Sustainable Development: Educating with Purpose - ISCN and GULF Universities Share Best Practice Report at the World Economic Forum
At the World Economic Forum, the International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN) in collaboration with the Global University Leaders Forum (GULF) shared exemplary campus sustainability case studies provided by 42 of the world’s leading universities all focused on sustainable development.
The focus of this year’s GULF meeting was universities and social inclusion in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, one characterized by the World Economic Forum as a range of new technologies that are fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, impacting all disciplines, economies and industries, and even challenging ideas about what it means to be human.
In contemplating how higher education institutions fit into this new revolution and how to navigate the potential social fractures, the ISCN serves as a mechanism for cohesion. Further as our members work collectively on sustainable development, we look to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) developed by the United Nations as one highly recognizable way to map sustainable activities on our campuses.
“ISCN members are increasingly integrating the SDGs into governance, operations, teaching, learning, research, and engagement” say Victoria Smith and Melissa Goodall, ISCN Advisory Committee in a co-authored foreword for the report. “Not only do the case studies in this report offer evidence of the remarkable scope and breadth of the work being done by ISCN members, they will inevitably inspire others to forge new paths and challenge the status quo.”
Higher education institutions serve as a catalyst for change and the collection of case studies by members of the ISCN and GULF reflect the sophistication of sustainability in higher education institutions and their purposeful contributions to the SDGs to enhance the surrounding community, higher education sector, and world.
Download the full report, [download id="521"]
“This year marked a milestone for us at the ISCN with the outpouring of case studies to demonstrate how universities are engaging with stakeholders to integrate sustainability into teaching, research, governance and service.” said Zena Harris, Executive Director, ISCN. “Collectively, the projects described in our report, Educating with Purpose impact and influence thousands of people from students to community members and we commend the work by the report contributors to enhance the betterment of the world.”
The ISCN-GULF Sustainable Campus Charter was ratified in 2010 at the GULF meeting at the WEF and ISCN has been contributing exceptional case studies to this group since 2011 as part of our mission to provide a global forum for the exchange of information, ideas, and best practices for achieving sustainable campus operations and integrating sustainability into research and teaching.
In 2018 we will update the Charter to reflect the evolution of our network and global priorities on sustainable development. The ISCN will continue this knowledge exchange and engagement on the Charter update at our annual meeting, ISCN 2018 Sustainable Development: Acting with Purpose, hosted by KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, June 11-13, 2018.
For more information on the ISCN, please visit: https://international-sustainable-campus-network.org/
For inquiries, please email: [email protected]. Twitter @ISCNSecretariat
For more information on GULF, please visit: http://www.weforum.org/academic-networks
ISCN Members - WEF Call for Cases!
The 2018 call for cases is now closed. Thank you for your contributions!
Sustainable Development: Educating with Purpose
Since 2010 the ISCN has been sharing innovative, cutting-edge campus sustainability material with leaders at the World Economic Forum’s Global University Leaders Forum (GULF).
It is more urgent than ever to equip our students and higher education institutions with the knowledge and practical examples of sustainable development. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) developed by the United Nations are one highly recognizable way to map sustainable activities on our campuses.
ISCN-GULF members are invited to submit short 1-2 page executive-level case study summaries that focus on educating students on the concept of sustainability and how this maps to one primary SDG and other ancillary SDGs (as several may be connected). Our aim is to show a collection examples of how SDGs are integrated into the many facets of higher education institutions and educating students on the important topic of sustainable development.
This year, the foreword to the 2018 ISCN-GULF report will be written by the Advisory Committee leadership with contributions from the ISCN Advisory Committee and ISCN Board. Also included will be the value of our network as recently outlined by the Advisory Committee at the June 2017 ISCN Conference, and our progress as a network and look ahead to the future.
Contributing to this report provides a snapshot of how ISCN and GULF members are pushing the dial on sustainability in higher education, while highlighting the importance and impact of educating the of leaders of tomorrow on one of our most pressing issues – sustainable development.
