Universities have a central role in addressing key issues of sustainability

Over the past two years universities and colleges globally have been given increased recognition for their central role in addressing key issues of social, economic and environmental sustainability. In the US the HE Sustainability Act 2007 has been passed and the 2008 University Sustainability Grants Program gives US higher education institutions a central role in addressing key issues of social, economic and environmental sustainability.  The United Nations has declared the period 2005 to 2014 as the Decade of education for sustainable development and the United Nations University is giving focus to actioning its agenda.  International journals on Sustainability in Higher Education have been established and national networks of universities for sustainability such as Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability/ ACTS in Australia have sprung up all over the world.

The Australian Government has set up the Green Skills Accord, has in place a National green skills implementation plan and held the Sustainability in higher education roundtable in 2010. Peak higher education bodies including Universities Australia have education for sustainability on their development agenda. What started as a focus on ‘greening the campus’ has rapidly spread into a movement that is also giving focus to research on the triple bottom line of economic, ecological and social considerations and a wide range of ways of building sustainability into the curriculum.