life need to be professionalised and normalised.

As far as undergraduate education is concerned, the conclusions are listed below (1) Positive aspects: . to green all the studies at UPC was (and remains) a good option; . education is the main impact process in terms of sustainability; . UPC is a pioneer (in our context); . good tools have been developed; . there is a core of able and motivated lecturers. (2) Areas for improvement: . the concept “curriculum greening” must be redefined; . efforts must be made in areas where they will be most effective, i.e. during the periodical curriculum review of a school; . reaching all lecturers, through the promotion of environmental courses and interdisciplinarity. EP2 (2002-2005) Objectives and characteristics The main characteristics of EP2 are: (1) Reduction of the number of projects. (2) Two-level operation; . reinforcement of consolidated projects; . starting up an open discussion/debate process in the mid term.

(3) (4) (5) (6)

Greater linking of the areas (education, research and university life). Intensification in communication efforts (internal and external). Seeking the real involvement of university community. Seeking an efficiency, functionality and responsibility definition for each project, and in overall terms. (7) Establishment of operational indicators for each project.

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Assuming that the role of the university with regard to sustainability may be interpreted as illustrated in Figure 12, EP2 is a tool that must allow: . the reinforcement of UPC’s commitment to sustainable development; . the involvement of the university community in the overall greening process of UPC; . the optimisation of available resources and possible funding. It must contribute to the sustainable development of society through: . the integration of respect for the environment and the challenge of sustainability into people’s education; . the intensification of research in scientific or technological alternatives in order to minimise and find solutions to the impact of human beings on the environment; . the development of specific environmental management experiences that are exportable to society.

Figure 12. The university’s role in society with regard to sustainability in EP2

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Figure 13. Structure of the projects included in EP1

Projects included in EP2 Figure 13 shows the 13 projects of EP2, which are divided into four main areas. In the education area, the main project is curriculum greening in all disciplines offered at UPC (project 1.1). The challenge is to apply the SCGPs designed during EP1. However, it is also planned to offer an elementary course entitled “Sustainable development and technology” for all students. At the same time, UPC is opening the possibility of offering new environmental engineering studies in the coming years (1.2). In 1996, this possibility had been discarded to avoid any negative interference in the curriculum greening of “traditional” studies. However, once this process has been initiated, it is felt that it will be of valuable help in creating a sustainability “critical mass” within UPC, rather than a source of problems. The third project is to start new environmental postgraduate courses (1.3). As far as the area of research is concerned, the ER coordination office should continue to act as a catalyst for new integrated and multidisciplinary projects (2.1). One of the main targets is to train researchers to implement this multidisciplinarity working method in a new area of applied environmental research for UPC’s own needs, called “Laboratori REAL” (REAL Lab) (2.2). Laboratori REAL aims to develop projects that will be undertaken at the new UPC campus in Castelldefels. Some of the projects in course are: . designing a sustainable mobility plan for the campus; . developing energy indicators for monitoring building efficiency; . limnological study of the campus lagoon.

Also in this area, there is a project to establish a doctoral programme on environmental studies (2.3), which would offer a multidisciplinary approach and help to consolidate and improve the quality of existing studies. In the area of university life and campus, the projects are waste management (3.1), green building design (3.2), sustainable transport (3.3) and environmental cooperation (3.4). This last project aims to involve students (willingly) in environmental projects, either at UPC or externally. The idea is to provide an opportunity to individual students who “want to do something for the environment”, but also to establish a collaboration area between student associations, NGOs and other organisations, and UPC through the Environment Plan Coordination Office. Finally, the area of coordination and communication envisages the internal and external communication of environmental projects and activities (4.1), to be active in networking and cooperating with other universities (around the world) as a key for SD learning (4.2), and to coordinate the whole plan (4.3). Conclusions UPC has gained valuable experience in developing an environment plan that has a comprehensive and integral perspective. Considerable efforts have been made in greening all university activities, obtaining significant and positive results. The most ambitious objective of this planning is EP2 (2002-2005), to educate people who will be actively steering toward sustainable development from their professional positions. Experience has demonstrated that including environmental and SD aspects in formal higher education is possible, though this requires considerable effort and produces slow results. Institutional commitment is fundamental, but unless it is successful in making use of the scarce opportunities available, such as periodical curriculum reviews, it is insufficient. Although slow and progressive advances are positive, general revision is needed if new engineers with the ability to lead the transition to SD are to be educated. Furthermore, experience has demonstrated that, generally speaking, staff are interested in and agree with the objectives of introducing SD in the curricula, but do not know “how to do it”. Although many materials, documents and training courses have been developed at UPC, their use is still low. New forms and incentives to promote the use of these tools are needed. Another thing that has been learnt is that it is rather complex to quantitatively measure advances in curriculum greening. Indicators, surveys and other tools are needed to monitor the process, both in the short term and the medium to long term. Finally, a positive aspect is that the environment plan has survived several changes in UPC governing bodies, which means that it has now become a consolidated project at our university, and one that is easy to incorporate into the programme regardless of political colour.

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Notes 1. For the sake of simplicity, in the text “schools” refers to the 15 schools and faculties that belong to UPC, and also includes the seven associate schools. These cover studies of architecture, mathematics, telecommunications, computer science, industrial engineering, civil engineering, agriculture, nautical studies, optics, knitted fabric engineering, business, etc. 2. The areas in which no SCGPs have been produced are mathematics, computing and telecommunications. 3. There are 40 departments at UPC. Most of them are located in more than one UPC school and are responsible for their lectures. 4. The Web site can be found at: http://bibliotecnica.upc.es/e-ambit (Catalan version only at time of writing: May 2002). References Capdevila, I. et al., (2002), “Curriculum greening and environmental research co-ordination at the Technical University of Catalonia – Barcelona”, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 25-32. Universitat Polite`cnica de Catalunya (1996), Environment Plan, UPC, Barcelona. Universitat Polite`cnica de Catalunya (1997), Environment Report, UPC, Barcelona. Universitat Polite`cnica de Catalunya (1998), Environment Report, UPC, Barcelona. Universitat Polite`cnica de Catalunya (1999), Environment Report, UPC, Barcelona. Universitat Polite`cnica de Catalunya (2000a), Environment Report, UPC, Barcelona. Universitat Polite`cnica de Catalunya (2000b), Environmental criteria in the design, construction and use of buildings and their planned application in Parc Tecnolo`gic de la Mediterrania, European Commission – Energie Program, UPC, Barcelona. Universitat Polite`cnica de Catalunya (2001), Environment Report, UPC, Barcelona.

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An environmental management qualification through distance education

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Rudi W. Pretorius Department of Anthropology, Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Studies, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa Keywords Curriculum development, Environment, Higher education, Sustainable development, Universities, South Africa Abstract The department of geography and environmental studies of the University of South Africa recently played a pivotal role in implementing an inter- and multidisciplinary undergraduate programme in environmental management. This programme prepares students for entry-level occupations, and equips them with the knowledge, skills and values needed to contribute to sustainable development. Both BA and BSc students are catered for, which contributes to the broadening of undergraduate education. This programme is unique because of its inclusion at undergraduate level and because it is offered through distance education. The teaching approach acknowledges that the causes of environmental problems are not simple, and are rooted in the nature of political, social and economic systems. It acknowledges that the solutions to environmental problems are equally complex, requiring not only specialist inputs, but also value and structural shifts. In line with the latest trends in education, a student-activating approach is followed, with emphasis on real case studies, the flexible application of knowledge, and formative and integrated assessment. An overview is given of the experience that has been gained through designing and implementing this programme. This experience may serve to stimulate discussion on how to improve education and training in this field. The results of a pilot survey conducted among the students enrolled for this programme are presented. Their responses reflect a positive attitude to the programme, especially concerning the interconnectedness of modules, the fostering of environmental awareness, and its usefulness for career objectives.

Introduction Higher education institutions worldwide are involved in the integration of environmental concerns and issues in education and research, community projects and management of campuses (Van Weenen, 2000). This greening of institutions is associated with a growing concern about issues such as population increase, pollution, urbanisation and rising consumption, and what to do about it. In Agenda 21, the global plan for delivering sustainable development that was accepted at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, the role of higher education institutions is recognised as critical for promoting sustainable development (UNCED, 1992). The author wishes to emphasise that the programme in environmental management at the University of South Africa is a team effort, and acknowledges the contribution of all the participating departments and individuals.

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education Vol. 5 No. 1, 2004 pp. 63-80 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1467-6370 DOI 10.1108/14676370410512599

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Environmental management is one of the approaches available for achieving and maintaining sustainable development (Barrow, 1999, p. 263). In environmental management, the focus is on implementation, monitoring and auditing, on practice and on coping with real problems, rather than theorising (Hillary, 1995). Environmental management is also about human-environment interactions and the application of science to solve related problems. To this end, an inter- and multidisciplinary endeavour is required, which emphasises the integration of fields such as science, law, business management, engineering and social science (Blowers, 1995, p. 1; Howarth, 1998, p. 17; Park and Chong, 1998, p. 1). Students in the field of environmental management have to be educated and trained in a special way to be able to work within the frameworks set out in the previous paragraph (Flint, 2002). These students should also be equipped with the knowledge, skills and values to think through the implications of decisions thoroughly, in order to maintain a balance with the environment. Responsible environmental management does not follow rules and regulations, but involves attitudinal change. The onus is on higher education to produce graduates with increased and enlightened environmental awareness, and who can support and make decisions in increasingly ambiguous and nebulous frameworks (Blackman and Fleming, 1998). This challenge has been accepted by the department of geography and environmental Studies at the University of South Africa, who took the bold step in 2000 to implement an inter- and multidisciplinary, undergraduate programme in environmental management[1]. This programme is offered exclusively through distance education. Since this programme is now in the third year since its inception, this is an appropriate time to bring it to general notice. The next section highlights the context provided by distance education for teaching environmental related courses. Thereafter, the focus shifts to the programme in environmental management at the University of South Africa. Subsequent sections present the rationale behind the programme, its development and design, and the experience gained from its implementation. Attention is given to the problems experienced and how these problems are addressed. The results of a pilot survey, which was conducted among the students enrolled for this programme, are presented and discussed. The article concludes with an evaluation of the programme in environmental management and some comments on the role of distance education in teaching environmental management. The context of distance education Distance education refers to a teaching and learning process in which the educator and learner are removed from each other in time and space and which typically involves a combination of different media (Sharma, 1998, p. 76). This

form of education is no longer viewed as a “second class” option (Tahir, 2001, p. 22), but is widely acknowledged as one of several educational methodologies (Leal Filho, 1998a, p. 7; Asmal, 2000). In South Africa this is also the case, with the qualifications offered by distance education institutions (e.g. the University of South Africa and the Techikon South Africa) being sought after and generally well regarded. For people who are not in a position to attend classes at contact education institutions, distance education is of particular relevance. Among other things, it facilitates flexible learning (Leal Filho, 1998b, p. 11) and allows students to organise their own time and working methods (Novo, 1998, p. 56). People who are employed and/or have families are examples of the target groups at which distance education is aimed (Blackmore, 1998, p. 29). In addition, distance education contributes to the equalisation of educational opportunities, thereby providing the poor and marginalised with access to education. In the context of developing countries (including South Africa), this aspect is of particular importance. Although distance education programmes on the environment were not very common 10 to 15 years ago, the situation has since changed a great deal. By 1998, more than 100 environmental-related programmes were offered by means of distance education worldwide (Leal Filho, 1998a, p. 7), including several developing countries (Sharma, 1998) as well as South Africa (Ferreira, 1998). Leal Filho (1998a) mentions that these programmes have since become important providers of environmental training, to the extent that further initiatives are also encouraged. Leal Filho (1998b, pp. 10-14), Blackmore (1998, pp. 27-9) and Novo (1998, pp. 53-9) indicate that distance education has specific advantages for training in the environmental field, especially from the viewpoint of sustainable development. Since distance education allows students to stay in their jobs while studying, there is the opportunity for applying what is learnt immediately. Given the urgency with which environmental problems should be attended to, especially in developing countries, this synergy between what is learnt and what is done in practice is of particular importance. Distance education programmes on the environment have the advantage that several target groups can be reached, varying from school leavers and government workers to professionals. Facilitated by information technology and/or periodic attendance sessions, this diversity of students allows for the horizontal exchange of ideas, which has the potential to enhance the learning experience. This is of particular value in the environmental field, where the complexity of problems requires an integrated, cross-disciplinary approach. Other advantages of distance education in the environmental field are more generic in nature and relate to the flexibility of the role of students and lecturers, the flexibility of communication channels and, generally speaking, lower costs. Recent developments in information technology have contributed

