Sustainable Development Education Panel
Review of Sustainable Development Education Initiatives in the Workplace
4. Next Steps: Recommendations
Recommendations to the Panel
1. The case studies in this report represent a significant amount of experience and expertise in creating and managing sustainable development education projects. This information needs to be placed in the public domain. This could be achieved by:
- publishing the case-studies and making them available to managers in business, government and NGOs;
- organising a conference to show-case the leading examples;
- producing a good practice guide. All of these options are currently being considered by the Panel.
2. If sustainable development is to permeate workplaces in the UK, it is vital for the Panel to capture the hearts and minds of Britain's CEOs. This could be achieved by:
- organising a high-profile conference aimed at the CEOs of the FTSE 500;
- developing further training for CEOs on the central role of sustainable development in tomorrow's business. This could perhaps be done in the form of an Executive Programme at a leading business school.
3. The scope of this survey (figs 2 & 3) demonstrates that nearly half of all the initiatives in this database originate in the business or NGO sectors. By contrast, only 13% come from the government sector. The Panel should therefore seek ways of encouraging both local and national government to develop more sustainable development education initiatives. This could be done by:
- hot-housing new government-specific initiatives with, for example, the new Countryside Agency
- working with established programmes to replicate them in government departments
- conducting an audit of activities in different government departments
4. The survey demonstrates the importance of a committed "sustainable development manager". However, at present, there is no clear profile of what experience and expertise such an individual needs to possess. The Panel should seek to develop this profile so that a recognised profession of "sustainable development management" can begin to emerge. The Panel might begin this process by organising a one-day "brainstorming" event for existing participants in the field, building on the work of the FHE Panel sub-group.
5. This survey has highlighted some of those factors that make successful sustainable development education projects. The Panel needs to combine these findings with the results of its other work to develop an easy-to-use template and step-by-step directions that could be used by anyone looking to develop a programme in this area.
6. A number of the case studies draw on the resources of the education sector. The Workplace working-group of the Panel should co-operate with the Further and Higher Education working-group to explore possible synergies between their work.
In particular, the Panel should explore the use of high-quality, structured work-based placements with a sustainable development theme as a way of encouraging SMEs to take more action on developing sustainable development education initiatives. Staff from small firms rarely seek training and they do not respond well to paper-based advice. The use of undergraduate placements offers an unthreatening route to introducing sustainable development issues to the SME sector.
7. Several professional bodies - for example the British Bankers Association and the ACCA - are taking a lead on promoting environmental issues to their members. However, only one union, the TGWU is active in this area. The Panel should therefore seek ways of encouraging more unions to develop sustainable development education initiatives. This could be done by:
- working with the TGWU to explore ways of encouraging others unions
- developing a relationship with the TUC to encourage them and their members
Recommendations to the business sector
Sustainable Development Education needs to be part of the business mainstream if it is truly to take off. Where it is tacked onto 'business as usual' it withers. Where it is seen as an additional tool to reduce cost, motivate staff, assure quality standards or to advance any other core business agenda, then sustainable development education is seized on and flourishes. This is especially the case with the small business sector.
The business sector, needs therefore to focus on identifying the practical benefits accruing to those who have put sustainable development in the mainstream of their business. A first stage in this process could be a survey of companies leading in this area, for example B&Q, corporate members of ETI and WWF 95+ and those who use the FSC. Such a survey would seek to quantify the benefits that these companies believe a concern with sustainable development issues brings to their business.
Such a process ought ideally to be led by a mainstream business organisation such as the CBI or the IoD as this would reinforce the mainstreaming of sustainable development issues. However, given the apparent reluctance of either the IoD or the CBI to become involved with these issues the process might initially be led by an organisation with expertise in this area, perhaps Business in the Environment.
Recommendations to Government
Government needs to be seen to be leading on these issues if it expects business and NGOs to follow. Of the case studies in this report only 13% are from the government sector. We found a number of valuable initiatives at local government level, but almost nothing at national level. Central Government needs to develop clear examples of good practice that can then be disseminated elsewhere. Not only would this give Government credibility in this debate, it would also provide a way of testing out and developing the template that this report recommends that the Panel should develop. This could be done by:
- hot-housing new, government-specific initiatives with, for example, the new Countryside Agency
- working with established programmes to replicate them in government departments
- conducting an audit of activities in different government departments. This would form part of the Government's Sustainable Development Strategy, launched by John Prescott on 17th May 1999
Some organisations will develop sustainable education initiatives because they believe them to be important. Most will only tread this path when, either they have to - because legislation obliges it, or when there is an obvious element of self-interest - perhaps there is a tax-break available. Government should look at imaginative ways of creating an imperative for organisations to act on sustainable development issues: creating appropriate carrots and sticks. This will help to mainstream these activities.
Further and Higher Education Institutions
If the option of using undergraduate placements is pursued by the Panel as a way of promoting sustainable development to the SME sector, then FHE institutions should
- develop programmes to prepare students for such placements
- allow students to gain credits towards their courses from having taken up such placements
Page published 12 May
2000;
Page last modified
20 August, 2002