Resources

Welcome to the DANS Resources page!  

DANS and the Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC) have created the Sustainability Learning at Colleges and Universities discussion forum (a Google Group) where you can post questions, discuss ideas, and get insights from others.  

Table of Contents for Resources Below - see also CALLS TO ACTION

  1. General Recommended Resources
  2. Resources by Discipline
  3. Resources that Cross Disciplines
  4. Learning Outcomes and Accreditation Criteria
  5. International Resources
  6. Sample of News and Media Coverage
  7. Journals
  8. Greening Your Meetings and Conferences
  9. Green Careers
  10. Additional Links

  1) General Recommended Resources

You may find these resources to be helpful for general guidance:

 2)  Resources by Discipline

Anthropology

The American Anthropological Association offers a number of publications related to sustainability, such as:

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) AIBS published an article about the SISL project: "Teaching Biology for a Sustainable Future"

3) 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

4) 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)
    • Has established a standard for accreditation of business schools that includes corporate social responsibility and sustainable development. 
    • Maintains an Ethics & Sustainability Resource Center with numerous tools, publications and other resources.
    • Holds an annual 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 the area at this conference, which 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.
  • Turning Ads into Advocacy for a Sustainable Future - TEDx talk by Alex Gorosh Commercial and Documentary Director, Alex Gorosh, discusses the unique power and responsibility of filmmakers and the organizations who hire them. In this talk, Alex shares the insights he discovered on a solo journey to one of the most polluted places on earth. This specific project about electronic waste will serve as an example of how we might reimagine the way we use film in the digital age.

Sustainability oriented business-teaching materials and resources:                             

 Chemistry 

The American Chemical Society (ACS) offers these resources:

Michigan Green Chemistry Clearinghouse - Green chemistry classroom resources including textbooks, syllabi, exams, etc.

Textbooks that incorporate green chemistry/sustainability topics include:

Communication

International Environmental Communication Association (IECA):

Communicating climate change and sustainability:

Design

August 29, 2012

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 can 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.

        Older Publications:

  • 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

Public Health

  • Resources on Environmental Health - includes links to lectures, open-access journals, open courseware, and research organizations, professional organizations, and public awareness organizations focused on the connections between environmental and human health.

Religion

Sociology

American Sociological Association:

 

3) Resources That Cross Disciplines

 

  • Civic Prompts - In an effort to respond to a central recommendation from A Crucible Moment to locate civic learning and democratic engagement as part of every major, AAC&U’s new online publication, Civic Prompts: Making Civic Learning Routine across the Disciplines, addresses how to infuse civic learning and democratic engagement across all majors and at every level.Supported by a grant from the McCormick Foundation, AAC&U worked collaboratively with seven Chicago colleges and universities to create Civic Prompts.  This monograph is offered as a tool to help engage a wider circle of faculty across a wider range of disciplines to integrate a civic lens and civic pedagogies into various teaching areas.
  • 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.
  • 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.

  • Green Classroom Professional Certificate Program. The program of the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council 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)

FOR STUDENTS

FOR LIBRARIES

  • American Library Association

    The American Library Association passed a resolution on the importance of sustainable libraries. The resolution, brought before the council by the Sustainability Round Table (SustainRT), notes that libraries play an important and unique role in wider community communications about resiliency, climate change and a sustainable future and that libraries that demonstrate good stewardship of the resources entrusted to them can build community support that leads to sustainable funding.

    The resolution goes on to encourage the American Library Association, its membership, library schools and state associations to be proactive in their application of sustainable thinking in the areas of their facilities, operations, policy, technology, programming, partnerships and library school curricula.

    Full text of the resolution here: http://www.ala.org/sustainrt/news

    Press release here: http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2015/07/ala-council-passes-resolution-sustainable-libraries

  • 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.

  • Ask your campus library to purchase this 2014 title. Focus on Educating for Sustainability: Toolkit for Academic Libraries.  This edited collection captures the current status and future direction of libraries’ commitment to advance the focus of educating for sustainability. Designed as a toolkit of best practices, case studies, and activities ready for implementation within academic libraries. 

  • 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 . 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)  

4)  Learning Outcomes and Accreditation Criteria

5)  International Resources

  • The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates that in 2012 there were as many as 5.7 million people employed either directly or indirectly in the renewable energy sector. Yet despite this, there remains a critical shortage of skilled personnel to design, develop, finance, build, operate and maintain renewable energy projects. This shortage represents one of the greatest barriers to the wider diffusion of renewable energy technologies. The IRENA Renewable Energy Learning Partnership (IRELP) was formed to increase awareness of and broaden access to educational opportunities and resources in the fast-growing sector. IRELP is the largest hub for renewable energy education and training, currently offering free access to a global database of more than 2,500 workshops, courses, degree and certificate programs, webinars and training guides. In order to compliment these education and training opportunities, IRELP has recently launched a global internship database with the intent of helping students, aspiring professionals and future decision makers embark on rewarding renewable energy careers. The project as a whole has witnessed dramatic growth since its inception in April 2012. On average, IRELP now receives over 20,000 visits per month, with active users in more than 190 countries. IRELP has also established a large online community through social media networks with more than 100,000 followers. Nearly half of IRELP users have been from Asia, 24% from Europe, 12% from the Americas, 11% from Africa and 1% from Oceania.

    IRELP confirms the steady increase in the number of renewable energy educational opportunities worldwide. However, IRELP data also shows a significant disparity in the geographical distribution of renewable energy education and training being offered. For example, within IRELP’s global education and training database, 39 per cent of the programs are offered in Europe, compared to only 4 per cent offered in Africa. In an aim to increase the number of RE programs offered worldwide, IRELP will develop an online curriculum development forum which will bring together stakeholders in academia, government and industry to share lessons and best practice in the development of renewable energy curricula.

    Global trends in education are showing declining interest is STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education and occupations. This trend is particularly concerning for the renewable energy sector as engineers and technicians are currently in extremely high demand, and will continue to be so as renewable energy deployment accelerates globally. Perhaps just as importantly, women and minorities in STEM programmes and occupations remain underrepresented. In the near future, IRELP will also launch its career centre which will feature renewable energy job profiles, career paths, inspiration career stories, information on where to find jobs, and more.

    See http://www.irelp.org . If you wish to connect with IRELP or want more information, contact info@irelp.org.

  • 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)  News and Media Coverage

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

7)  Journals

This is a sample of journals related to sustainability and education for sustainability - it does not purport to be comprehensive. 

  • 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.
     
  • Greenhouse Gas Measurement & 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.
     
  • Sustainability - is an international and cross-disciplinary, scholarly, Open Access journal of the 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, & Policy - 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. This 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  - 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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - 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. This journal is peer-reviewed and supported by rigorous, criterion-referenced article ranking and qualitative commentary processes, ensuring that only intellectual work of significance is published.
     
  • Journal of Sustainable Development - 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 - 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 to sustainability by signing international agreements and conventions such as 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 - is an electronic, peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary journal devoted to the rapid dissemination of current research.
     
  • The Electronic Journal of Sustainable Development - is a biannual, peer-reviewed journal, available online at no charge. This multidisciplinary journal addresses 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 - is a peer-reviewed, multilingual e-journal for sustainability communication. 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 urgent 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 - 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 programs.
     
  • Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal
     
  • AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) - provides a selection of journals that frequently cover topics of interest to the science and technology for sustainable community. 

8)  Greening Your Meetings & Conferences

Below are just a few of the many resources available for greening your professional meetings and conferences. For additional resources for greening meetings visit the Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC)

9)  Green Careers

10)  Additional Links

Please contact Debra Rowe to add resources to this page.