Sustainable Development Education Panel
Furthering Sustainability: A Step-by-Step Guide for Colleges
Further Information
References
Department for Education and Employment, 1999, Learning to Succeed, HMSO, London
Department of the Environment, Department for Education and Employment and the Welsh Office, 1993, Environmental Responsibility: an Agenda for Further and Higher Education, HMSO, London
Department of the Environment, 1994, Sustainable Development: the UK Strategy, HMSO, London
Department of the Environment, Department for Education and Employment and the Welsh Office, 1996, Environmental Responsibility: a Review of the 1993 Toyne Report, HMSO, London
Department of the Environment Transport and the Regions, 1999, A Better Quality of Life: A Strategy for Sustainable Development in the UK
Sustainable Development Education Panel, 1999, First Annual Report, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, Department for Education and Employment
Good practice
The HE 21 Project Resource
In the Spring of 1997, Forum for the Future was awarded a Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) grant to run a two year HE 21 Project to generate and promote examples of best practice for sustainability across the higher education (HE) sector. The stimulus for the Project, which also received the Department for Education and Employment' s endorsement, came from a key recommendation in the government' s 1996 Toyne Report Review.
A significant HE sector resource, twenty one publications in total, was developed during the course of the HE 21 Project (March 97 - March 99). The publications are:
- An environmental management systems guide for the HE sector
- Four curriculum specifications covering the core learning agenda for sustainability in relation to business, engineering, design and teacher education at undergraduate level.
- Six trail-blazer story bulletins from Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education, Surrey Institute of Art and Design, University of North London, University of Edinburgh, University of Sunderland and Liverpool John Moores University
- Eight issues bulletins: biodiversity, community based learning, purchasing, resource efficiency, students, sustainability communications, transport, waste,
- An HE 21 - LA 21 Partnerships for Sustainability discussion paper - including policy context, case studies and recommendations
- A set of sustainability indicators tailored to the HE sector
Whilst all the publications are specifically targeted at HE, there is much of relevance in them for FE. Some of the HE21 information can be found at the Forum for the future webpage in their archives, at www.forumforthefuture.org.uk/aboutus/default.asp?pageid=367
The Higher Education Funding Council Environmental Report and Workbook
Higher Education Funding Council, Northavon House, Cold Harbour Lane, Bristol, BS16 1QD
Scottish College Case Studies
Scottish Further Education Unit, 1999, FE Colleges Learning to Sustain: case studies of good practice Department, SFEU
Useful contacts
EMAS (European Eco-Management and Audit Systems standard) Competent Body
Claire Sweeney
EMAS Competent Body, Institute of Environmental Assessment, Welton house,
Limekilm Way, Lincoln, LN2 4US
Tel 01522 540069
Fax 01522 540090
Email emas-iea@dial.pipex.com
United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS)
For enquiries about accredited verifiers for EMAS
Roger Brockway
UKAS, 21-47 High St, Feltham, Middlesex, TW13 4UN
Tel 0181 917 8400
Fax 0181 917 8500
ISO 14001 (International Environmental Management Systems Standard)
British Standards Institution (BSI) Information Centre, 389 Chiswick
High Rd, London, W4 4AL
Tel 0181 996 7000
Fax 0181 996 7960
SA 8000 (Social Accountability)
SGS International Certification Services Ltd, SGS House, Portland Road,
East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 4ET
Tel 01342 410099
Fax 01342 305342
Email sgsics@sgsgroup.com
www.accountability.org.uk
Appendix I: Sustainable Development Education Panel
In 1998 the Sustainable Development Education Panel was established to consider issues on education for sustainable development, in its broadest sense, in schools, further and higher education, at work, during recreation and at home; and to make practical recommendations for action in England.
The Panel reports directly to the Deputy Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Education and Employment and is chaired by Sir Geoffrey Holland, the Vice-Chancellor of Exeter University.
Terms of Reference
- to promote a strategic approach to sustainable development education in England;
- to identify gaps and opportunities in the provision of sustainable development education and consider how to improve that provision;
- to promote an approach which will reduce duplication, increase cooperation and develop synergy between all sectors and groups involved;
- to consider whether and what targets should be set for various sectors;
- to highlight best practice and consider the means of disseminating it more widely;
- to make recommendations to key players on priority areas for action
- to assess the effectiveness of this approach .
