Sustainable development
Our work on sustainable development
SFC has been asked by the Scottish Government to embrace and take forward sustainable development in all areas of tertiary education in Scotland. Our broad objectives are to see a Scotland where:
- our universities and colleges play a key role in developing knowledge and understanding of sustainable development;
- estates developments embody the principles of sustainable development and encourage learners and staff to act sustainably;
- education for sustainable development is integrated into curricula;
- the whole experience offered to learners contributes to the development of their sustainability literacy and citizenship skills, attitudes and behaviours;
- universities and colleges have access to the highest quality materials, advice and support to enable them to embed education for sustainable development into their courses and the wider student experience; and
- the value of sustainability skills is understood and articulated by institutions, learners and employers.
The key actions for Scotland's universities and colleges are set out in detail in Learning for Change: Scotland's Action Plan for the Second Half of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.
View past SFC reports to the Scottish Government for 2006 [PDF] and 2007 [PDF].
Education for Sustainable Development Conference
The Sustainable Development Conference 2009 was held in Edinburgh to mark the half-way point of the UN Decade of Education for sustainable development. The event was organised jointly by SFC, NUS Scotland, Higher Education Academy and Scotland's Colleges.
SFC also convenes the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development Group. This is a stakeholder group whose membership includes the Higher Education Academy, Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), Scotland's Colleges, NUS Scotland and the quality agencies. The group's main purpose is to monitor and discuss issues and developments related to education for sustainable development and act as a reporting mechanism to the Scottish Government,
Environmental Association of Universities and Colleges
The Environmental Association of Universities and Colleges (EAUC) is a key delivery partner for our work on sustainable development, taking forward various initiatives for its member institutions and on behalf of the SFC. These include:
- Universities and Colleges Climate Commitment for Scotland (UCCCfS): all universities and most colleges have now signed this document, making a commitment to reduce their emissions in line with the targets in the Climate Change Act.
The first UCCCfS Scotland Conference took place in Perth on 1 November 2011. The overarching theme of the Conference was 'Engagement', across and between all aspects of sustainable development, both in Scotland and internationally. - Green ICT: several universities and colleges used a tool developed by the University of Bradford as part of a JISC project to reduce costs and emissions from computers; and
- Behaviour Change Management Programme : this involves piloting a tool developed by the AMA to encourage behaviour change on campus which will help to reduce carbon emissions.
For more information on these and related initiatives please visit the Environmental Association of Universities and Colleges website.
Scotland's Universities
SFC funds the Higher Education Academy (HEA ) to support subject, interdisciplinary and generic approaches to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). HEA has an ongoing ESD project to help institutions and subject communities develop curricula and study that will give students the skills and knowledge to live and work sustainably.
More information about HEA's work on ESD can be found on the Higher Education Academy website.
In 2008 SFC funded research, managed by HEA, to establish the contribution that Scotland's universities are making to the UN Decade of Education for sustainable development. This involved a survey of all universities and the production of in-depth profiles of four universities. The research provides an up-to-date picture of sustainable development activity in the Scottish university sector and will inform future support for ESD by the HEA. The final report is available from the HEA website.
Scotland's Colleges
Through or funding to Scotland's Colleges we support the delivery of the Sustainable Development Education project. The project's overall aim is to support Scotland's colleges to deliver the knowledge, understanding, skills and values for its learners, communities and partners to live sustainable lives, and to meet the expectations of the Scottish Government for the second half of the UN Decade.
The main focus of the work is to look at approaches to embedding sustainable development into Scotland's colleges and courses. The project will work with SFC, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), the Environmental Association of Universities and Colleges (EAUC) and Scotland's Colleges to:
- support college ESD strategies, including visiting colleges to work with management and curriculum development teams as requested;
- embed ESD into college qualifications and courses;
- identify, share and support good practice in ESD;
- promote formal staff development in ESD and embed ESD in CPD frameworks;
- build a repository of relevant ESD resources;
- work with students, staff and national agencies to develop and evaluate approaches to ESD;
- work with others to promote sustainable development in estates strategies, CSR and community engagement; and
- embed the principles of sustainable development into the management of Scotland's colleges.
In 2008, the project undertook a survey of education for sustainable development in Scotland's colleges with the resulting SDE College Survey Report [PDF].
In 2009 HMIE (now Education Scotland) carried out an aspect report on education for sustainable development in Scotland's colleges. The report is available from the Education Scotland website.
SFC internal operations
SFC has made a corporate commitment to underpin sustainable development and climate change in all of our decisions. We have an internal sustainable development group which monitors and co-ordinates sustainable development activities across all of the Council's teams.
In 2011 we worked with the Carbon Trust to develop a Carbon Management Plan. This builds on our existing environmental policy [PDF], and includes actions to reduce the impact of our operations by using less energy and resources and by encouraging more use of sustainable transport.
Capital funding & projects
Sustainable Development Guidance March 2008 [PDF]
Specialist Review and Evaluation of the Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability (HEPs) Review