Resources

Users of these resources may also find the Sustainability Improves Student Learning page with hundreds of learning activities and the curriculum resources page and the Commons page of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) to be helpful.

Table of Contents - click on each item below to go to that portion of the page :

1)  Resources by Disciplines

2) Resources that Cross Disciplines

3) Learning Outcomes and Accreditation Criteria

4) Additional Links

1)  Resources by Disciplines:

Anthropology

American Anthropology Association is active in forging consideration of sustainability

"Anthropology as the Key to Sustainable Science"  - interview with anthroplogist Charles Redman

"Citizenship and Sustainability" - Toward global-reach curricula

"Cultivating Sustainability Through Anthropology" - University of Idaho's Campus Trash Project

Biology

The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) encourages educators to teach about topics related to sustainability through two publications:

1. BioScience: AIBS's monthly journal found online at http://www.aibs.org/bioscience/bioscience_online_2013.html. Sustainability and conservation science are frequently topics of the feature articles and contributed peer-reviewed papers. Examples include:


2. ActionBioscience.org: found at http://www.actionbioscience.org/, is AIBS's free educational online publication to promote bioscience literacy by examining issues that will:

  • •motivate the public to play an active role in bioscience education
  • show how developments in bioscience research can affect everyone
  • promote an understanding of biogeography and the biodiversity of life
  • engage the public to reflect on the relationship between human activity and the natural course of evolution
  • promote global ecological awarenessadvance formal and informal bioscience education
  • encourage students to pursue studies in the biosciences


AIBS published an article about the SISL project: Teaching Biology for a Sustainable Future found at http://www.aibs.org/eye-on-education/eye_on_education_2011_10.html

 

The National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) has infused sustainability into a number of their activities and communications.

Business

  • The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) maintains an Ethics & Sustainability Resource Center with numerous tools, publications and other resources.
  • The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) Sustainability Conference: Sustainable business has become a strong standard across industries, not just in terms of being "green" but also by being socially and ethically responsible. Learn more about sustainable business and AACSB's work in this area through this sustainability conference.combines a diverse group of experts and educators to discuss elements of sustainable business, corporate social responsibility, ethics, and special initiatives to implement effective changes at business schools and corporations.
  • Net Impact - an organization of business students and practitioners using their business skills to tackle the world’s toughest problems includes their Guide to Social & Environmental Issues in Graduate Business Programs
  • Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) provide framework for academic institutions to advance corporate social responsibility through the incorporation of universal values into curricula and research. The PRME is coordinated by a Steering Committee constituted of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International), the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), the Aspen Institute's Business and Society Program, the European Academy for Business in Society (EABIS), the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI), Net Impact and the United Nations Global Compact.
  • Beyond Grey Pinstripes is a biennial survey and alternative ranking of business schools. Our mission is to spotlight innovative full-time MBA programs that are integrating issues of social and environmental stewardship into curricula and research.This global guide provides an overview of how MBA programs bring environmental, social, and ethical issues management into their curricular and extracurricular programs.

Sustainability oriented business-teaching materials and resources:                             

 Chemistry 

American Chemical Society:

Textbooks that incorporate green chemistry/sustainability topics:

 

Communication

International Environmental Communication Association (IECA)

Design

Oakland, CA— New Village Press (newvillagepress.net) proudly announces that Sharon Gamson Danks’s book, Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation, has been honored with an American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) 2012 Professional Award and will be featured in the September issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine.

In Asphalt to Ecosystems, Sharon Danks shows educators, planners, and designers how to transform our neighborhood school grounds from gray slabs of concrete into green outdoor spaces for active learning, play, and exploration of the natural world. With more than 500 inspiring photographs from nearly 150 schools in 11 countries, this guidebook showcases innovative outdoor learning spaces and provides a practical framework for change, as well as ways to weave teaching resources into the landscape and revitalize minds, bodies, and communities.  

The ASLA Professional Awards honor the top public places, residential designs, campuses, parks, and urban planning projects from across the US and around the world, with particular focus on the environmental sensitivity and sustainability of the projects. Asphalt to Ecosystems has been awarded honors in the Communications category, which recognizes achievement in communicating landscape architecture works, technique, and theory. The ASLA 2012 Professional Awards Jury pronounced it “the most comprehensive and usable book.  It’s got great ideas that people can actually translate into practice.”  New Village Press would like to congratulate Sharon Danks on this prestigious acknowledgement of Asphalt to Ecosystems’ viability as a blueprint for a new paradigm of play and learning.  