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to the enhancement of these advantages. However, it should be noted that although the so-called “virtual campus” may widen opportunities for some, this might not necessarily be the case for the socio-economically disadvantaged, who have traditionally been underrepresented in higher education (Gladieux and Swail, 1999, p. 53). In South Africa, as well as in the rest of Africa and the developing world, where the most marginalised of communities still lack access to basic infrastructure such as water and electricity, not to mention information technology, the observation by Gladieux and Swail (1999) is of particular relevance. Distance education on the environment does not only have advantages, but is also characterised by problems. These include inadequate budgetary provision for distance education by governments, lack of information on opportunities available for distance education on the environment, a general reluctance by people to take part in distance education programmes and a lack of information on curricular aspects of environmental training through distance education. Last but not least, the inclusion of practical work, which should be an essential component of any environmental-related study programme, presents a challenge for distance education that can only be resolved through creative solutions. The University of South Africa has a long history of excellence in distance education. Originally established as the University of the Cape of Good Hope in 1873, its name was changed to the University of South Africa in 1916. The university started with correspondence courses in 1946, and developed into one of the 11 mega distance-education universities (universities with more than 100,000 students) in the world. The University of South Africa offers internationally recognised qualifications up to doctoral level in six faculties. Rationale behind the programme During the past decade, radical changes have taken place in many African countries, including South Africa. Many of the world’s new democracies have been established in sub-Saharan Africa during this period (Karatnycky, 1994, p. 5). People in these countries now have the freedom to associate openly and elect their own representatives, and have more say in how resources are managed. Effective environmental management is, however, constrained by a lack of environmental awareness in general, and the lack of capacity to participate in environmental decision making in particular (Dorm-Adzobu, 1998, p. 62). In the context of environmental management, capacity development addresses the need for society to do something about environmental problems. Academic programmes, short courses and on-the-job training constitute the most common forms of capacity development in the environmental field in Africa. According to Dorm-Adzobu (1998, pp. 64-5), the need is to develop skills that will reduce or eliminate sectoral thinking and rather facilitate integrated

environmental management. Capacity development should not be limited to the privileged, but should involve all stakeholders whose perceptions, experiences, attitudes and choices are decisive in efforts to manage the environment. The programme in environmental management that has recently been instituted by the University of South Africa, is an attempt to address the need for the development of grassroots capacity to do something about the environmental problems faced by South Africa. A survey conducted in 1999 by the department of geography and environmental studies among a sample of South African environmental managers, confirmed that the need for a such a programme existed and still exists. The survey indicated the need for a first degree in environmental management, which would equip students for entry-level occupations in this field. The training of specialists is already catered for by the numerous courses in environmental management that are offered at postgraduate level by other South African institutions of higher education (Nicolau and Davis, 2002, p. 16). Graduates with a generalist training are required to, among other things, act as coordinators and facilitate community involvement and participation in environmental decision making. Legislation in South Africa makes it mandatory for any party undertaking activities that have an environmental impact to formulate environmental management plans (South Africa, 1998). This requires, first and foremost, knowledge of the environment. Many decisions regarding the environment are taken on community level. Participants in these processes require background on the environment. A first degree in environmental management seemed to be the obvious route to addressing these needs. People who are concerned about the environment and would like to make a contribution to solving environmental problems are often not in a position to attend classes at residential education institutions. For these people, the University of South Africa, which offers tuition exclusively through the medium of distance education, is an obvious choice. Development and design of the programme The University of South Africa’s programme in environmental management is offered as a Bachelors degree over a period of at least three years. It may be taken either as a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree with specialisation in environmental management. The programme had its first intake in 2000, after two years of planning during which industry was consulted and programme design and development took place. This programme provides a broad-based education that not only equips students for the labour market, but also serves as a platform for life-long learning. Philosophy The design of the programme was determined by the philosophy that environmental problems need holistic treatment, and that people who wish to

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work in this field have to be educated and trained accordingly. Armstrong and Rutherford (1999, p. 353) state that the traditional reductionist approach of science tends to underemphasise this important quality. Since the incompatibility of different viewpoints is regarded as a major obstacle in the resolution of environmental problems, the adoption of a holistic approach is of particular importance. Another important consideration was the realisation that students not only required knowledge about the environment and environmental problems, but also needed skills to do something about them. Above all, the programme should enable students to adopt a responsible and informed opinion on the environmental issues that they will come into contact with. Ali Khan (1995, p. 7) highlights the need for the higher education sector to enable students to be environmentally responsible citizens. The programme views environmental management as a process whereby human activities are planned in order to sustain the quality of the total world of humankind. This implies that it is not the environment that is to be managed, but human decision making about the environment. The term “environment” does not refer to just the natural or just the human-made environments, but to both. In line with Bryant and Wilson (1998), this programme adopts an inclusive understanding of what environmental management is. A broader appreciation of environmental problems and their solutions can therefore be obtained. Purpose The purpose of the programme in environmental management is to deliver competent, emerging professionals with a focused knowledge of the human impact on the natural, socio-economic and cultural environments. Graduates furthermore have to possess a sound understanding of the processes that structure both the natural and human-made environments and have to acquire the skills for making a contribution to problem identification and solving in this regard. Another purpose is to provide South Africa (and other countries) with graduates with a holistic approach. These graduates have to be able to act as responsible and knowledgeable stakeholders in environmental decision-making and participate in the implementation of environmental management plans on different levels. Structure Figure 1 presents a model of the programme in environmental management. The core of the programme consists of a number of geography modules on the first, second and third levels. Geography constitutes the only major for this programme. This core is supplemented with six other groups of modules, some of which are compulsory for all students. A selection from a number of optional modules is allowed for as well.

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Figure 1. The components of the programme in environmental management. The number of modules comprising the various components are indicated in the lower section of the figure (BA, left; BSc, right)

Geography is used as the vehicle for setting the scene and also provides the holistic, integrative approach. The specialisation modules allow students to obtain experience in related fields of expertise. Some of these modules have prerequisites that also have to be provided for. The environmental modules serve not only to expand the student’s insight but also to equip them with more background for their careers in environmental related jobs. Without the necessary skills for identifying and solving environmental problems and for playing a valuable role as a member of an environmental management team, graduates will not be of much use in practice. The programme therefore includes a number of modules that are focused on the development of these skills. In order to ensure credibility, a practical/project module is included as well. The programme differentiates between BA and BSc. The reasoning behind this is to focus the training of BA students on the human impact on the social environment, while that of BSc students focuses on the human impact on the biophysical environment. Both BA and BSc students take geography as their major and do the modules that focus on the environment. The allocation of modules between the different components that comprise the programme in environmental management is shown in the lower section of Figure 1 for the BA and the BSc degrees respectively.

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Content The geography core of the programme focuses on sustainability and environmental management. A new syllabus was developed, integrating physical and human geography, a thematic approach, a global, continental and national focus on the first, second and third levels respectively, and skills integrated with theory (Vlok and Zietsman, 2001). Examples include the first-level module “World issues: a geographical perspective”, the second-level module “People and the natural environment: use and impact” and the third-level module “Environmental evaluation and impact assessment”. Most of the modules in the environmental group did not exist previously and were developed specifically for this programme, mostly by departments other than geography and environmental studies. The topics addressed include environmental ethics, environmental politics, environmental law and environmental economics. As far as the specialisation modules are concerned, BSc students may choose between botany, chemistry and zoology. BA students, on the other hand, may enhance their expertise with modules in communication science, anthropology, archaeology and environmental education, to mention a few. In the skills group, introductory modules deal with statistics, computer literacy and language ability. The module “Projects and programmes as instruments of development” is on a more advanced level. It should be noted that two of the geography “core” modules also focus on skills development (topics include maps, aerial photographs, satellite images and geographical information systems). In addition, BA students do a project, while BSc students do a practical in their respective specialisations (botany, chemistry or zoology). The electives allow both BA and BSc students to increase their expertise in the social sciences and/or the skills required by an environmental manager. In this category, BA students choose four modules, while BSc students choose only three. Interesting options, to mention a few, include “Introduction to the business world”, “Ecotourism”, “Environmental psychology”, “Anthropological study of culture in a multicultural context” and “Interpersonal skills in diverse contexts”. .

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Teaching model Despite the constraints of distance education, the programme in environmental management advocates a student-activating approach (Wemmehove and de Groot, 2001, p. 281). The focus is on intrinsic motivation and understanding, and attempts to relate parts to each other and concepts to real life. Students are encouraged to make their studies meaningful in their own lives. This corresponds with a “deep approach” to learning (Chin and Brown, 2000), in line with recent thoughts on instruction (Glasersfeld, 1989; National Research Council, 1999; Novo, 1998). The geography core of the programme serves as an example of how the latter aims are achieved. The UK Open University’s method of course teams

(Rowntree, 1990) was used to develop the teaching materials for the geography modules (Zietsman and Vok, 2001). Learning outcomes are clearly stated for every module, study unit and subsection. Activities and self-tests are included so that students can practice skills, demonstrate their mastery of knowledge, explore their life-worlds and examine their attitudes. The teaching model uses not only summative assessment, but also formative and integrative assessment. Formative assessment is achieved by providing feedback on activities and self-tests. This feedback may constitute the clarification of ideas, take the form of worked examples, highlight problems areas, ask critical questions and/or present different perspectives. This gives students the opportunity to revise their thinking, and serves as an aid in their efforts to construct knowledge. Integrative assessment is achieved through a project module that is compulsory for BA. This module is based on a real environmental management project. The project module aims to give students the opportunity to integrate the knowledge, skills and values that have been developed during the entire study period, and to apply these to a real problem. Issues One of the most important issues during the development of the programme concerned the barriers between departments and faculties. These barriers are characteristic of most rigidly structured institutions of higher education. As a result, interdepartmental and interfaculty cooperation is virtually non-existent. Departments and faculties are likely to demonstrate territorial behaviour and protect their own turf. This phenomenon, referred to as the “shadow curriculum” (Jucker, 2002, p. 15), can be a major constraint in implementing education for sustainability. Related to this is the straitjacket of monodisciplinary education that is still widely practised, and the University of South Africa is no exception. This approach is not suitable for education and training in the field of environmental management, which requires an inter- and multidisciplinary approach. The university community first had to be convinced that such an approach was viable and would not compromise standards. Work had to be done to dismantle barriers and foster a climate of cooperation between departments and faculties. The programme in environmental management was born after many hours of networking and deliberation. The general concern about the environmental issues of the day proved to be the decisive factor. The Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science were the most responsive in this regard. Both a BA and a BSc degree with specialisation in environmental management could therefore be instituted. Although not full partners, the Faculties of Economic and Management Sciences, Law and Education agreed to contribute modules to this programme. The end result was cooperation between five faculties and a large number of departments.

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The design of the programme presented a significant challenge. The issue was how to maintain a balance without cramming too many modules into the curriculum. This was especially true for the BSc, in which provision for a second, focused specialisation (botany, chemistry or zoology) in addition to geography had to be made, together with their associated prerequisites. To a lesser extent, the same was true for the modules in environmental economics, law, ethics and politics, which also required some background in their respective disciplines. In some cases this problem was solved by the relevant departments, which agreed to develop the modules in such a way that they would be self-contained. Characteristic of distance education, the inclusion of practical work presented a significant challenge, which has not yet been resolved satisfactorily in all the relevant modules. Since environmental management cannot only be taught theoretically, a means had to be devised to incorporate a practical component. In some modules, this was achieved by the inclusion of real-life case studies. Students have the opportunity to analyse these and may contact their lecturers, should the need arise to exchange ideas. It may be argued, however, that the analysis of case studies can never take the place of hands-on fieldwork. In the department of geography and environmental studies, where the programme in environmental management was initiated, a number of issues had to be resolved as well. The geography curriculum had to be remodelled to provide an environmental management focus. However, geography had to maintain its identity as a discipline in own right, as well as its status as a major for both the generic BSc and BA. Other issues that had to be addressed included a university decision to modularise and “semesterise” all offerings and, in addition, to implement outcomes-based education (Kilfoil, 1999; UNISA, 1998). Most of these issues were addressed in one or other way. It should be noted that satisfactory solutions were not obtained in all cases and that some refinement and adjustment is still required. The decisive factor that allowed the implementation of the programme in environmental management, however, was the determination of the department of geography and environmental studies to contribute visibly to education for sustainability, and not to wait for another department or institution to do it. As Jucker (2002, p. 16) states on education in the environmental field: “There is only one way: get up and get going”. Experience with the programme in practice Since the University of South Africa’s programme in environmental management has only been in existence since 2000, there have been no graduates as yet. Conclusive findings on the success or failure of the programme at this stage would therefore be premature. The purpose of this section is to provide just a preliminary report on the experience thus far. This is based on, among other things, student numbers, the spatial distribution of students and other characteristics of the student population.

In addition, in May 2002 some feedback was obtained from a pilot study conducted among the 260 students enrolled for this programme as on 1 March 2002. A questionnaire was compiled and distributed among a sample of these students. This sample consisted of those students with e-mail addresses, a category comprising 135 (or 51.9 per cent) of the students. The e-mail addresses for 23 of these students were faulty, and two students returned unusable questionnaires. In total 60 students returned useable questionnaires, 15 per cent whom had registered for the first time in 2000, 53 per cent for the first time in 2001 and 32 per cent for the first time in 2002. BSc students represent 40 per cent of this group and BA students 60 per cent. In terms of the total enrolment for the programme, 23.1 per cent of the students participated in the survey.