The deadline to submit is 15 December 2017.
The report will be finalized and submitted for the WEF: 23-26 January 2018.
If you need assistance with your submission, the ISCN Secretariat will gladly support you.
Source: World Economic Forum
The International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN) Endorses the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Accord
Universities and Colleges leading the way in commitment to global transformation
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Accord is a global initiative to embed Sustainable Development Goals across post-16 education. The Accord was launched on Saturday, 09 September at the World Congress on Environmental Education (WEEC) held in Vancouver, British Columbia. ‘The SDG Accord’ is the university and college sectors collective response to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations.
The SDG Accord reflects the key role educators have in creating a new generation that can and will balance people, planet and prosperity. It aims to inspire, celebrate and advance the embedding of the goals in our institutions through education, research, leadership, operations, administration and engagement activities.
The SDG Accord is also a commitment from one institution to another that they will share the learning they accrue on the topic with each other both nationally and internationally and annually report on their progress. This reporting component of the SDG Accord compliments ISCN Member’s commitment to reporting campus sustainability activities and sharing of best practices to promote accountability and knowledge exchange. The ISCN will contribute to a sector overview of progress to be presented annually at the global progress review by the UN High Level Political Forum. The SDG Accord is facilitated by the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC), and is endorsed by 30 supporting organizations from across the world already.
“The SDG Accord compliments the work our ISCN Members undertake to support the SDGs and imbed sustainability into research, education, operations, and to equip students with skills to better the world.” remarks Zena Harris, Executive Director of the ISCN. “Reporting on campus sustainability is core to our network and we are happy to share our members progress and commitment to sustainability with others through the Accord.”
Endorsing Partners already include:
World Environmental Education Congress (WEEC) Network
Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges, (EAUC), United Kingdom
Sulitest, France
Conférence des grandes écoles, France
rootAbility
Society for the Environment, United Kingdom
RCE Brittany, France
Intentional Endowments Network, United States
Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), United States
China Green University Network, China
Sustainability Education Research Institute, Canada
The Sustainability and Education Policy Network
Entrepreneurship Educators' Association of the Philippines, Philippines
Institution of Environmental Sciences, United Kingdom
National Union of Students, United Kingdom
Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability, Australia
Campus Responsables, France
Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative
CAS-Net JAPAN, Japan
US Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development, United States
Disciplinary Associations Network for Sustainability, United States
Greater Portland Sustainability Education Network, United States
Foundation for Environmental Education, Ireland
International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN)
International Association of Universities (IAU)
Copernicus Alliance
PSS.Educational Development Society, India
ASRAD-MALI, Mali
Youth Foundation of Bangladesh, Bangladesh
GIESD (Global Internode for Education and Sustainable Development), Morocco
Target4Green Educational Consultancy and Training Ltd
More information can be found on the SDG Accord website – www.sdgaccord.org
About the International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN)
The ISCN includes over 80 globally leading colleges including Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University, the University of British Columbia, University of Oxford, EPFL, ETH Zurich, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), the National University of Singapore, The University of Hong Kong, and the University of Melbourne. ISCN universities represent over 20 countries and work together to holistically integrate sustainability into campus operations, research and teaching. The mission of the ISCN is to provide a global forum to support leading colleges, universities, and corporate campuses in the exchange of information, ideas, and best practices for achieving sustainable campus operations and integrating sustainability in research and teaching.
Execution of the ISCN's strategic goals is supported by the ISCN Secretariat, operated by Sustainserv, Inc., and led by the Executive Director of the ISCN. Sustainserv Managing Partner Bernd Kasemir serves as the Secretary of the ISCN Board. The Secretariat supports and manages member relations, network development and outreach, resource materials, and strategic program management activities.
For more information on the ISCN, please visit the ISCN’s website. For inquiries, please email the ISCN Secretariat.
Check out the ISCN on Twitter (using the hashtag, #ISCN2017 for the conference and @ISCNSecretariat Twitter handle) and visit the ISCN on Linkedin.