The September issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine featuring the award winners will be available in stores as of September 14, and can also be found online. ASLA’s press release and online coverage of the awards can be found here: http://www.asla.org/2012awards.

Drama

Abel, D.C. and R.L. McConnell. 2011. A visit to the True Cost Bistro. J. Mngmt. Contr. 22: 481-485. Visit to the True Cost Bistro was written to provoke thought about the unappreciated nature of what economists call externalities. At its core, this theatrical vignette is about consumption and the decisions we make with little or no concern for their social and environmental impacts. Performances invariably lead to vibrant discussions about globalism, sustainability, invasive species, economics, poverty and privilege, and the role of government, to name a few. Although it is based on science,
A Visit to the True Cost Bistro is more a creative endeavor than academic essay.

Engineering

10xE (a.k.a Factor-Ten Engineering) is a project of Rocky Mountain Institute, which aims to help engineers, architects and their clients attack resource-intensive design problems such as manufacturing processes, buildings and vehicles using RMI's whole-system principles, in order to produce fundamentally better results. 10xE currently offers design principles and a growing set of case studies - many of them derived from Rocky Mountain Institute's experience base.

      American Society for Engineering Education:

      American Society of Civil Engineers:

English and Creative Writing

           North East Environmental Studies Discussion Group NEES@LISTSERV.URSINUS.EDU

           Sustainability and Creative Writing

                 Prompt: If you were to make a list of literary works of the imagination published in the first 12 years of this century (poetry, fiction, drama, and "creative nonfiction") that you might argue have exerted (or could possibly exert if seen in this light) the most impact on thought and action in the emerging field of "sustainability," what would they be?

  • Paul Greenberg, Four Fish: Last of the Wild Food, [nonfiction, 2010] USA.
  • Barbara Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle,  [nonfiction, 2007] USA.
  • Ellen Meloy, Eating Stone: Imagination and the Loss of the Wild [creative non-fiction, 2006]  USA .
  • Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma [nonfiction, 2006] USA.
  • Kathleen Dean Moore, Pine Island Paradox, [creative nonfiction /philosophy of nature, 2004] USA.
  • Gary Nabhan, Coming Home to Eat: The Pleasures and Politics of Local Food,[nonfiction, 2002] USA.
  • Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, [nonfiction, 2002] USA.
  • Terry Tempest Williams, All works [nonfiction, poetry, essays 1984-2010] USA
  • Winona LaDuke, Last Standing Woman, [novel, 1999],All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life, [essays, 1999], The Winona LaDuke Reader, [essays, 2002], Food is Medicine, [non-fiction, 2003?], USA.
  • T. C. Boyle,When the Killing's Done,  [novel, 2011], A Friend of the Earth,  [novel, 2000] USA.
  • John Felstiner, Can Poetry Save the Earth?  [poetry anthology, 2009] USA.
  • Mary Oliver, "The Summer Day,"  [poem, 2008] USA.

        Other Older things:

  • George Perkins Marsh, Man and Nature [nonfiction, 1864] USA.
  • John Wesley Powell, Exploration of the Colorado River and its Tributaries, [nonfiction, 1875] USA.
  • Anton Chekhov, "Uncle Vanya" and "The Cherry Orchard" [plays,1896 and 1904], "The Steppe" [novella, 1888] Russia.
  • Leo Tolstoy, "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" [short story, 1886] Russia.
  • Vasily Dokuchaev, "The Russian Steppes" [nonfiction, 1891] Russia.
  • Peter Kropotkin, Mutual Aid: A Factor in Evolution [nonfiction,1902] Russia.

Environmental Science

Humanities

Law

Mathematics

 

      Interdisciplinary approaches with math:

Physics

Psychology

         TIP articles on I-O and Environmental Sustainability

          SIOP Professional Practice Series

Religion

Sociology

      American Sociological Association:

2) Resources that cross Disciplines:

American Association for the Advancement of Science

American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment -

The National Academies

The National Academies recently created the Network for Emerging Leaders in Sustainability (NELS), an organization for early-career professionals who are interested in building bridges with peers in DC-area agencies and organizations.  The Network includes leaders with diverse backgrounds and expertise, from natural resource management to energy policy to public health.  NELS members share a common interest in taking a multidisciplinary approach to sustainability challenges, considering the economic, environmental, social, and cultural dimensions of these problems.