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Enrolment trends Data supplied by the Bureau for Management Information of the University of South Africa (Table I) reveals that new BSc enrolments for the programme in environmental management show a steady increase from 2000 to 2002. New BA enrolments do not follow the same trend, and reveal a see-saw pattern. After the mid-year registration, however, the situation improved significantly, bringing new BA enrolments for 2002 to 39. Although still at a very early stage, the overall picture of student numbers is encouraging and provides the basis for continuation and further growth. The data in Table I furthermore reveal that the group of 260 students registered for this programme as on 1 March 2002, consists of 80 BSc and 180 BA students, which represents a 31-69 per cent split between BSc and BA. Spatial distribution of students Data supplied by the Bureau for Management Information of the University of South Africa (Table II) indicates that the programme in environmental management attracts students from all over South Africa, and even worldwide. As may be expected in South Africa, the greatest proportion of students resides in the more densely populated provinces such as Gauteng, KwaZulu Natal and Western Cape. This distribution pattern is encouraging, and shows that the programme has a far-reaching impact and addresses a real need in South African society specifically.

Specialisation BA BSc Total

2000

New enrolments 2001

2002a

Current total

48 23 71

126 24 150

6 33 39

180 80 260

Note: a After the 2002 mid-year registration the enrolments increased to 39 for BA and 46 for BSc (a total of 85)

Table I. Enrolments for the programme in environmental management (as on 1 March 2002)

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Province/region

BA

BSc

Total

Percentage (of 260)

Foreign countries Eastern Cape Free State Gauteng KwaZulu Natal Mpumalanga North West Northern Cape Limpopo Western Cape Total

10 9 7 57 29 13 16 0 14 25 180

6 1 2 28 16 6 6 1 4 10 80

16 10 9 85 45 19 22 1 18 35 260

6.2 3.9 3.5 32.6 17.3 7.3 8.5 4.0 6.9 13.4 100

Student profile Information on the student profile was obtained with the aid of the survey that was conducted among students enrolled for the programme as on 1 March 2002. As far as employment is concerned, 90 per cent of the respondents indicated that they are in either fulltime or part-time employment. In line with this, 71.7 per cent of the respondents indicated their inability to attend classes at a contact learning institution as one of their reasons for enrolling at the University of South Africa. The majority of respondents, however, indicated more than one reason in this regard. Other reasons that attracted relatively high scores are “this degree is not offered at other institutions at undergraduate level” (28.3 per cent) and “the University of South Africa is well-known for its high academic standards” (33.3 per cent). One of the reasons most often mentioned by the respondents for enrolling specifically for an environmental related degree is “I have an interest in the environment” (70 per cent). More than one reason, however, was mostly offered. Other reasons that attracted relatively high scores include “I want to improve my academic qualifications” (51.7 per cent), “I would like to contribute to solving environmental problems” (51.7 per cent) and “job/career related reasons” (44.8 per cent). Funding for their studies comes primarily from own savings (61.7 per cent of respondents), while a significant proportion (16.7 per cent) receives financial support from their employers. Student progression Since the students enrolled for this programme mostly study part time, few will complete their studies in the minimum period of three years. As to be expected in a distance education environment, students will typically take at least five years to complete, and some even longer. It comes as no surprise that the respondents who enrolled in 2000 have on average obtained credit for only

eight modules after two years of study. The respondents who enrolled in 2001 have on average obtained credit for only five modules after one year of study. Students’ views Six of the 20 questions in the questionnaire were used to gain insight into students’ views on the programme in environmental management. The usefulness of the programme for career objectives is rated as “relevant” or “highly relevant” by 73.3 per cent of the respondents. The geography core of the programme is rated slightly higher, with 82 per cent of the respondents of the opinion that it is “relevant” or “highly relevant”. Concerning positive aspects of the programme, the results in Table III indicate that “increased environmental awareness and knowledge” receives relatively high scores from both BA and BSc respondents. Both groups also rate “relevance with regard to career” relatively high. The results in Table IV indicate that a large proportion of the respondents have no negative associations with the programme so far. It should be noted, however, that a fairly large proportion of both groups indicates that “administrative problems” is an issue that needs attention.

Positive aspects indicated by students Question not answered “None” indicated Increased environmental awareness and knowledge Programme structure promotes integration Relevance to career Good study material Boosting self-development and self-esteem Distance education context Other

Negative aspects indicated by students Question not answered “None” indicated Lack of interaction Administrative problems Problems with specific modules Problems with study material Other

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Relative score (as a percentage of total number of positive responses) BA BSc 3.1 7.8 42.2 9.4 12.5 3.1 7.8 12.5 1.6

2.7 11.1 33.3 11.1 16.7 16.7 2.7 5.6 –

Table III. Positive aspects of the programme in environmental management as indicated by students in response to an open-ended question

Relative score (as a percentage of total number of negative responses) BA BSc 8.0 32.0 10.0 20.0 16.0 12.0 2.0

12.5 31.1 9.4 15.6 9.4 12.5 9.4

Table IV. Negative aspects of the programme in environmental management as indicated by students in response to an open-ended question

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Impact in the university The contribution to curriculum greening may be regarded as the most notable impact of the programme in environmental management. The modules in environmental economics, law and ethics are examples in this regard. These modules did not exist before and were developed specifically for this programme. They are not, however, reserved for the students of this programme, and, as a result, many other students have also started to enrol for them. In May 2002, the enrolment for environmental economics totalled 98 students. Of these, 32 per cent constitute enrolments in the programme in environmental management. Only 15 per cent of the enrolments for environmental ethics come from this programme. This low contribution can probably be ascribed to the placement of this module on the third level of the programme, which most students have not yet reached. For environmental law, the effect is similar but less dramatic: of the 43 students enrolled for this module, 77 per cent come from the programme in environmental management. Education for sustainability has therefore attained both visibility and credibility in the university. A spin-off of this increased visibility was that the department of geography and environmental studies was approached by the Faculty of Economic and Management Science to develop two environmental modules for the BCom in tourism management. A module titled “The geography of tourism”, which deals with the environmental impact of tourism, as well as one titled “Ecotourism” was developed for this. Slowly but surely, the environmental message is spreading and gaining more ground. Discussion and concluding remarks The University of South Africa’s programme in environmental management offers the advantage of a holistic approach, emphasising the interconnectedness between phenomena. The geography core of the programme fulfils an important role in this regard. To this end the geography syllabus was completely remodelled, in order to make provision for an environmental management focus. Whereas qualifications in environmental management are usually offered at the post-graduate level, this is an undergraduate programme. The aim, however, is not to produce specialists, but generalists who can contribute to the integration and co-ordination of the disciplines typically involved in environmental management endeavours. This programme caters for people who cannot attend classes at contact education institutions and have to rely on distance education to further their studies. As the programme is offered at undergraduate level and through the medium of distance education, and requires access to information technology in only one module, it has the potential to contribute significantly to equalising opportunities for education in the environmental field in South Africa. The programme not only

focuses on the socio-economically advantaged, but also caters for heterogeneous groups, including those who have traditionally been underrepresented in higher education. This is of particular importance, especially in view of the legacy of unequal access to higher education in South Africa. Initially the barriers between departments and faculties constrained the introduction of the programme in environmental management in many ways. Since this programme has a strong inter- and multidisciplinary character, success to a great extent depends on cooperation between departments and faculties. Although this cooperation was very difficult and in some cases even impossible to achieve, the general concern about environmental issues, combined with networking and behind-the-scene deliberations, made cooperation possible. The determination and perseverance of the department of geography and environmental studies to make a visible contribution to education for sustainability ensured that the project remained on course. The end result is a significant contribution to curriculum greening, together with academic credibility for environmental related education. A major problem experienced during the design phase was to maintain a balance and not to cram too many modules into the curriculum. In order to resolve this issue, some compromises inevitably had to be made, which caused unhappiness among some of the stakeholders. In this regard, the BSc, which had to provide for a second focused specialisation in addition to geography, proved to be highly problematic. The result is that the BSc is more rigidly structured and less flexible than the BA. During the development of the study material for some of the modules included in this programme, a number of other problems were experienced. An outcomes-based model had to be followed, with which not all participants were familiar. As a result, not all material that was developed turned out to be equally successful. The inclusion of a practical component also proved more difficult than anticipated. Although an approach in which case studies are used was implemented in some modules, it remains to be seen whether this is a success or not. By March 2002, 260 students were enrolled in the programme in environmental management. These students are spread across South Africa, with a few in other parts of the world. This would seem to indicate that this programme addresses a definite need in South African society for some form of higher education with regard to the environment. The potential therefore exists to make a substantial contribution to education for sustainability. Although it may be argued that the distance education environment acts as limiting factor, it does provide opportunities not usually available in other teaching contexts. The survey conducted among the students enrolled for this programme shows that most of them are employed. This gives them the opportunity to contextualise what they learn into their work life. To support them, the teaching material contains numerous study tasks, activities and self-tests.

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Formative assessment in the form of feedback and reflection, and integrative assessment in the form of a project/practical module form part of the package. This all serves to enhance the learning experience and to empower students to take their learning in their own hands. The students generally view the programme in environmental management in a positive light. In the survey, respondents regarded “increased environmental awareness and knowledge” and “relevance with regard to career” as two positive aspects. Although a significant proportion of the respondents had no negative comments at all, “lack of interaction”, “administrative problems”, “problems with specific modules” and “problems with study material” were regarded by some respondents as areas of concern. Despite the shortcomings and problems, the programme in environmental management of the University of South Africa is an honest attempt to contribute to education for sustainability. The survey that was conducted among the students indicates that this goal has to a large extent been achieved. A final evaluation will only be possible once the first graduates have been delivered. In the meantime, the preliminary feedback obtained from the student survey can be used to streamline and refine the programme. Note 1. Owing to the restructuring of the Faculty of Arts of the University of South Africa, the department of geography and environmental studies formed part of the department of anthropology, archaeology, geography and environmental studies from June 2002. References Ali Khan, S. (1995), The Environmental Agenda (Taking Responsibility – Promoting Sustainable Practice through Higher Education Curricula): Overview, Pluto Press, London. Asmal, K. (2000), “Keynote address”, presented at the 2nd Conference of the National Association of Distance Education Organisations of South Africa, Johannesburg, 21-22 August, available at: www.saide.org.za/nadeosa/conference2000/asmal.htm Armstrong, P. and Rutherford, J. (1999), “An international environmental study programme: the International Baccalaureate Environmental Systems course”, The Environmentalist, Vol. 19, pp. 349-60. Barrow, C.J. (1999), Environmental Management: Principles and Practice, Routledge, London. Blackman, D.A. and Fleming, T.G. (1998), “Environmental education: where does it fit in decision-making?”, in Park, P.D., Blackman, D.A. and Chong, G. (Eds), Environmental Education and Training, Ashgate, Aldershot, pp. 82-92. Blackmore, C. (1998), “Environmental education through distance education and open learning in the UK”, in Leal Filho, W. and Tahir, F. (Eds), Environmental Education, Communication and Sustainability, Vol. 2: Distance Education and Environmental Education, Peter Lang, Frankfurt, pp. 21-42. Blowers, A. (1995), “Key issues”, in Watkin, G., Wanklyn, M. and Wylie, V. (Eds), The Environmental Agenda (Taking Responsibility – Promoting Sustainable Practice through Higher Education Curricula): Humanities and Social Sciences, Pluto Press, London, pp. 1-4.