The Panel has set out its long term vision for the further education sector in its first Annual Report. It calls all FE institutions, by the year 2010 "to be accredited to an internationally or nationally recognised sustainable development management systems standard; to have staff fully trained and competent in sustainable development; and be providing all students with relevant sustainability learning opportunities". Within the same time frame it also calls the Further Education Funding Council "to have made a defined level of sustainability performance relating to house-keeping, curriculum and community responsibilities, a condition of grants to institutions".
Appendix II: Environmental Responsibility (Toyne) Report & Review
Environmental Responsibility (Toyne) Report
The Government White Paper, ' This Common Inheritance' (1990), recommended that an expert committee be convened to consider the environmental education needs of the business community. The committee' s report, ' Environmental Responsibility: an Agenda for Further and Higher Education, was published in 1993. The report' s key recommendation states:
"After consultation with its staff and students, every higher and further education institution should formally adopt and publicise, by the beginning of the academic year 1994/5, a comprehensive environmental policy statement, together with an action plan for its implementation."
The report made 26 other recommendations targeted at government, FHE institutions, funding councils and professional bodies. One of these recommendations was for a review progress after three years. (Please see Appendix I for recommendations relating to specialist environment provision).
Environmental Responsibility Report Review (Toyne II)
The Environmental Responsibility Report Review was launched by two Secretaries of State from the Education and Employment and Environment Departments in 1996. The Review revealed that most of the institutions and organisations targeted in the 1993 Report, including government, had demonstrated "considerable indifference" to its recommendations.
Only 114 respondents out of a possible 756 FHE institutions claimed to have environmental policies in place. Where policies existed, implementation was generally found to be at an early stage with most progress being made on the good housekeeping side, particularly in areas associated with obvious cost savings, such as energy efficiency or where the ' green' ticket could help institutions to introduce otherwise unpopular measures e.g. car parking charges. Little progress was found in areas such as purchasing.
As regards the curriculum, only 17 FHE respondents claimed to have set out in general terms what all their students needed to learn in order to be able to take account of sustainable development in their work and daily lives. Of these, less than half-a-dozen were making significant progress.
Toyne Review Key Recommendations
- Enabling responsible global citizenship (which is the outcome of sustainability learning) should be recognised as core business of learning institutions and a legitimate purpose of life-time learning;
- Funds should be made available to establish a national programme to support the further and higher education sector' s response to the challenge of sustainable development;
- Within three years all FHE institutions should be either accredited to, or committed to becoming accredited to, a nationally or internationally recognised environmental management systems standard, such as the Eco Management and Audit Scheme;
- Within three years all FHE institutions should have developed the capacity to provide all students with the opportunity to develop defined levels of competence relating to responsible global citizenship;
- Those responsible for defining national standards relating to industrial and professional practice, and associated qualifications and standards, such as industry lead bodies and professional bodies, should ensure that appropriate reference is made to sustainable development issues;
- Within three years all funding councils should introduce a mechanism for linking environmental performance to the allocation of funds, for example by introducing environmental criteria into existing quality assessment and inspection procedures.
Appendix III: ISO 14001 and EMAS
There are two internationally recognised EMS systems: ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems - Specifications with Guidance for Use and EMAS, The EU' s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS).
ISO 14001 is an international voluntary standard. It is not a law, and there are no legal requirements for organisations to register or to seek certification. The ISO 14001 Standard specifies the requirements for an environmental management system in terms of an organisation' s environmental commitment to a policy, compliance with applicable legislation and regulations and to continual improvement in its overall environmental performance. It does not set environmental performance targets: these are left to individual organisations to determine for themselves.
The standard applies to any organisation, large or small, in either the public or private sector that wishes to implement and maintain an EMS and assure itself, and others, that the system conforms with its environmental policy. Organisations seeking certification to ISO 14001 can elect for third party certification by an accredited certification body, or can make a self-declaration of compliance to the requirements of the standard. For most organisations, there is added credibility in having third party certification.
ISO 14001 - requirements for certification
- an environmental policy - including a commitment to continual improvement, prevention of pollution and compliance with relevant environmental legislation and regulations. The policy must be available to the public
- identification and evaluation of environmental aspects associated with an organisation' s activities, products and services which may have a significant impact on the environment
- compliance with relevant legal and other regulatory requirements
- documented and, where possible, quantifiable environmental objectives and targets
- the establishment and maintenance of an environmental management programme in order to achieve agreed objectives and targets
- evidence of the practical implementation of an EMS including the allocation of roles and responsibilities, training programmes, documentation, operational control procedures and emergency preparedness and response mechanisms
- monitoring and measuring of relevant operational and management activities, including record keeping
- procedures for periodic auditing of the EMS, to inform management of the findings and to ensure the system conforms with the standard (i.e. that the EMS is properly implemented and maintained)
- management review of the EMS to ensure its suitability, adequacy and effectiveness in meeting the requirements of an organisation' s environmental policy and commitment to continual improvement
The EU' s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) regulation
Council Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93, known as the EU' s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), was formally adopted in June 1993 and came into force in April 1995. As an EU Regulation, EMAS is directly applicable law, and all Member States have a mandatory responsibility to adopt it. However, in terms of its application by industry, EMAS is an entirely voluntary scheme and there is no legal requirement for any organisation or any sector to participate in the scheme.
The EMAS Regulation was originally designed for use by manufacturing organisations. Article I of the Regulation refers specifically to ' voluntary participation by companies performing industrial activities' and that ' the scheme' is established ' for the evaluation and improvement of the environmental performance of industrial activities...' .
Whilst Article 1 of the Regulation prescribes EMAS as an industrial scheme, Article 14 allows Member States to adapt the scheme, on an experimental basis, for other sectors e.g. distributive trade and public services. In response, the UK government broadened the scope of EMAS to allow local authorities in the UK to participate in the scheme. The formal extension of EMAS to the service sector has recently been proposed and a formal decision is expected at the beginning of the year 2000.
The Voluntary Eco-Management and Audit Scheme for Local Government (LA-EMAS), came into being in April 1995. LA-EMAS is designed to help local authorities evaluate and improve their environmental performance in terms of their activities, services and provision of relevant information to the public. The scheme has received an favourable response, with 31% of local authorities either committed to becoming registered / certified to EMAS/ ISO14001 or implementing the principles of these schemes.
Registration under the EMAS applies to individual sites; organisations with more than one site must register those sites individually. In the case of local authorities individual departments can register, provided there is a corporate commitment for the whole authority to join the scheme in the future. It is worth noting that the EMS is only part of the requirements of EMAS registration, as the regulation also requires EMS audit programmes and the publication of an Environmental Statement.
EMAS requirements for registration
- environmental policy - a company environmental policy with a commitment to comply with relevant legislation and continuous improvement in environmental performance.
- environmental review - to provide baseline data and information to decide on its environmental programme.
- environmental programme - sets out quantified objectives and targets to ensure greater environmental protection at the site with measures to show how this will be achieved.
- environmental management system - including organisational structure, responsibilities, practices, procedures and resources, to ensure implementation of the policy and programme.
- environmental audit - a systematic, documented, periodic and objective evaluation of the performance of the organisation, management system and processes to ensure compliance with company environmental policy and the effectiveness of the system itself.
- environmental statement - for each site following the initial review and subsequent audits. The statement should be written in non-technical language and made publicly available. It should include a description of activities, an assessment of significant environmental impacts/effects and information on environmental performance. A presentation of environmental policy, programmes and management system and a date for the next report should also be published.
- verification - the Environmental Statement must be verified by an independent, accredited environmental verifier. For registration purposes, the Environmental Statement is submitted to the ' Competent Body' for EMAS in the Member state in which the site is located. The Institute of Environmental Assessment is the Competent Body in the UK.
The revised and extended EMAS is expected to recognise the ISO 14001 requirements for certification as part of the requirements for EMAS registration.
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Page last modified:
19 January 2004
Page published: 9 June 2000