Send an email to sustainability@nas.edu to sign up for a newsletter that catalogues on a monthly basis the sustainability activities at the National Academies. Also see the main webpage at http://sustainability.nationalacademies.org/

Modules in Climate Education for Faculty in All Disciplines

  • CAMEL is a FREE, COMPREHENSIVE, INTERDISCIPLINARY, MULTI - MEDIA RESOURCE for educators, providing over 200 interdisciplinary topic areas and numerours resource types to give the educator the tools they need to teach CLIMATE CHANGE causes, consequences, solutions and actions. The Educator is able to build their own personal website, invite others and collaborate around teaching materials, strategies and assessment. It is a three year funded collaborative project supported by the National Science Foundation.

Other cross disciplinary resources

  • Ecoliterate: How Educators Are Cultivating Emotional, Social, and Ecological Intelligence (Jossey-Bass, 2012), by Daniel Goleman, Center  for Ecoliteracy director Lisa Bennett, and executive director Zenobia Barlow.

  • Efforts are underway to link sustainable living educators through Sustainable Living Education National Network of natural resource and extension professionals, who will investigate, educate, and model sustainable living practices to individuals, families, institutions, businesses, camps, and schools. Sustainable living embodies a thoughtful approach to leading fulfilling, productive, and environmentally responsible lives. Successful sustainable living balances economic, social, and environmental needs while meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of future generations.

  • Here is an example of lesson plans in multiple disciplines developed by faculty at Miami Dade as a result of their professional development in ESD.

  • "Sharing stories of People Taking Action" - Readings to Build a Self Concept of Engagement in Sustainability Solutions (Word doc, 2pp.))

  • GREENR is an interdisciplinary web portal for environmental and sustainability studies for libraries from Gale-Cengage Learning. GREENR is designed to have the look and feel of a Web site with all of the peer-reviewed articles and periodical content of a heavy-duty library database, in addition to including video, podcasts, statistics, and an interactive map.

    1. GREENR product site: Through this site, members can learn about GREENR, find info on the Academic Advisory Board, and request a trial for their libraries.
    2. Global Environment Watch: This short screencast describes GREENR as part of the Global Environment Watch, which can be included with Cengage textbook adoption bundles.
  • Reusable learning objectives for education about sustainable development
    (Search by keywords for related topics)

Civic Engagement

Green and Sustainability Standards for Career Pathways, from the National Association of State Directors of Career and Technical Education, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy http://www.careertech.org/career-clusters/green/green.html

             This information is applicable to all career pathways  and can be used in all discipines. Additional specific standards are included for: Architecture and Construction; Agriculture, Food and       Natural Resources; IT; Manufacturing; Transportation, Distribution and Logistics; STEM.

International Environmental Communication Association (IECA)

  • Environmental Communication Network 2 - a free network for professionals interested in improving communication around environmental affairs and sustainability.
  • Filmography of mostly feature films that invoke environmental themes or in which aspects of nature figure prominently.

3)  Learning Outcomes and Accreditation Criteria Resources:

Bibliography on Sustainability Learning Outcomes

Handbook of Sustainability Literacy a free multimedia resource and paperback book

ACPA Sustainability Taskforce Student Learning Outcomes (PDF)

Evergreen State College (WA): Curriculum for the Bioregion with Sustainability Learning Outcomes

Presentations Delivered at Northwest Commission's Annual Conference Feb. 22, 2008:

Part I - Jean MacGregor, The Evergreen State College

Part II - Gifford Pinchot III, Bainbridge Graduate Institute

Part III - Debra Rowe, U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development

Sustainability Criteria in Accreditation and Sustainability Outcomes in Higher Education

Sustainable Curriculums by Elizabeth Redden, Inside Higher Ed (11/12/08)

  • ESD: Strategic Consultations Among English Higher Education Institutions - This new report contains the findings of a series of consultations and seminars at three English higher education institutions.

  • The Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council introduces the Green Classroom Professional Certificate Program. The program encourages sustainable practices in classrooms to further the mission of creating green schools for everyone within this generation.Green classroom professionals advocate for healthier, more environmentally responsible places in which to work and teach. With the Green Classroom Professional Certificate, the classroom will turn into a living laboratory, creating foundational awareness of greener lifestyles, energy savings, and environmental health in students and educators. (added 3-26-12)

4) Additional Links:

5) International Links:

  • UN Entities Launch Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (March 9, 2012) Five UN entities have launched the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative aimed at committing leaders of the international academic community to develop sustainable practices for Higher Education institutions, ahead of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20). The UN Academic Impact (UNAI), UN Environment Programme (UNEP), UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), UN Global Compact (UNGC) and UN University (UNU), together with the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), have launched the initiative, which calls on leaders of Higher Education institutions to sign a Declaration of Commitment to Sustainable Practices of Higher Education Institutions. The Declaration commits them to, inter alia, the teaching of sustainable development concepts as part of the core curriculum. The initiative notes that because Higher Education institutions educate and train decision makers, they play an important role in building more sustainable societies and have a special responsibility to provide leadership on education for sustainable development.The Declaration that institution leaders are invited to sign also commits them to: encourage research on sustainable development issues; “green” campuses by, among other things, reducing the environmental footprint through energy, water and material resource efficiencies in buildings and facilities; support sustainability efforts in the communities in which they reside; and exchange knowledge and experiences, and report regularly on progress and challenges, through international frameworks, such as the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. [UNCSD News Release][The Declaration]