Bryant, R.L. and Wilson, G.A. (1998), “Rethinking environmental management”, Progress in Human Geography, Vol. 22 No. 3, pp. 321-43. Chin, C. and Brown, D.E. (2000), “Learning in science: a comparison of deep and surface approaches”, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Vol. 37 No. 2, pp. 109-38. Dorm-Adzobu, C. (1998), “Institutionalizing environmental management in Africa”, in Veit, P. (Ed.), Africa’s Valuable Assets – A Reader in Natural Resource Management, World Resources Institute, Washington, DC, pp. 27-70. Ferreira, J.G. (1998), “Distance teaching and environmental education in South Africa”, in Leal Filho, W. and Tahir, F. (Eds), Environmental Education, Communication and Sustainability, Vol. 2: Distance Education and Environmental Education, Peter Lang, Frankfurt, pp. 87-102. Flint, R.W. (2002), “Interdisciplinary environmental studies education”, available at: www.eeeee.net/sd03026.htm Gladieux, L.E. and Swail, W.S. (1999), “The virtual university and educational opportunity: panacea or false hope?”, Higher Education Management, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 43-56. Glasersfeld, E. (1989), “Cognition, construction of knowledge, and teaching”, Synthese, Vol. 80, pp. 121-40. Hillary, R. (Ed.) (1995), The Role of the Environmental Manager, Stanley Thornes, Cheltenham. Howarth, W. (1998), “The essence of an environmental law education”, in Park, P.D., Blackman, D.A. and Chong, G. (Eds), Environmental Education and Training, Ashgate, Aldershot, pp. 17-26. Jucker, R. (2002), “Sustainability? Never heard of it! Some basics we should’nt ignore when engaging in education for sustainability”, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 3 No. 1, pp. 8-18. Karatnycky, A. (1994), The Comparative Survey of Freedom, 1993-1994: Freedom in Retreat, Freedom House, Washington, DC. Kilfoil, W.R. (1999), “The comfort zone stops here: OBE, the NQF and higher education”, Scrutiny, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 3-15. Leal Filho, W. (1998a), “Introduction”, in Leal Filho, W. and Tahir, F. (Eds), Environmental Education, Communication and Sustainability, Vol. 2: Distance Education and Environmental Education, Peter Lang, Frankfurt, pp. 7-8. Leal Filho, W. (1998b), “Environmental education and distance education”, in Leal Filho, W. and Tahir, F. (Eds), Environmental Education, Communication and Sustainability, Vol. 2: Distance Education and Environmental Education, Peter Lang, Frankfurt, pp. 9-20. National Research Council (1999), How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School, National Academy Press, Washington, DC. Nicolau, M.D. and Davis, N.C. (2002), “Restructuring South African geography”, South African Geographical Journal, Vol. 84 No. 1, pp. 12-20. Novo, M. (1998), “Environmental education at a distance: a tool for sustainable development”, in Leal Filho, W. and Tahir, F. (Eds), Environmental Education, Communication and Sustainability, Vol. 2: Distance Education and Environmental Education, Peter Lang, Frankfurt, pp. 43-69. Park, P.D. and Chong, G. (1998), “Environmental education and training: an introductory essay”, in Park, P.D., Blackman, D.A. and Chong, G. (Eds), Environmental Education and Training, Ashgate, Aldershot, pp. 1-10. Rowntree, D. (1990), Teaching through Self-instruction: How to Develop Open Learning Materials, Kogan Page, London.

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Sharma, M. (1998), “Environmental education through distance education in a perspective from developing countries”, in Leal Filho, W. and Tahir, F. (Eds), Environmental Education, Communication and Sustainability, Vol. 2: Distance Education and Environmental Education, Peter Lang, Frankfurt, pp. 71-85. South Africa (1998), National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998. Tahir, F. (2001), “Distance education, environmental education and sustainability: an overview of universities in Commonwealth Asia”, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 2 No. 1, pp. 21-37. UNCED (1992), “Agenda 21”, United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, United Nations Department of Public Information, New York, NY. UNISA (1998), Tuition Policy, UNISA, Pretoria. Van Weenen, H. (2000), “Towards a vision of a sustainable university”, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 20-34. Vlok, A.C. and Zietsman, S. (2001), “Adapt or die: the case of South African Geography at tertiary level”, paper presented at the Fourth Biennial Conference of the Society of South African Geographers, Goudini-Spa, 2-5 July. Wemmehove, R. and de Groot, W.T. (2001), “Principles for university curriculum greening: an empirical case study from Tanzania”, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 2 No. 3, pp. 267-83. Zietsman, S. and Vok, A.C. (2001), “Old wine in new bottles: the case of Geography teaching at the University of South Africa”, paper presented at the 3rd Conference of the National Association of Distance Education Organisations of South Africa, Johannesburg, 28-29 August.

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Sustainability takes time

Sustainability takes time

Peter R. Downey Community and Sustainability Strategy Manager, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK Keywords Sustainable development, Operations management, Environment, Universities, Targets, Partnership, United Kingdom

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Abstract This is a story of transformation at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. It describes the progress and thinking along the path to introducing the university’s vision of sustainability since the conclusion of EMSU 1999.It describes how sustainable practice has been incorporated within the formal democratic structures of the university, and describes the results of the initial environmental review and the early experiences and outcomes of target setting. The paper does not ignore those areas where there has not been success. It considers the involvement of the university in the UK Higher Education Programme for Sustainability (HEPS) directed by the Forum for the Future, and the advantages of engagement with the student community. The paper considers the early introduction of corporate social responsibility. It concludes with an aide memoir (currently in development) to assist all managers at the university in considering the impact of their planned actions on sustainability.

Sustainability takes time A lot of things have happened in the UK higher education sector, and at Sheffield Hallam University since 1999, so it is an appropriate time to take stock. Although many aspirations are still to be fulfilled, we have made significant strides forward. The agenda has changed: essentially, in 1999, we were thinking and talking “environmental” but now it is “sustainability”. The talk is now as much about corporate social responsibility as it is about environmental objectives. My honest response to the question “How have things gone?” is an unequivocal: “Not as fast as I had hoped”. What was the situation at Sheffield Hallam in the summer of 1999? The university was contributing to the Forum for the Future’s HE21 project, which was just starting the second of its two years. This was engaging us, and other environmentally-committed institutions, in the consideration of environmental good practice and the introduction of environmental management within the university. At Sheffield Hallam the only internal “working group” in existence was informal, and not part of the significant reporting structures of the university. Called the Environmental Management Advisory Group, it essentially was a self-appointed group of operational managers and members of the teaching community who had a professional interest in things environmental. The initial environmental review of the operation of the university had been completed, its significance determined, and the first year’s targets and action plan agreed.

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What has been accomplished? In many ways, I believe the most significant element of progress has been the formalisation of the position of “sustainability” within the university. The advisory group has gone – replaced by a public, formal acknowledgement of where responsibility lies, and a new formal body, the sustainability implementation group. The university’s published environmental policy (currently being redrafted as a sustainability policy) states: The Pro Vice-Chancellor, Academic Development and the Director of Estates and Facilities are designated with overall responsibility for the achievement of the university’s environmental aims. Responsibility is shared by the entire university population, at every level and across all schools and departments. All staff and students should be encouraged to recognise their potential contribution to the achievement of the university’s environmental aims.

The terms of reference of the sustainability implementation group are: . To advise the university on matters of operational management in the promotion and achievement of the vision of Sheffield Hallam University as a leading “sustainable” university in Europe. . To oversee a programme for the implementation of the university’s environmental policy including the preparation of an annual action plan designed to achieve continuous improvement in the university’s operational, environmental performance. This will include the responsibility for advising on priorities for action, appropriate monitoring of the approved Action Plan, and the preparation of an annual report on the operational performance of the university for publication. . To identify the resources required for the implementation of the action plan and their incorporation within the business planning and budgeting processes. . To promote cross-school/department/section collaboration on issues relating to the environment and sustainability. . To promote the sustainability agenda within the university and to all the university’s stakeholders. The members of the sustainability implementation group are director of estates and facilities (chair), community and sustainability strategy manager (chair in the absence of the director of estates and facilities), energy manager, facilities manager, general manager of the students’ union, head of business and facilities services, head of estate operations, head of management services, head of residential services, purchasing manager, health and safety manager, residential support and sustainability manager, sustainability co-ordinator, a nominated co-ordinator for each of the other university administrative departments, and a representative of the school managers. The school

managers are the administrators of the academic units, known in the university as “schools”. The group is tasked to meet as frequently as necessary to maintain continuous improvement in the operational performance of the university. These changes, together with the agreement that the vice chancellor will submit a formal, annual report on sustainability to the board of governors, have placed the issue of sustainability firmly into our corporate strategy. No longer is sustainability an optional extra, a luxury that is tolerated. Its consideration is a fundamental element in our business planning. Progress in operational terms The initial environmental review, completed in 1999, led to an agreement on the significant environmental impacts of our operation, the setting of targets for the year 1999/2000 and an action plan to achieve those targets. At Sheffield Hallam we developed our own methodology for the review. It was developed, after considerable internal discussion, to minimise the amount of additional resource required to carry out the review. Our method not only drew on the professional expertise and experience of our managers but also enabled them to have a sense of ownership in the process, gaining their support not just for the initial activity but also for the long-term outcomes. We were largely successful in achieving the targets set in that first year. A quick look at some of the outcomes will be illustrative of the range of initiatives we undertook. For construction projects, both new build and refurbishment, we revised the statement of requirements and basic design brief to incorporate sustainability; we revised our contractor documentation to ensure good working practice relating to noise and visual impact and waste disposal; we incorporated life cycle cost analysis into the decision- taking criteria in the appraisal of proposals; we established procedures to ensure that sustainability criteria were included in all decisions for refurbishment or new build; and we reviewed our existing practices against the current legislative requirements. We also adopted the BREEAM standard for new buildings and had appropriate estates staff receive external assessment training. Our action in relation to energy usage included the introduction of awareness training in student induction programmes, although this was one issue on which we failed in the first year. However, we did try to reach students through our 2000 environment week, called “Who wants to breathe clean air?”. The environment week was a new element in the university’s calendar and its focus for that year was on developing awareness amongst students of the personal actions they could take to improve the atmospheric environment. Successfully, colleagues completed a property survey programme to facilitate energy efficiency measures on the second largest of our campuses. Overall, their work improved the energy performance for the university to

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enable a 3 per cent calculated reduction of CO2 emissions from the July 1999 baseline by July 2000, a further 2 per cent by July 2001, and another 2 per cent by July 2002. The reduction actually achieved in 2001/2002 was 3 per cent. Another target was to be able to measure all water usage. This was done by December 1999. Also relating to our use of water, by March 2000 we had carried out all necessary work to ensure we were complying with effluent discharge standards and had developed and publicised strategies to minimise water usage by July 2000. A disappointing outcome was our evaluation of the potential to recycle wastewater in our residential properties. As a retrofit activity, it was clearly not financially viable. Nevertheless, in 2001/2002 we achieved a reduction of 5.3 per cent water used against our target of 3 per cent. With regard to the general maintenance of the estate, a preventive maintenance programme was refined to ensure the efficient working of all mechanical and electrical plant by September 2000. This was followed by the development and introduction of a comprehensive planned maintenance programme by September 2001. The estates section also introduced, taking account of the available best practice for sustainability, a detailed specification of materials to be used and methods of waste disposal for all contractors working with the university. Paper consumption practices The initial environmental review had shown the significance of the impact of the university’s paper use and a number of targets were set aimed at a significant reduction. So far some have been more successful than others. One target, flawed through the difficulty of monitoring progress, was for the teaching staff to reduce the high consumption of paper through providing student workbooks and lecture notes in an electronic rather than a printed form. This work is ongoing and is related to our e-learning initiatives, but the related reduction in paper use is virtually impossible to monitor. A lesson learned about “smart” targets! A similar problem existed with our targets to reduce distributed copying by 10 per cent, to reduce dependence on paper within the office, and to reduce the amount of “over-ordering” on print runs, all by September 2000. Our target for 2001/2002 is to reduce the amount of paper purchased by the print unit by 10 per cent. This can be measured and monitored. In 1999/2000 we met our target to ensure that all our supplies of toilet tissue were of a non-bleached, recycled product and we exceeded our target to introduce office paper recycling throughout the city campus by September 2000. By that date, it had been introduced throughout the university, as had the recycling of magazines and newspaper. Progress around the issues of procurement was disappointing. The only target achieved was the revision of the university’s financial rules to take into account sustainability issues, in particular life cycle costing analysis, in purchasing decisions. The review of the ordering process to ensure that

sustainability issues have been taken into account is taking rather longer than the deadline set of September 2000. The investigation of the university’s potential to develop a market for products based on recycled materials continues. Since the summer of 2001, our normal paper of choice is a 100 per cent post-consumer waste recycled paper. However not all paper purchased falls into this category. We also continue to evaluate e-commerce options to reduce paper consumption in the ordering process. In 2001/2002 we again failed to reach our target to reduce the amount of paper purchased and in fact purchased ten tonnes more; a 4.6 per cent increase over the previous year. This has resulted in serious internal discussions and the setting of a different type of target for the current year. Our aim in 2002/2003 is to ensure that the university addresses all the policy issues around its use of paper, particularly those related to the impact of e-learning and e-communication. This in itself will prove extremely challenging. Waste – behind schedule Another original aim was to start work, in January 2000, to minimise waste in the university’s supply chain, but this still has to be started. Only slightly better has been our attention to waste management. We achieved the target of analysing our waste stream and identifying the changes that needed to be made. However, it became apparent, for a number of reasons that we needed to appoint a new waste contractor from September 2001. This was a wonderful opportunity to introduce some good practice but, unfortunately, it also became the reason for not introducing changes earlier. The result has been that no significant targets were set until the current year, in which we plan to achieve a reduction of 20 per cent in waste sent to landfill. We have introduced payment to the contractor by weight of waste, rather than volume, and requiring the provision of detailed management information. However, our strategy and success has depended on our partnership with the new contractor, and that relationship has not gone smoothly. Frustration in transport matters In all matters relating to transport progress has been slow. This is particularly disappointing as, in my presentation at EMSU 99 (Downey, 1999) I talked about “the critical significance of the impact of transportation”. I believed then, as I still do, that transport issues “will eventually prove to be the dominant element in our thinking, policy and performance”. A major problem has been the lack of internal political strength to tackle an issue known to be highly sensitive. What have we done? We have, to some extent, improved the visual impact of university car parks. We have purchased an electric vehicle to deliver the internal mail. In each handbook of a university vehicle, we have specified the precise fuel to be used in that vehicle. We have increased the provision for bicycle parking on all our campuses.

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But we still have not implemented our integrated transport policy and certainly not by September 2000, as we had hoped. We also failed to meet our target to reduce the number of free parking spaces available to university staff on university campuses by 10 per cent by the same date, or since then! The expectation was that we would have implemented a management system mainly based on pay-and-display by September 2002 but this date has been postponed three times and is now set at September 2003. Will we ever grasp the nettle? I believe it will happen – but only because the university is required to take appropriate action to enable us to obtain essential development planning approvals from the city council. Higher education partnership for sustainability In 2001 the university was invited to be one of the partners in a new initiative, funded by the UK HE Funding Councils and led by the Forum for the Future – the Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability (HEPS). In their words, HEPS “is a pioneering collaboration between the Forum and 18 UK Higher Education Institution (HEIs). Its purpose is to help them deliver their own strategic objectives through positive engagement with the Sustainable Development agenda and to share that experience across the sector”. HEPS is a three-year, UK-wide initiative. The concept is that universities contribute towards sustainable development through their key roles as: . places of learning and research – forming and informing the leaders and decision-makers of the future; . major businesses – where prudent resource use not only saves money but safeguards reputations; . key community players – as employer, purchaser and amenity provider with a major impact on the wider world of influential ideas and technological development. The project combines “individual programmes” of work tailored to each partner’s priorities, partnership-wide capacity building activities, and a systematic approach to communicating outcomes to the sector and beyond. Work to date includes integrating sustainable development into the strategic planning process, addressing estate management priorities (particularly new build and refurbishment plans), purchasing policy, transport plans and the curriculum (with a focus on business, engineering and art and design). For information about project progress, visit www.heps.org.uk The real importance of HEPS is that the engagement with others and the discipline of reporting to an external agency provide the spur that is needed to make progress. The other significant advantage is that, as the contract was signed by the vice-chancellor, the funding from our Funding Council and our matching contribution (largely my time and input) can be used as significant leverage, internally, to gain the support and co-operation of colleagues.

US visit – inspiration for more student participation An important stimulus for myself was a visit, in March 2000, to Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The meeting was a Southeast Regional Workshop organised by Second Nature with the title “Shaping a sustainable future: best practices in higher education”. One of the features which impressed me at that workshop was the contribution students, in the USA, were making to the development of the sustainable agenda on their campuses. This has not been my experience in the UK. However, shortly after my return from the USA, when a small group of students at Sheffield Hallam approached me with the challenge that the university was not progressing the environmental agenda as quickly as they would wish, I remembered what was happening on the other side of the Atlantic. So I agreed to meet them, first their spokesperson and then the group. I was disappointed as there were only four of them! I also found it interesting that they had one thing – apart from their course – in common. They were all mature students. I still believe that was significant. What was the outcome of this meeting? Not so much in real terms, except I managed to arrange for one of the students to work with me over the summer and later as a placement student. She achieved much in addition to her specific workload, which was to develop our recycling, and to organise the first ever environmental week. Her work and presence in the facilities directorate was an obvious demonstration that the university was taking sustainability issues seriously. No longer was it simply a matter of myself, an enthusiast, continuing to develop policy and exhort others to change their way of thinking but here was the university actually doing something very visible. The disappointment is that we never managed to engage other students in any meaningful way. There is such a tremendous potential resource in the student body but the means of harnessing it remains a challenge. What else have we achieved in the past two years? Catering services now provide milk in jugs rather than in plastic cartons. A staff member working with the schools of engineering, construction, science and the materials research institute, has implemented a number of initiatives to minimise the use of water in laboratories and, in particular, research projects. As part of our “estate strategy” we have continued to reduce our physical footprint, which has a whole range of positive advantages including a reduction in our transport demand. Within the facilities directorate, we have introduced a culture that encourages the use of the laser printer to print on both sides of the paper. We have introduced double-glazing as a standard specification in all our residential refurbishments. In non-operational matters, we continue to engage with others in the development of appropriate sector sustainability performance indicators. We try to contribute positively to the UK higher education network through an

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active participation in the work of the Environmental Association of Universities and Colleges as well as the HEPS project. We also continue to work closely with and within the Sheffield community, involved in both the city council’s cycling and pedestrian forums and their waste strategy development group, as well as being members of wider community-based groups. This we believe is a positive way in which we can make a real contribution to the community of Sheffield at a wide range of levels. Social responsibility in action We consider our formal involvement in the community, and that of our staff in a voluntary capacity, sufficiently important for us to undertake a mapping exercise. The purpose of this exercise is to find out and record how and where members of staff are engaged with the community. We have asked them to tell us how they are involved in a number of categories, and will make the same request on an annual basis. This information, held on a database, will be evaluated to help determine if our support and encouragement for this sort of activity is being effective. The categories of engagement are: . Strategic community partnerships – these partnerships play an important role in the economic and social development within the region and city. Meetings are focused on strategy and are held at senior management level. . Joint ventures/partners in the community – partnerships are formal and involve work on behalf of the facilities directorate on collaborative projects within the city boundaries. Meetings are held with relevant managers and may focus on strategy and operational issues. . Networking partnerships in the community – these are relationships that provide networking opportunities for university managers within the local community and the region and are of mutual benefit. The networking will inform the directorate’s risk management strategy. . National and international partnerships – these relationships exist to develop the positive position and image of the university, and to provide network opportunities. . Indirect relationships – this group identifies staff membership of community groups not directly associated with the university, but which may provide mutually valuable links. They might even create future business opportunities. It is this group which clearly indicates our staff’s engagement within the community. They have volunteered themselves into these positions. It is part of our emerging, internal strategy is to reward them for their initiative and commitment, to encourage and support them in their activity. This is the group we will monitor most carefully to determine if our “reward” policies are working.

As with so many initiatives, much of the benefit for individuals and the organisation arises from actually undergoing the process. The important gains are found in the initial thinking and subsequent discussions. If universities, or any organisations, are to measure their relationship with their stakeholders, as well as understanding who they are, there is a need to give detailed thought to how the various activities impact upon them. In fact, the university is represented on all the significant organisations working in Sheffield. This is relatively normal practice in the UK and not specific to Sheffield Hallam. Has anyone ever evaluated that contribution? Should we simply accept the invitation to participate as acknowledgement of the fact that the external world values the Universities’ potential contribution? The next instalment The university’s green transport plan or integrated transport policy is yet to be approved, but I expect that to happen in Spring 2003. We will continue working to ensure that issues relating to the environment and society are fully integrated with economic considerations in the determination of our corporate strategy. The ideal remains for all managers to be environmental managers in the same way that they are responsible for quality. Sustainability is simply another factor for a good manager to take into account, as part of his or her routine activity. It is critical for all staff to take ownership of the changes which are needed, otherwise there is little chance of success. I have drafted a “sustainability checklist”, which we are discussing internally. The concept is that the list should be available to everyone and, as part of their business and action planning, they should always ask these questions and score their response. It is still in draft but has been agreed in principle and so the list seems to be an appropriate way of concluding. Will your decision/project: . provide employment and training opportunities that support the needs of local workforces? . provide any business opportunities which support environmental goods and services? . incorporate environmental management to increase business competitiveness? . provide satisfying and fairly paid work? . use local goods and services wherever possible? . offer new opportunities for learning and training? . increase awareness and understanding of sustainable development? . provide a service, facility or product that is accessible to everyone including those with disabilities? . maximise opportunities for access to services by staff, students and visitors by encouraging public transport use, cycling or walking?

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safeguard and take opportunities to promote people’s physical and mental well-being? contain or reduce air, water or land pollution to levels which do not damage natural systems? take into account the possible impacts of climate change? minimise noise and light pollution? manage demand for energy and water and contribute to their efficient use? create opportunities for the use of renewable energy? minimise the need for raw materials and minerals? conserve land and soil resources? reduce the risk of flooding? protect and enhance biodiversity, for example by planting native species and providing other habitats for wildlife? minimise the use of chemicals which are harmful to living things in the environment? help to minimise the university’s production of waste? re-use or recycle waste materials? involve the use of recycled products? minimise the fear of crime? enhance local diversity and distinctiveness by respecting local character and using local skills, materials, produce and creativity? promote opportunities for recreation, art, culture and heritage? allow everyone to become informed and involved in decision-making? above all, will your decision/project take a long-term perspective, taking into account the needs of future generations as well as our own?

In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “Be the change you want to see in the world”. Reference Downey, P.R. (1999), “Towards an integrated transport policy in a university setting”, The 1999 Eco-Management and Auditing Conference Proceedings, ERP Environment, Shipley, pp. 97-106. Further reading Downey, P.R. (2002), “The essential stakeholder dialogue”, Corporate Social Responsibility & Environmental Management, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 37-45.

The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1467-6370.htm

Environmental management at Swedish universities Karin Arvidsson Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, University of Ga¨vle, Ga¨vle, Sweden

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Keywords Environmental management, Universities, Sweden Abstract Abstract Since1996, all Swedish public authorities, which includes most universities, have been made responsible for contributing to the sustainable development of the society. Swedish universities are thus required to submit annual environmental reports about their policies, structures and actions. This study provides a review of the activities that Swedish universities have undertaken so far. Reports from the year 2000 show that all 25 participating universities conducted the first environmental review. Most universities stopped there, although one – Ma¨lardalen University – has gone all the way to ISO 14001 certification. The findings of the study suggest that universities, which have been participating for some years in the project, are further along the line than those that joined recently. There is also some indication that environmental-management-system (EMS) work is easier for the smaller universities, which can mobilise around a single goal.

Background In 1996 the Swedish government decided that public authorities should act as role models in contributing to the long-term sustainable development of society (Naturva˚rdsverket, 2002 (The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency)). The public authorities were expected to use environmental management systems (EMSs) to work towards this goal, although no certification would be required. Since almost all Swedish universities are publicly owned they are automatically part of the project and thus required to write environmental reports every year. These reports are sent to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and to the National Agency for Higher Education. In the first year (1997) only two universities participated. In following years the number of participants increased, and by 2001 all educational institutions in Sweden were required to implement environmental management systems. This study provides a review of the activities at the Swedish universities so far, according to their own environmental reports of 2000 and 2001. In 2000, 25 universities were obliged to report on their environmental work. All of them did, although some reported very late. In 2001, all 35 of Sweden’s educational institutions were obliged to report. By May 2002 only 25 of the 35 institutions had reported, despite the fact that the reports were due in March. Ten new institutions joined the project in 2002, but only six of them have reported so far.

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Figure 1. How far the environmental planning at the universities have advanced and what tasks they have fulfilled (the information is based upon the universities’ environmental reports)

Gauging progress in environmental management Progress in the environmental planning process can be gauged by looking at how many of the EMS tasks the universities have fulfilled. Figure 1 shows which tasks the universities have fulfilled or started working on. The first step when introducing an EMS is to conduct an environmental review. The reports from 2000 show that all 25 participating universities completed their first review. Three universities elected to start the environmental reviewing within a single department or small number of departments. The rest conducted reviews for the whole university. Four out of

the six of the universities that joined the project in 2001 completed their reviews. Policies, targets and management programmes All the universities that joined the project before 2000 set environmental policies. Of the five additional universities which joined the project during 2000, one set its environmental policy within the first year; one submitted a draft policy; two set their policies in 2001; and one submitted a draft in 2001. Of the universities joining the project in 2001, two out of six set their policies during the first year. Some chose their policies according to the ISO 14001 requirements. The reports from 2001 show that two out of the six universities that joined the project in 2000 set environmental targets. The other four universities had started work on formulating targets but not yet set them. Of the universities joining in 2001, none had set targets, but one submitted a draft. Of the universities that joined the project in 2000 or earlier, 12 had set up environmental management programmes by 2001. Environmental training of employees Different personnel categories should get a basic environmental education adjusted to their work tasks and how they affect the EMS (Miljo¨departementet, 2000 (Ministry of the Environment)). Accordingly, many universities now offer their staff environmental training programmes. The programmes are primarily aimed at the university management and environmental co-ordinators. The methods and target groups for training vary widely. Va¨xjo¨ University, for example, offered all of its staff members a training programme. The first part of the programme consisted of basic environmental education, group discussions, and a tour through the campus area. The second part, which had started as this report was being written, is aimed more directly at environmental management. In addition, the university management is trained to manage the process of change. The University of Lund, on the other hand, focused on special training for selected groups. Prefects and heads of department have been trained in delegating responsibilities for environmental, health and safety issues. There was one day’s instruction in flooring materials and another in environmental issues regarding public purchasing. Follow-up, evaluation, and environmental auditing Only three of the universities, Stockholm, Lund and Ma¨lardalen, have been subjected to environmental auditing. Lund had external auditors. Stockholm was inspected by its environmental co-ordinators, who are trained for internal auditing. Ma¨lardalen conducts internal audits every year. Both Lund and Ma¨lardalen report that the follow-up audits have been of great help for their continued work.