  • Global Universities Partnership on Environment and  Sustainablility - aims to promote the integration of environment and sustainability concerns into teaching, research, community engagement, the management of universities including greening of university infrastructure/facilities/operations, as well as to enhance student engagement and participation in sustainability activities both within and beyond universities.
  • United Nations University Regional Centers of Expertise - a network of existing formal, non-formal and informal education organisations, mobilised to deliver education for sustainable development (ESD) to local and regional communities. A network of RCEs worldwide will constitute the Global Learning Space for Sustainable Development. RCEs aspire to achieve the goals of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD, 2005-2014), by translating its global objectives into the context of the local communities in which they operate.

 

6) Sample of News & Media Coverage:

A Threat So Big, Academics Try Collaboration by Claudia H. Deutsch, New York Times (12/25/2007)  - Article discusses the increase in discipline collaboration to address sustainability challenges.

Getting Schools to Think and Act Green - Sonja Steptoe, Time Magazine

Article on sustainability and higher education (focus is on the greening component)

Sustainability: Education for a Sustainable Future - Debra Rowe, Science  (7/2007)

Beyond Pledges and Light Bulbs by Larry Edward Penley, Inside Higher Ed (3/28/08)

'Scholarship Reconsidered' as Tenure Policy by Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed (10/02/07)

This Man Wants to Green Your Lab - Science (10/05/07)

Sustainability Film Series (PDF)  - Association of College Unions International

Information, listings and links on this page do not reflect endorsement.

Please contact Debra Rowe to add resources to this page.

Journal Announcements

This resource lists a selection of journals that frequently cover topics of interest to the science and technology for sustainable community.

Sustainability http://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability Sustainability, is a international and cross-disciplinary, scholarly, Open Access journal of environmental, cultural, economic and social sustainability of human beings, which provides an advanced forum for studies related to sustainability and sustainable development. It is published by Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI) online monthly.

Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policyhttp://sspp.proquest.com Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy (SSPP) is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal that provides a platform for the dissemination of new practices and for dialogue emerging out of the field of sustainability. The e-Journal fills a gap in the literature by establishing a forum for cross-disciplinary discussion of empirical science as well as practice and policy developments related to sustainability. Sustainability facilitates communication among scientists, practitioners, and policy makers who are investigating and shaping nature-society interactions and working towards sustainable solutions.

Sustainability: The Journal of Record http://www.liebertpub.com/products/product.aspx?pid=252 SUSTAINABILITY: The Journal of Record meets the needs of the rapidly growing community of professionals in academia, industry, policy, and government who have the responsibility and commitment to advancing one of the major imperatives of this young century.The Journal provides the information and resources to foster collaboration, between sustainability managers, educators, corporate executives, administrators, policy makers, economists, and technology innovators who have the mandate to address and move forward the imperatives of the preservation and sustainability of global resources. 

Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development http://www.agdevjournal.com/ The Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development is an online, international, peer-reviewed publication focused on the practice and applied research interests of agriculture and food systems development professionals and scholars.

The Journal of Sustainable Product Design http://www.cfsd.org.uk/journal/ The Journal of Sustainable Product Design  is a peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary journal that focuses on the theoretical, methodological and practical dimensions of sustainable and eco-product  and service design and development. The journal is published four times  each year and is supported by an international Editorial Board. The editors  welcome contributions that are based on solid research, as well as 'blue sky' and 'out of the box' thinking. The journal provides a forum for leading-edge  thought and new ideas.

Journal of Sustainability Education http://www.journalofsustainabilityeducation.org/ The Journal of Sustainability Education serves as a forum for academics and practitioners to share, critique, and promote research, practices, and initiatives that foster the integration of economic, ecological, and social-cultural dimensions of sustainability within formal and non-formal educational contexts.

The International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability http://onsustainability.com/journal/ The International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability creates a place for the publication of papers presenting innovative theories and practices of sustainability. The journal is cross-disciplinary in its scope, a meeting point for natural and social scientists, researchers and practitioners, professionals and community representatives. The International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability is peer-reviewed, supported by rigorous, criterion-referenced article ranking and qualitative commentary processes, ensuring that only intellectual work of significance is published.