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Some of the universities are aiming for certification. Ma¨lardalen University is certified according to ISO 14001 and one department of Mid Sweden University is EMAS-registered. The University of Ga¨vle hopes to be certified by early 2004. Neither Ma¨lardalen nor Mid Sweden Universities have indicated how the certification has affected the university as a whole. Driving forces In the reports from 2000 the universities were asked to comment on the driving forces and obstacles to their environmental management work. Of the 25 universities, 19 complied. More driving forces than obstacles were reported. The most common driving forces are presented below (the numbers in brackets indicate how many universities reported that particular motivating factor): . employee commitment (11); . student commitment (six); . the governmental commission (six); . management commitment (five); . legislation (five). More than half of the universities highlight employee commitment as a motivating factor. It is also obvious that the governmental commission is of importance. The same conclusion is reached by The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturva˚rdsverket, 2002) concerning the environmental management work of all the public authorities. The report states that 40 per cent of the authorities are of the opinion that, without the commission from the government, the environmental management work would not have started, or at least not have got such a high priority. It is important also to be conscious of students’ impact on environmental work. Va¨xjo¨ University points out that students who are educated in environmental matters while at the university will have a positive influence for an entire generation through applying their knowledge all the time. Several other universities think in the same way. The Stockholm Institute of Education, for example, sees its students’ future contact with pupils as a motivating force for environmental work. Environmental work is considered important for the marketing of educational institutions. So¨derto¨rn University points out that, by offering environmental education and research, it can show evidence of great environmental ambitions. But it also points out that ambitions without the capacity to fulfil them can damage the credibility of an entire institution. External actors, who may be interested in the environmental qualifications of the universities, or their co-operation within the environmental arena with other public authorities, are also important.

Obstacles The reported obstacles are listed below (the numbers in brackets indicate how many universities reported that particular obstacle): . lack of resources, as regards both time and money (seven); . organisation structure and changes within the organisation (five); . legislation concerning public purchasing makes it hard to make environmental demands (four); . lack of indicators (three); . short-term economic thinking (three); While seven institutions see lack of resources as a great obstacle, one university, the University of Kristianstad, claims to be uncertain that more economic resources would help, since, as they put it, implementation speed is dependent on management and departmental commitment. One of the largest universities, the University of Lund, says that the complexity of large organisations tends to slow down changes, including the environmental work. Another problem is that other activities often interfere with education; for example, the activities at the Karolinska hospital interfere with education at Karolinska Institutet. A further impediment is that the facilities of an institution are sometimes dispersed over a large area in a town. Va¨xjo¨ University points out that the majority of people still see environmental work as “the sorting of waste”, as opposed to the long-term sustainable development of society. A contributing factor to this view may be the unclear signals being received from decision-makers and governmental authorities. Environmental concern is important, but economic growth and short-term thinking very often overshadow the long-term thinking and planning that sustainable development requires. Va¨xjo¨ University also points to conflicting internal goals within the university as an impediment. One example of the difficulties within the academic world is described by the Royal Institute of Technology. In the view of this institute the word “environment” has become ambiguous and is associated with a large number of different phenomena in society. This ambiguity has become an obstacle for “environmental work” at the institute. The Royal Institute of Technology therefore prefers to use other concepts such as “sustainable development” and “ecological efficiency” in its work. There is some indication to suggest that conducting EMS work is easier in small universities than in larger ones. Smaller universities appear to find it easier to mobilise around a single common goal than larger institutions do. An added incentive for some of the smaller institutions may be their need to develop a profile of their own, which could well be an environmental one.

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Environmental aspects In almost all the universities, the work with environmental questions starts with the most directly environmental aspects. The direct aspects are often tangible and easier to handle than the indirect ones. However, the greening of the curriculum in the long run is of greater importance for educational institutions. In the reports from 2000, 20 out of 25 universities describe the importance of integrating environmental perspectives in education. In 13 reports, they also mention the environment as an important factor in research. These insights are of great significance and follow the Government objectives (Regeringens Skrivelse, 1999, measure U97:6 and U98:1). There are, however, few universities that have as yet incorporated environmental elements into education and research. Six of the reports from 2000 give information about the number of courses containing environmental aspects. The University of Umea˚ has implemented a model in which courses are given environmental labels. A course has to fulfil at least two out of three different criteria (Umea˚ University, 2000, p. 5): (1) The course should consider the environmental effects of human activity or how these affect humans. (2) The course should offer knowledge about how humans and society should handle different environmental problems. (3) The course should consider conditions in nature relevant to environmental science. Those conditions should link clearly to the first two criteria. The Royal Institute of Technology has counted the numbers of master’s theses and licentiate and doctoral theses with a clear environmental alignment. The word “clear” is not defined. The University of Ga¨vle has simply counted the number of course definitions containing the words “environment” or “ecology”. Several universities mention new and old educational programmes with different kinds of environmental focus. Some universities strive for at least a five-week environmental course in all educational programmes. Integrating environmental thinking in all academic disciplines seems more difficult. Several universities are working with these questions. Some are using enquiry groups and one has employed a teacher to introduce “applied environmental knowledge” in all areas, but so far none has arrived at a complete solution. One example of prioritised environmental thinking in research is Chalmers University of Technology. It plans to invest SEK 100 million within three years, mainly to employ seven internationally known environmental professors. Conclusion The EMS work at the Swedish universities is increasing and becoming more structured, but the work is progressing quite slowly. Many of the universities are taking the work seriously, and it seems as if a great interest in

environmental issues exists among the staff and the students. There also seems to be an understanding of the powerful indirect environmental impact caused by education and research among the universities. Some of the universities are working hard with these questions and even turning the environmental commitment into a profile for the whole university. The results suggest that those institutions, which have participated in the project for some years, have come further in their work than those which joined recently. EMS work appears to have developed at a faster pace at the universities that joined the project early. There seems to have been a greater commitment among them – some joined the project early out of free will. Although institutions that joined later were aware of developments in the project and knew that they were soon to be included, they were not better prepared because of this. The “art-orientated” universities seem less motivated than other groups. The Royal University College of Music conducted an environmental review and concluded that they are not affecting the environment very much. They have set an environmental policy and now consider the EMS work to be fulfilled and implemented. The college might well be right about the fact that they are not affecting the environment very much. However, this assumption is not a productive starting point for environmental work, and does not inspire either staff or students. There have to be some goals to work towards, even at an academy of music – for example, when travelling between concerts. The fact that ten out of the 35 institutions did not hand in their reports on time suggests that not all universities are committed to the EMS work. An analysis of the reports from 2000 shows that reports handed in late are often very thin and indicate that little progress had been made since the previous year. Finally, this study shows that it is difficult to force the universities into EMS work. The list of driving forces that were presented clearly shows the importance of the directive. It definitely gives the environmental work a higher priority. References Blekinge Institute of Technology (2001), Annual Environmental Report, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Blekinge. Chalmers University of Technology (2000), Annual Environmental Report, Chalmers University of Technology, Chalmers. Dalarna University (2001), Annual Environmental Report, Dalarna University, Dalarna. Gotland University College (2000), Annual Environmental Report, Gotland University College, Gotland. Gotland University College (2001), Annual Environmental Report, Gotland University College, Gotland. Go¨teborg University (2000), Annual Environmental Report, Go¨teborg University, Go¨teborg.

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Go¨teborg University (2001), Annual Environmental Report, Go¨teborg University, Go¨teborg. Halmstad University (2000), Annual Environmental Report, Halmstad University, Halmstad. Halmstad University (2001), Annual Environmental Report, Halmstad University, Halmstad. Kalmar University (2000), Annual Environmental Report, Kalmar University, Kalmar. Kalmar University (2001), Annual Environmental Report, Kalmar University, Kalmar. Karlstad University (2000), Annual Environmental Report, Karlstad University, Karlstad. Karlstad University (2001), Annual Environmental Report, Karlstad University, Karlstad. Karolinska Institutet (2000), Annual Environmental Report, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska. Karolinska Institutet (2001), Annual Environmental Report, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska. Kristianstad University (2000), Annual Environmental Report, Kristianstad University, Kristianstad. Kristianstad University (2001), Annual Environmental Report, Kristianstad University, Kristianstad. Linko¨ping University (2000), Annual Environmental Report, Linko¨ping University, Linko¨ping. Lund University (2000), Annual Environmental Report, Lund University, Lund. Lund University (2001), Annual Environmental Report, Lund University, Lund. Malmo¨ University (2000), Annual Environmental Report, Malmo¨ University, Malmo¨. Mid Sweden University (2000), Annual Environmental Report, Mid Sweden University, Ha¨rno¨sand. Miljo¨departementet (2000), Lathund fo¨r Miljo¨ledning i Staten, Graphium, Va¨stra Aros. Ma¨lardalen University (2000), Annual Environmental Report, Ma¨lardalen University, Ma¨lardalen. Ma¨lardalen University (2001), Annual Environmental Report, Ma¨lardalen University, Ma¨lardalen. Naturva˚rdsverket (2002), Miljo¨ledningssystem i Statliga Myndigheter – Sammansta¨llning ˚ rsrapporter fo¨r a˚r 2001, report 5211, Naturva˚rdsverkets fo¨rlag, Stockholm. avA ¨ Orebro University (2000), Annual Environmental Report, O¨rebro University, O¨rebro. ¨ rebro University (2001), Annual Environmental Report, O¨rebro University, O¨rebro. O ˚ tga¨rder fo¨r en Ekologisk Regeringens Skrivelse (1999), Ha˚llbara Sverige – Uppfo¨ljning avA Ha˚llbar Utveckling, Comm. 1999/2000:13, available at: http://miljo.regeringen.se/pressinfo/ pdf/HUTskrivelse_99.pdf Royal Institute of Technology (2000), Annual Environmental Report, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. Royal Institute of Technology (2001), Annual Environmental Report, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. Royal University College of Music (2001), Annual Environmental Report, Royal University College of Music, Stockholm. Stockholm Institute of Education (2000), Annual Environmental Report, Stockholm Institute of Education, Stockholm. Stockholm Institute of Education (2001), Annual Environmental Report, Stockholm Institute of Education, Stockholm. Stockholm University (2000), Annual Environmental Report, Stockholm University, Stockholm. Stockholm University (2001), Annual Environmental Report, Stockholm University, Stockholm.

So¨derto¨rn University College (2000), Annual Environmental Report, So¨derto¨rn University College, So¨derto¨rn. ¨ Soderto¨rn University College (2001), Annual Environmental Report, So¨derto¨rn University College, So¨derto¨rn. Umea˚ University (2000), Annual Environmental Report, Umea˚ University, Umea˚. Umea˚ University (2001), Annual Environmental Report, Umea˚ University, Umea˚. University College of Acting (2001), Annual Environmental Report, University College of Acting, Stockholm. University College of Arts Craft and Design (2001), Annual Environmental Report, University College of Arts Craft and Design, Stockholm. University College of Bora˚s (2000), Annual Environmental Report, University College of Bora˚s, Bora˚s. University College of Bora˚s (2001), Annual Environmental Report, University College of Bora˚s, Bora˚s. University College of Opera (2001), Annual Environmental Report, University College of Opera, Stockholm. University of Ga¨vle (2000), Annual Environmental Report, University of Ga¨vle, Ga¨vle. University of Ga¨vle (2001), Annual Environmental Report, University of Ga¨vle, Ga¨vle. University of Sko¨vde (2000), Annual Environmental Report, University of Sko¨vde, Sko¨vde. University of Sko¨vde (2001), Annual Environmental Report, University of Sko¨vde, Sko¨vde. University of Trollha¨ttan/Uddevalla (2000), Annual Environmental Report, University of Trollha¨ttan/Uddevalla, Trollha¨ttan/Uddevalla. University of Trollha¨ttan/Uddevalla (2001), Annual Environmental Report, University of Trollha¨ttan/Uddevalla, Trollha¨ttan/Uddevalla. Uppsala University (2000), Annual Environmental Report, Uppsala University, Uppsala. Va¨xjo¨ University (2000), Annual Environmental Report, Va¨xjo¨ University, Va¨xjo¨.

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News Baltic 21 report 2000-2002: towards sustainable development in the Baltic Sea region The Web version of the Baltic 21 report, lunched in June 2003, is now available. This version of the report is more comprehensive and takes a deeper look at the Baltic Sea region by means of ca. 100 Baltic 21 indicators (each of them presented as a graph and an MS Excel table). On top of that, a more detailed description of the progress made by the Baltic 21 sectors (agriculture, education, energy, fisheries, forests, industry, tourism, transport), spatial planning and selected joint actions in the implementation of the action programme is provided. To obtain further information or download the report, please visit the Baltic 21 Web site at: www.baltic21.org New corporation sustainability ranking The latest annual league table of most sustainable large companies, globally and in Europe, has been released by index makers Dow Jones, Stoxx and Sam. The partners claim that over e2.2 billion in funds and other “sustainability-driven” financial products are now influenced by the indexes. Dow Jones’ world sustainability index was launched in 1999 and comprises over 300 firms, rated the most sustainable 10 percent of the world’s largest 2,500 corporations. Its’ European sibling first appeared in 2001 and comprises 178 companies, rated the most sustainable 20 percent of the continent’s 600 largest companies. In the most recent world sustainability index, Toyota of Japan displaces Volkswagen of Germany as the leading – or most sustainable – firm in the automotive sector. Ireland-based CRH takes over from Lafarge of France as construction sector leader. Philips Electronics replaces Teijin of Japan in cyclical goods, BP replaces Royal Dutch Shell in energy and British Land replaces Lend Lease of Australia. In the European index, there are new sector leaders in seven out of 18 categories. In banking, ABN Amro has displaced UBS, while DSM has replaced Degussa in chemicals, Nokia has replaced Siemens in technology and Sainsbury has replaced Henkel in non-cyclical goods and services. CRH has replaced Lafarge in construction, BP has replaced Shell in energy and British Land has replaced Land Securities in financial services. Firms newly added to the European index include Fortum of Finland, Aventis of France, Norsk Hydro of Norway, Holcim of Switzerland and Reckitt Benckiser of the UK. Deletions include Agfa Gevaert of Belgium, Alstom of France, DaimlerChrysler of Germany, Unicredito Italiano of Italy, Heineken of the Netherlands, Ciba Speciality Chemicals of Switzerland and Smiths Industries of Britain.

New EU standards for emissions by heavy vehicles The European Commission has proposed minimum EU performance standards for emission-reducing equipment fitted to heavy-goods vehicles. The proposals also include a recast of EU lorry and bus emission limits. These consolidate 1998 laws into a single text and introduce new decision-making procedures for future changes. The performance requirements relate to exhaust recirculaters, catalytic converters and particulate filters. All are technologies expected to be required to enable vehicles to meet Euro 3, 4 and 5 emission standards being progressively implemented from 2005 to 2009. Equipment will have to pass durability tests, framed as minimum useful life expressed in either years or kilometres of service, whichever is sooner. Depending on vehicle category, emission-control units will have to last at least five to seven years or 100,000 to 500,000 kilometres. Longer lifetime requirements could have been proposed, the Commission says, but might “compromise the feasibility” of the standards and inhibit the development of new aftertreatment technologies. There are separate requirements for on-board diagnostic systems (OBD) to ensure equipment is functioning properly during use. Anti-pollution equipment performance standards were envisaged by the 1999 directive that set the Euro emission standards. Though this law also called for limits on new pollutants emerging because of the increased use of alternative fuels, the Commission says that not enough vehicles are burning the fuels for it to make proposals in this area. The changes will now be sent for approval through co-decision by the European parliament and council of ministers. Future technical updates to the law should be made through “comitology” procedure, the Commission says. But any changes which “directly affect emissions” would remain as co-decision matters.

Tourism to Earth’s most threatened areas surges by more than 100 percent in last decade Tourism has increased by more than 100 percent between 1990 and 2000 in the world’s biodiversity hotspots, regions richest in species and facing extreme threats, according to a report released by Conservation International (CI) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “Tourism and biodiversity: mapping tourism’s global footprint” is the most comprehensive study of its kind focusing on the impacts of tourism on biological diversity. Biodiversity hotspots have seen tourism increase by over 100 percent between 1990 and 2000. In particular, In certain areas the growth has been staggering. Over the past decade, tourism has increased by more than 2000 percent in both Laos and Cambodia, nearly 500 percent in South Africa,

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over 300 percent in the countries of Brazil, Nicaragua and El Salvador, and 128 percent in the Dominican Republic. Tourism generates 11 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP), employs 200 million people and transports nearly 700 million international travelers per year, a figure that is expected to double by 2020. It is considered one of the largest, if not the largest, industries on the planet. With nature and adventure travel one of the fastest-growing segments within the tourism industry, the Earth’s most fragile, high biodiversity areas are where most of that expansion will likely take place. While tourism has the potential to provide opportunities for conserving nature, tourism development, when done improperly, can be a major threat to biodiversity. “Tourism and biodiversity: mapping tourism’s global footprint” includes maps that chart tourism’s growth across the planet’s most biodiversity rich environments and provides guidelines for governments, private businesses, donor organizations and local communities for supporting more sustainable tourism development. Further information on the report can be obtained from UNEP at www.unep.org

Books and resources Approaches to Handling Environmental Problems in Mining and Metallurgical Regions Edited by Walter Leal Filho and Irina Butorina Kluwer Academic Publishers Dordecht 296 pp. ISBN 1-4020-1322 (paperback), 1-4020-1323 (hardback) Keywords Mining, Metal processing, Environment

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The book Approaches to Handling Environmental Problems in Mining and Metallurgical Regions is the outcome of an advanced research workshop held in Mariupol, Ukraine in September 2002. It presents a comprehensive description of trends, problems and perspectives related to the handling of environmental problems related to mining, also showing what many universities in the world are doing to address the sustainability issues related to it. Further details and information on how to place online orders are available at: www.wkap.nl/

Making Waves: Integrating Coastal Conservation and Development W. Neil Adger, Katrina Brown and Emma L. Tompkins Earthscan London 2002 176 pp. ISBN 1853839124 £17.95 Keywords Conservation, Ecology, Social sciences Coastal zones are critical multiple-use resources, under pressure from constant demands from different sources – conservation, economic growth and social welfare. This book is a publication that identifies the dilemmas of managing conservation and development in coastal areas. The authors provide an interesting analysis of the human dimension of coastal ecosystem management and convincingly illustrate through numerous examples that sustainable coastal management indeed requires an integrated social-ecological approach. The book is packed with important and timely information and tools for the management, conservation and assessment of social implications of coastal resource use. The authors present a variety of methods and techniques that can be used to highlight the trade-offs and promote sustainable decisions among

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education Vol. 5 No. 1, 2004 pp. 103-106 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1467-6370

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diverse users. Their interdisciplinary analysis draws upon the latest scientific knowledge as well as social science insights on property rights and governance, with cases from the developed and developing world. Further details and information on on-line orders are available at: www.earthscan.co.uk/asp/bookdetails.asp?key ¼ 3797

104 Leading Change Toward Sustainability – A Change-Management Guide for Business, Government and Civil Society Bob Doppelt Greenleaf Publishing Sheffield September 2003 272 pp. ISBN 1874719632 (hardback), 1874719640 (paperback) £40.00/US$75.00 (hardback), £16.95/US$30.00 (paperback) Keywords Organizational change, Sustainable development Although many organisations have embraced the idea of sustainability in the last decade, why do so many initiatives fail, leading to wasted resources, frustration and cynicism? Why have so few organisations successfully adopted more sustainable policies or practices? And when they do get launched, why do so many efforts plateau after a short time and fail to ascend to the next level of excellence? What process is required to create change within organisations to move them towards sustainability? Because so few resources are available to answer these questions, Bob Doppelt spent three years researching how the leaders of both private and public organisations that have initiated and sustained significant sustainability programmes designed and approached them. His findings, presented in this book, will demystify the sustainability-change process by providing a theoretical framework and a methodology that managers can use to successfully transform their organisations to embrace sustainable development. According to Doppelt, discussions about what to do – which new technologies and policy instruments to apply – have dominated the public dialogue on sustainability. Practitioners place comparatively little emphasis on how organisations can change their internal thought processes, assumptions and ingrained behaviours to embrace new tools and techniques. Organisational and cultural change is the key missing ingredient in the operationalisation of sustainable development. Without such change, sustainability efforts usually stall soon after they begin or fail outright. Further details and information on on-line orders are available at: www.greenleaf-publishing.com/catalogue/leadchg.htm

Industry Genius – Inventions and People Protecting the Climate and Fragile Ozone Layer Stephen O. Andersen and Durwood Zaelke Greenleaf Sheffield July 2003 192 pp. ISBN 1874719683 £14.95/US$22.50 Keywords Technology, Ozone, Environmental impact This book presents the inventive genius behind technological breakthroughs by ten global companies. Readers will gain understanding and insight into how cutting-edge technology is helping protect the climate and/or the ozone layer, while contributing to the company’s bottom line. Each chapter chronicles the challenge and triumph of invention, introduces the engineers and executives who overcome conventional wisdom to achieve huge breakthroughs, and demonstrates the contribution these companies are making to environmental protection. In full colour and packed with graphics to illustrate the creative process of technological breakthroughs, the book is accessible and informative. The genius of these ten companies may inspire engineers, policy makers, students, environmentalists, CEOs, and investors alike. Further details and information on online orders are available at: www.greenleaf-publishing.com/catalogue/genius.htm

Future Nature: A Vision for Conservation William M. Adams Earthscan London May 2003 296 pp. ISBN 1853839981 £13.46 Keywords Conservation, Economic conditions The countryside is changing faster than ever. A total of 50 years of conservation achievements in the UK are now being confronted by a new complexion of economic forces that are driving change in the countryside. At the same time new ideas in conservation are altering the role that conservation is being asked to play in negotiating the transition from past to future. This revised edition of Bill Adams classic work tackles the new challenges in the countryside and wildlife conservation head-on through a new Introduction and Postscript with updated arguments about naturalness and

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our social engagement with nature, and complemented by a new Foreword by Adrian Phillips. Further details and information on online orders are available at: www.earthscan.co.uk/asp/bookdetails.asp?key=1725

Decolonizing Nature: Strategies for Conservation in a Post-colonial Era William M. Adams and Martin Mulligan Earthscan London 2002 304 pp. ISBN 1853837490 £17.95 Keywords Conservation, Australia, Africa William M. Adams and Martin Mulligan explore the influence of the colonial legacy on contemporary conservation and on ideas about the relationships between people, polities and nature in countries and cultures that were once part of the British Empire. It locates the historical development of the theory and practice of conservation in the UK, Australia and Africa firmly within the context of this legacy, and considers its significance today. It also highlights the present and future challenges to conservationists of contemporary global neo-colonialism. The contributors to this volume include both academics and conservation practitioners. They provide wide-ranging and insightful perspectives on the need for, and practical ways to achieve new forms of informed ethical engagement between people and nature. For more information visit: www.earthscan.co.uk/asp/bookdetails.asp?key=3841

Diary EAUC 8th Annual Conference – Delivering Sustainability Leicester, UK 31 March 2004-1 April 2004 The 8th Annual Conference of the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges will take place at the University of Leicester on 31 March and 1 April 2004. Following the launch of the Department for Education and Skills’ “sustainable development action plan”, the key aim of the conference is to help the further and higher education sectors to implement the necessary plans and to adopt a more sustainable approach to the delivery of education. To help deliver this message, EAUC are pleased to confirm a number of expert speakers – including HEFCE, Environment Agency and the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment. A networking exhibition will be on show and informative and highly topical workshops are provided – these cover the key areas of bio-diversity, curriculum development, water and energy management, transport, waste management, legislation and procurement. Leicester is the first environmental city in the UK and the EAUC is especially pleased to be holding its 8th Annual Conference there – it is hoped that lessons can be learned from the city’s experiences. Leicester is also renowned for its strong ethnic influences and the conference will echo this theme. This EAUC Conference promises to be an exiting, interactive, educational and motivational event. For further information, please contact: [email protected] Eco-Efficiency for Sustainability: Quantified Methods For Decision Making Leiden, The Netherlands 1-3 April 2004 The aim of this conference is to road the application of the eco-efficiency concept and tools in business can actively be developed, closely linked to consistent and transparent application in public policy. The focus of the conference will be on operational methods for quantified eco-efficiency analysis that can guide decision making towards societal eco-efficiency, contributing to sustainability. The conference will bring together scientists and practitioners concerned about our common future, focusing on eco-efficiency as a central element in moving towards sustainability. By indicating the cost per unit of environmental improvement, or equivalently the value creation as related to environmental costs, one may discern between more and less eco-efficient forms of economic growth and environmental improvement. The conference aims to clarify and further develop the theoretical framework and operational methods for quantified and integrated eco-efficiency analysis, focused at practical application for decision making by firms, governments and NGOs. It combines different subject areas, from economics, environmental science, social

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choice theory, and evaluation and decision theory, and from applications involving sustainability decision makers in research and development, eco-design, business, and politics. For further information, please visit the conference Web site: www.eco-efficiency-conf.org/

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Environmental Management for Sustainable Universities (EMSU) 2004 Monterrey, Nuevo Leo´n, Me´xico 9-11 June, 2004 The Conference Environmental Management for Sustainable Universities (EMSU) 2004 will be held from 9 to 11 June 2004 at the Tecnolo´gico de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey in Mexico. The theme of the event is “Sustainable development education: holistic and integrative educational and management approaches for ensuring sustainable societies”. Full articles are due by 1 April 2004. Further details can be obtained at: http://campus-sostenible.mty.itesm.mx/EMSUIII/index. html or by contacting: Ing. Silvia Catalina Farı´as Gayta´n, Programa Campus Sostenible, Centro de Calidad Ambiental, Edificio CEDES 5 piso, Oficina CD-508, Tecnolo´gico de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey, Monterrey, Me´xico. Tel: (81) 83 58 14 00 ext. 5272; Web site: http://campus-sostenible.mty.itesm.mx International Environmental Modelling and Software Society Conference – Special Session on “Evolutionary Computing Methods for Environmental Modelling and Software Development” Osnabru¨ck, Germany 14-17 June 2004 Scientists working with environmental modelling are invited to submit papers for the special session on “Evolutionary computing methods for environmental modelling and software development”, at the International Environmental Modelling and Software Society Conference, to be held on 14-17 June 2004 at the University of Osnabru¨ck, in Germany. The description of the session is as follows. Recent advances in information technology have provided the software tools and the environment to study, analyse, and better understand complex systems. Environmental systems are such complex systems where modelling and software tools are needed to provide decision support capabilities and eventually improve decision-making. Evolutionary computing techniques, of which genetic algorithms are the best-known example, have a relatively short but spectacular history. These simplified models of Darwinian evolution “evolve” optimal or near-optimal solutions to complex decision-making problems that would otherwise have escaped even experienced analysts. In other words, these techniques are capable of solving global optimization and search problems with robust performance. The advances in evolutionary computation techniques are making them more popular in solving complex, nonlinear, nonconvex and dynamically interactive

problems. Evolutionary computation has been successfully applied in many areas of decision-making and the impact of this technology is now being felt in the environmental modelling field. The objective of this special session is to bring together research and development of evolutionary computation in environmental modelling and software development areas. The session aims to provide a platform for researchers to present and discuss recent breakthroughs in this area. Further details are available at: www.iemss.org/iemss2004/ or by contacting the session’s convenor: Dragan Savic, University of Exeter, UK; e-mail: [email protected] ICECFOP – International Conference on Environmentally-Compatible Forest Products Oporto, Portugal 22-24 September 2004 ICECFOP, the International Conference on Environmentally-Compatible Forest Products will be held in Oporto, Portugal from 22-24 September 2004. It is hosted by Fernando Pessoa University (UFP), Oporto, Portugal. The event aims to bring together scientists and Industrialists working with forest products and environmental areas, so that they can present the latest research and innovation on wood products with low environmental impacts, possible environmental benefits to be derived from new technologies and the role of the so-called clean technologies. ICECFOP is being organised by CEMAS, the Centre for Modelling Studies and Environmental Systems Analysis, based at the Faculty of Science and Technology at Fernando Pessoa University. The Co-organising institutions are the Ecole Supe´rieure du Bois, Nantes, France and Geonu´cleo, Fernando Pessoa University. Topics for communications include: . reduction of VOC emissions from wood processing operations; . adhesives from renewable resources; . new environment friendly preservatives; . environmental impact of traditional preservatives; . innovative non-conventional methods for wood protection (chemical modification, biological methods, trapping, etc.); . recycling of wood in general and recycling of preservative-treated wood; . life-cycle assessment of wood products; . products from non-wood plant fibre resources; . application of forest residues on the treatment of effluents; . environmental conditions in workplace; . new environment friendly wood coatings and finishing processes; . new products and processes with low environmental impact; and . other related areas.

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For further information, online registration, and other details please visit the site www.ufp.pt and look for “Eventos” (bottom centre) and click on “ICECFOP” or go directly to www.ufp.pt/events.php?intId=10038 For any specific information may contact the Conference Secretariat: Mrs Paula Dias, GCI – Gabinete de Comunicac¸a˜o e Imagem, Universidade Fernando Pessoa, Prac¸a 9 de Abril, 349, 4249-004 Porto, Portugal. Tel: +351 225 071 300; Fax: +351 225 508 269; e-mail: [email protected] EESD 2004 – Engineering Education in Sustainable Development Barcelona, Spain 27-29 October 2004 EESD will provide a platform for academics, policy and business makers, curriculum developers, researchers, students, NGO members over engineering education in sustainable development. Engineering education at all levels, especially higher education for the training of decision-makers, researchers and teachers should be oriented towards sustainable development and foster environmentally aware attitudes, skills and behaviour patterns, as well as a sense of ethical responsibility. The purpose of this conference is to translate this aim into concrete targets that could help universities of technology to set objectives for reforming their educational programs. As other universities, the University Polytechnic of Catalunia (UPC), the hosts of the event, has been facing the introduction of sustainability in all its activities since 1996, with the approval of an environmental plan. Particularly, strong efforts have been done concerning the introduction of environmental topics in many of the curricula. Now, UPC faces the challenge of organizing the EESD conference in 2004, after the success of the first edition in 2002, organized by the Technical University of Delft. The conference is divided into parallel workshops, preceded by introductory keynote lectures. The workshops are organised according to the following topics: . feasibility of technology for sustainable development; . society willingness to incorporate sustainable development and expectations from engineering education; . curricula changes for introducing sustainable development; . exchange and transfer of technology for sustainable development. Submission deadlines: . Abstracts and workshop proposals should be submitted by 1 February 2004. . Full articles should be submitted by 1 July 2004. Further information is available at: http://congress.cimne.upc.es/eesd2004/ frontal/default.asp

Feature New sustainable procurement campaign launched in Europe “More sustainability for the same money – this is the motto which should convince more and more politicians of the concept.” This was said by ICLEI sustainable procurement director, Christoph Erdmenger, at the launch of a new campaign on sustainable procurement. The new campaign (“Procura+”), focusing on sustainable procurement in local authorities, was launched in Goteborg at the ICLEI Eco-Procura conference in Goteborg, Sweden, 8-9 September 2003. “Procura+” is the latest initiative of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), a global network of local governments. The campaign includes social aspects on top of the traditional environmental or “green” approach. The aim is to mainstream sustainability in European cities purchasing through energy savings, chemical reductions and sustainable building. The campaign is based on the findings of a three-year research project, financed by the European Union, which showed huge potential for environmental improvements. The first city endorsing the concept is Barcelona, Spain. Txema Castiella I. Viu, director, environmental education and participation of Barcelona’s city council stated: “Sustainable procurement is not a luxury for the richer Northern European countries, but a valuable concept for sustainable development throughout Europe.” Over 160 representatives from public authorities and organizations attended the conference that covered various issues related to sustainable procurement. For more information on the campaign, please contact ICLEI at: ICLEI European Secretariat, Leopoldring 3, D-79098 Freiburg, Germany. Tel: +49-761/36892-0; Fax: +49-761/36892-19; e-mail: [email protected]

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Call for papers EESD 2004 Engineering Education in Sustainable Development International Conference, Barcelona, 27-29 October 2003

http://congress.cimne.upc.es/eesd2004 EESD will provide a platform for academics, policy and business makers, curriculum developers, researchers, students, NGO members over engineering education in sustainable development. Engineering education at all levels, especially higher education for the training of decision-makers, researchers and teachers should be oriented towards sustainable development and foster environmentally aware attitudes, skills and behaviour patterns, as well as a sense of ethical responsibility. The purpose of this conference is to translate this aim into concrete targets that could help universities of technology to set objectives for reforming their educational programs. The conference is divided into parallel workshops, preceded by introductory keynote lectures. The workshops are organised according to the following topics: .

Feasibility of technology for sustainable development.

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Society willingness to incorporate sustainable development and expectations from engineering education.

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Curricula changes for introducing sustainable development.

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Exchange and transfer of technology for sustainable development.

Submission deadlines .

Abstracts and workshop proposals should be submitted by 1 February 2004.

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Full articles should be submitted by 1 July 2004.

Organization Universitat Polite`cnica de Catalunya, Spain Organizing Committee Chair: J. Bruno (UPC, Spain), D. Ferrer (UPC, Spain), K.F. Mulder (TUD, The Netherlands).

Note from the publisher During 2003 Emerald developed its corporate publishing philosophy. We did this through discussion with readers, contributors and editors and we would like to share it with you. We believe that our approach to quality makes us different and unique amongst scholarly publishers. It is based on six core principles, which together form our distinctive philosophy: (1) We put quality at the centre of our approach to scholarly publishing. All papers published by Emerald go through a quality-assured peer review system; in all but a few practitioner-focused journals, this takes the form of double-blind peer review. All papers published by Emerald are expected to make, in some way, an explicit original contribution to the existing body of knowledge. All papers published by Emerald are accessible to a wide range of students, scholars and practitioners in the fields in which we publish. All papers published by Emerald are beneficial in some way; to researchers; practitioners, or both: . In 2001 we were audited and certified as “Committed to Excellence” following a European Foundation for Quality Management self-assessment exercise. . We retained our status as an ISO 9000 certified organisation, and our Investors in People (IIP) certification. . More than 30 Emerald journals are listed in the ISI Citation Index. (2) Continuous improvement of reader, author and customer experience. We continue to invest in enabling technology to increase efficiency and effectiveness in content provision, customer service and management. We benchmark against others and against our own standards. We are as clear as possible in our policies, measures, targets and achievements and we do not hide shortfalls, but confront and learn from them: . Emerald papers go through a further post-publication “review” which assesses them on readability, originality, implications for further research and practice. We publish this information, and it can be used as search criterion, on the Emerald database. . In 2002 we were judged as providing Best Customer Support by the scholarly library publication The Charleston Advisor. . We provide high levels of dissemination of our authors’ work – nearly 1 million papers per month are downloaded and read by subscribers to the Emerald on-line portfolio. . In 2004 we will be introducing an on-line submission and peer review system which will speed up the publication process.

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(3) Internationality. We operate in a trans-national world of scholarly ideas and we believe that this should be reflected within our publications. Working with our authors, we set targets for international representation of authors and editorial team members, and measure against them: . In the past six months we have published more than 50 themed issues with a specific international focus. . In the first half of 2003, papers from 60 different countries were published. (4) An interdisciplinary approach. We set targets, and ask for, papers and special issues on interdisciplinary approaches, and new/emergent themes. This gives us better, stronger, and more vibrant journals, and a clear leadership position in our industry: . In the first half of 2003 we published more than 20 themed issues dealing with interdisciplinary approaches to a subject or industry. . We encourage themed issues on leading edge and innovative research topics, and in the past six months published 35 such issues. (5) Supporting scholarly research: The Literati Club. We help remove the barriers to publication. We conduct workshops for researchers on publishing issues. We provide help and advice to new researchers. We offer a service for authors whose first language is not English. Our staff regularly present papers at conferences on scholarly publishing themes: . Our scholarly community Web site, the Literati Club, disseminates information about how to write for publication more successfully – we seek to make the process more transparent. . The Emerald Research Register, an online forum for the circulation of pre-publication information is designed to help researchers gain advanced recognition among their peers by publicising their research at the earliest opportunity. . Each year, we distribute grants to researchers working on improving the scholarly publishing dissemination process, and to encouraging scholarship in the developing world. . We conducted research workshops at 11 universities and conferences, had papers accepted at nine academic and other conferences, and supported six academic conferences worldwide. (6) Integration of theory and practice. We ask editors and review board members to focus where applicable on application, and beneficial implication for practice. We do so because this gives a clear message to our core supplier and consumer markets – the applied researcher, the reflective practitioner, the students of business and their teachers, the business and management school:

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All of our journals will publish a majority of papers that have a direct application to the world of work. More than 1,000 university libraries worldwide subscribe to the Emerald portfolio, including 97 per cent of the Financial Times Top 100 Business Schools.

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Promoting environmental literacy and sustainability in teaching, research, operations and outreach at colleges and universities worldwide.

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Become a member and receive free electronic access to the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education through our partnership with Emerald. Other services include: .

The Sustainability Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ), a tool for assessing sustainability at your institution and guiding campus leaders in charting a course toward an environmentally sound and socially just future.

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The Declaration, our triannual newsletter featuring articles on the latest sustainability initiatives at colleges and universities.

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Access to the Talloires Declaration network of signatory institutions committed to sustainability in teaching and practice. The Talloires Declaration has been signed by more than 270 university presidents and chancellors in over 40 countries.

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Bimonthly Electronic Bulletin with member updates, upcoming events and timely resource material.

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Consultation, inquiry and referral services for questions regarding faculty development for sustainability, curriculum reform, environmental management systems, and sustainability assessment.

For more information, contact ULSF at: 2100 L St, NW Suite 402 Washington, DC 20037 USA Tel: 202-778-6133 Fax: 202-778-6138 E-mail: [email protected] www.ulsf.org