Journal of Sustainable Development http://ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/jsd/ Journal of Sustainable Development (JSD) is a peer-reviewed journal, published by Canadian Center of Science and Education. The journal publishes research papers in the fields of environmental science, environmental technologies, environmental economics and policy, ecology and sustainable development. The journal is published in both printed and online versions. The online version is free access and download.

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education (IJSHE) http://www.emeraldinsight.com/ijshe.htm IJSHE is the world's first fully-refereed journal on the theory and practice of sustainable development in higher education.  Since over 600 universities worldwide have committed themselves towards sustainability by signing international agreements and convention such as the Bologna Charter, The Halifax Declaration, the Talloires Declaration and the Copernicus Charter for Sustainable Development (signed to date by over 240 European universities), this journal shall be of special interest to them.

Ecology and Society http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/about/policies.php#focus Ecology and Society is an electronic, peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary journal devoted to the rapid dissemination of current research.

The Electronic Journal of Sustainable Development http://www.ejsd.org/public/about The Electronic Journal of Sustainable Development is a biannual, peer-reviewed journal, available online at no charge. This multidisciplinary journal, will address the issue of 'sustainable development' and how it can be achieved. It publishes scholarly articles in the realms of public policy, science, economics and the law as they relate to the concept of sustainable development and its various facets (i.e. human well-being, economic growth, environmental quality, natural resource use and management, innovation, and technological change).

International Journal of Sustainability Communication: Research and Practice for a Sustainable Future http://www.ccp-online.org/en/index.php "International Journal of Sustainability Communication: Research and Practice for a Sustainable Future" is a peer-reviewed, multilingual e-journal for sustainability communication. IJSC – the title stands for its particular focus in the current debate on sustainable transformation processes. The open access journal offers a communication platform  for researchers and practitioners to approach strategies for urging questions  regarding the future. Connecting science and practice, the editors publish  scientific papers and reports of projects and initiatives. For this reason, the e-journal creates a trans- and interdisciplinary portal for social and  educational scientists, economists, media and communication scientists, and  communication practitioners (e.g. mediation, public relations, consulting, educational institution).   

Journal of Cleaner Production http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/30440/description#description The Journal of Cleaner Production serves as an interdisciplinary, international forum for the exchange of information and research results on the technologies, concepts and policies designed to help ensure progress towards sustainable societies. It aims to encourage industrial innovation, new and improved products, and the implementation of new, cleaner processes, products and services. It is also designed to stimulate the development and implementation of prevention oriented governmental policies and educational programmes.

Sustainability Reading Lists:

The New Earth Archive: a student led effort built from a survey of sustainability leaders. Includes, books, films, TEDx talks, and more. It takes a broad connected view of sustainability including, science, politics, economics, society, media, etc.

 

Seeking Papers:

Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal

Greenhouse Gas Measurement & Management http://www.earthscan.co.uk/JournalsHome/GGMM/tabid/102397/Default.aspx Greenhouse Gas Measurement and Management brings together information on the application of methods and techniques to estimate, measure, account and audit greenhouse gases, with experiences on their management and control. This includes experiences in implementing market-based instruments (such as the clean development mechanism and joint implementation) to achieve emission reduction objectives at all levels.

Community Works Journal http://www.communityworksinstitute.org/cwjonline/index.html Community Works Journal is published by Community Works Institute in support of teaching practices that build community. The Journal features essays and reflections along with curriculum overviews that highlight the importance of place, service, and sustainability to a relevant and meaningful education.

Greening your Meetings

  • Sustainable Meetings and Conferences Report - October 2007

Report to help HEASC members understand the trends occurring in the green meeting industry and to provide the best resources for helping members implement sustainable practices in their own meetings and conferences.

Download the report: HEASC Sustainable Meetings & Conferences Report (PDF)

  • Sustainable Meetings and Conferences Questionnaire

The document was created for Association of College and University Housing Officers International (ACUHO-I) as a list of criteria that could be included in an RFP when seeking venues (hotels or conference facilities) for meetings and conferences. It was assembled from several sources including the Convention Industry Council's "Green Meetings Report", CERES' "Green Hotels Resource Guide", and the National Recycling Coalition's "Green Meetings Policy". The document may be downloaded for use in writing RFPs. It is divided into functional sections for ease of use and modification of portions that are applicable to hosting events. Click here - Sustainable Meetings and Conferences Questionnaire June 07 (Word).

For additional resources for greening meetings visit Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium.