education services - global reporting initiative · topic for education services, ... different...

Sustainability Topics for Sectors: What do stakeholders want to know?

EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32

This table shows a list of topics identified as relevant by different stakeholder groups. They can be considered as stakeholders’ suggestions or requests for topics to be monitored or disclosed by organizations.

Additional information about the project can be found at https://www.globalreporting.org/reporting/sector-guidance/Topics-Research/Pages/default.aspx

41 – Education Services

20 Topics

Companies and organizations providing educational services, either on-line or through conventional teaching methods. Includes private

universities, correspondence teaching, providers of educational seminars, educational materials and technical education. Excludes companies

providing employee education programs classified as Human Resources & Employment Services.

Sustainability Category

Topic Topic Specification (if available)

Explanation Reference(s)1 Constituency

Environmental Materials, equipment and supplies

Plastic use and management

Plastic, a valuable material, can generate significant positive, or negative, impacts on economy, environment and society. Plastic should be treated as a resource and managed judiciously. A disclosure on management approach for plastics, including governance, strategy, risks, opportunities, considering: opportunities for "upstream (source)" policies regarding product redesign, increasing recycled content, implementing reclaim and/or reuse, and "downstream (waste management)" policies and practices to facilitate any reclaim/reuse programs, implement high recovery rates for recycling, implement

353, 367 Civil Society Organization

https://www.globalreporting.org/reporting/sector-guidance/Topics-Research/Pages/default.aspx



EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




sustainable separation, recycling, composting, waste-to-fuel and/or other policies; and proactive policies to protect health of stakeholders, the environment and society for plastics that are directly harmful to stakeholders, or indirectly through plastics being wasted/littered. Performance indicators regarding the types and volumes of plastics being used, collected, and/or distributed downstream; the portion that is made of post-consumer-recycled, bio-based, biodegradable, compostable, and/or oxobiodegradable material; these volumes broken down by end of life disposition. Most can be captured through the existing GRI framework (e.g. GRI G3 EC9, EN1, EN2, EN22), but commentary is needed to ensure disclosers appreciate the materiality of plastic; other questions can be added to the framework. Refer to the Plastic Disclosure Project (www.plasticdisclosure.org) for more details. PDP will align its questions to GRI G4 once finalised to assist organisations in disclosing to PDP and GRI easily. Plastic can have significant positive, or negative, impacts on the economy, environment and society: Economics: There are significant cost savings available to organisations that treat plastic as a resource (e.g. through redesign, use of recycled content, reclaiming, etc.) and risks of increased direct costs (regulation, liability, cost of capital, insurance) to organisations that do not lead in this area as well as indirect economic costs to impacted industries (e.g. food production, tourism)


EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




Environment: Plastics that are wasted or littered become extremely harmful to the environment, which will have a material effect on biodiversity and the global food chain, both nearby and far outside the local area of operations Society: Some plastics are harmful to stakeholders during manufacture, use and/or disposal (e.g. due to phthalates, BPA), impact the wellbeing of society (e.g. effect of litter on community spirit and their interest in sustainability). Living communities, overseen by municipalities and universities; and the waste management schemes implemented by them and solid waste utilities, have an enormous impact on plastic's potential benefit or harm. While a valuable invention, which benefits society in many ways, the negative impacts associated with society's growing use of plastic are not fully recognised. Roughly 85% of plastic used in products and packaging is not recycled, and most plastic produced in the last 60 years still remains in the environment today. Discarded plastics persist in the environment for dozens or hundreds of years, accumulating across the globe, often out of sight of the producers and users. The direct physical impacts of plastic are significant to the organisation in increased costs or missed opportunities, and related economies (e.g. over $1.2bn in annual damages to ocean-related industries in Asia-Pacific), the environment through harming habitats and species, and to stakeholders health when exposed to the chemical


EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




ingredients; and are magnified if fragmentation of the plastic occurs, making it available for ingestion to additional species, who adsorb the chemical ingredients and/or the toxins carried on the plastic. These negative impacts could be avoided and turned into positive impacts, if plastic was treated as a resource to be managed judiciously.

Emissions to air - GHG emissions

Transport of students and staff

Measures taken to change means of transportation for students and faculty staff. The two main areas are commuter travel and travel on university business (air or land-based).The most effective action is to increase the proportion of student housing and related services provided on campus, to eliminate the need to commute to the university each day. In relation to the latter, the increasing availability and sophistication of video conferencing facilities can be utilised to substitute “virtual” for physical travel in many cases – and enable considerable savings on escalating travel costs. Sustainability action planning around transport will probably involve the greatest variation between universities based on location, existing public transport infrastructure and the extent to which residential and other services are provided on campus for students (and in some cases for staff). However, changing the means of transportation is important to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other environmental impacts, as

525 Mediating Institution


EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




GHG emissions contribute to global warming and hence, affect humankind and the environment.

Solid waste management

Education facility

The central objective of a university solid waste action plan is to maximise resource recovery (i.e. the proportion of solid waste stream recovered for high resource value use), with the corollary that this minimises waste disposal to landfill. The main strategy is to apply the “waste hierarchy” – avoid purchasing products which will end up as waste, repair and reuse, then recycle, and finally if there are no other options, dispose. The university solid waste stream is usually extremely diverse, ranging from food organics to electronic waste and laboratory glassware, and actions to deal with these varied components need to be prioritised according to impact. Since the environmental impact of responsible waste management is inherently beneficial, continually improving the delivery of the service itself represents a positive sustainability action.


Social Migrant workers Recruitment and employment

Recruitment and employment of migrant workers Number of migrant workers employed Countries of origin Gender of workers Positions within company Length of contracts Recruitment channels Any fees for recruitment Passport retention



EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




Migrant workers both internal and external are a significant and growing feature of all company activities. There are over 200 million migrants in the world. They are found within nearly all business sectors and across all regions. Many migrant workers, particularly those working in unskilled jobs are subject to discrimination and are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. For many migrants exploitation begins during recruitment. Exorbitant fees and other charges, often at usurious rates of interest can leave many migrant workers effectively bonded labour whatever the subsequent conditions of employment. Company due diligence and reporting should therefore extend into the supply chain for labour.

Access to education

All children have access to and complete a full course of primary schooling, and to eliminate gender disparity in education. Millennium development goals Deeply entrenched structural inequalities and disparities are part of what keeps children out of school. These challenges are linked to many factors, including income poverty, exposure to child labour, conflict and natural disasters, location, migration and displacement, HIV/AIDS, disability, gender, ethnicity, language of instruction, religion and caste

539, 574 Mediating Institution

Curriculum development and implementation

Sustainability issues addressed in curriculum

"Education" or "curriculum" is a material sustainability topic for education services, and in particular for higher education institutions throughout the world.



EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




Some of the aspects that could be covered in "education" are: - number of courses addressing sustainability issues - number of faculties and/or students involved in sustainability courses/activities - number of compulsory/elective courses addressing sustainability issues - going deeper into the course content (economic, social and environmental aspects covered, and interlinking these issues) - importance of interdisciplinary work in the education programs of the institution - ... Sustainability reports for (higher) education currently cover mainly aspects of the organisations' "operations", or their organisational side. Because the core business of (higher) education institutions is "education", or educating different types of students to become our future leaders and managers, education should be one of the main topics addressed in (higher) education sustainability reports. It is via education that these institutions can make the difference, by teaching their students how to address sustainability issues, work interdisciplinary, take up a holistic perspective, think in the long term etc... There are a few articles available in the literature on sustainability in higher education literature, covering sustainability assessment and reporting. Two important


EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




ones on sustainability reporting are added below. I could provide more information if necessary...

For example, curricula: - need to take into account the learners’ different needs and interests, as well as the local and global contexts; they should foster the whole development of individuals in compliance with their potential, should consider different learning styles and promote learner-friendly approaches. - should be up-to-date, which means that they should avoid obsolete and irrelevant aspects and integrate in ways appropriate to the context of learners new developments in knowledge, culture, science, technology, economy and other areas of social life. - should be based on inclusive approaches fostering increased access to quality education and equal opportunities for learning; they should integrate and promote universal values, and promote lifelong learning and competences for learning to live together in a globalized world. The curriculum is a crucial component of any educational process. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, education systems are facing the challenges of the global market and the knowledge economy. National education authorities around the world increasingly address the challenge of improving the quality of learning outcomes through curriculum reform, and curricula must respond to the new demands by providing skills and building competences that are relevant to local and global needs.



EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




The curriculum sets forth a systematic selection and organization of teaching and learning content and methods by addressing questions such as what students should learn, why, how, and how well. In the past, the curriculum was designed merely from the perspective of its cultural transmission functions with its structure consequently reflecting discrete areas of knowledge and human action. Given the complexity of today’s ever-changing world, contemporary approaches to curriculum development far exceed the traditional understanding of curricula as merely plans of study or lists of prescribed content. The rate of social change makes necessary a process of continuous adjustment of the curriculum, which in turn requires new institutional approaches and capacities. Moreover, a curriculum aimed at building competences encompasses much more than only concepts and factual data to be mastered and reproduced accurately by learners in the context of examinations and testing processes. Today, the curriculum has to facilitate the acquisition of attitudes, values, skills, knowledge and competences that allow learners to face old and new challenges and opportunities successfully. Taking into consideration the importance of the curriculum for individual and societal development, it is commonly accepted that, in order to effectively foster learning, educational contents, methods and structures need to be


EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




permanently adjusted to changes occurring in science, technology, culture, economy and social life.

Education facility safety

Assessment criteria that ensure that an education facility is not build in hazard or disaster prone areas, such as flood plains or landslides. School buildings should be built to satisfactory standards and resistant to potential local climate-related hazards and risks. Existing schools should be assessed and retrofitted when necessary. Schools should not be built in hazard or disaster prone areas, such as flood plains or landslides. Focus should also be placed on training and providing incentives to local builders to abide by hazard-resistant standards. Moreover, the media (radio, television, newspapers, internet, etc.) can be used to highlight the dangers of unsafe schools for children, and to encourage a culture of safety.


Environmental education

Sustainability issues addressed in research programs

"Research" is a material sustainability topic for higher education services specifically. Some of the aspects that could be covered in "research" are: - % of funding for sustainability related research - number or % of scientific articles on sustainability topics - number or % of research project on sustainability topics - % of sustainability related theses/dissertations - ... Sustainability reports for higher education currently



EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




cover mainly aspects of the organisations' "operations", or their organisational side. Because one of the core business aspects of higher education institutions is "research", higher education's research should be one of the main topics addressed in higher education sustainability reports. Besides their education, it is via their research that these institutions can make the difference, by addressing complex problems in a holistic and interdisciplinary way, and taking up a long term perspective. The references for this topic are the same as for the previous topic. Nevertheless, some other papers are added here too.

Environmental education (EE) refers to organized efforts to teach about how natural environments function and, particularly, how human beings can manage their behavior and ecosystems in order to live sustainably. The term is often used to imply education within the school system, from primary to post-secondary. However, it is sometimes used more broadly to include all efforts to educate the public and other audiences, including print materials, websites, media campaigns, etc. Related disciplines include outdoor education and experimental education. Environmental education is a learning process that increases people's knowledge and awareness about the environment and associated challenges, develops the necessary skills and expertise to address the challenges,



EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




and fosters attitudes, motivations, and commitments to make informed decisions and take responsible action (UNESCO, Tbilisi Declaration, 1978).

Integrated health/literacy programs for women

Literacy is the set of skills and practices that a person uses for reading, writing, and mathematics. Literacy programs that develop learners’ skills as they learn about a specific topic area (such as health, family planning, or livelihood improvement) are called integrated literacy programs. The learners’ lives—their concerns, their needs, and their situation—define the content of the integrated literacy program. In an integrated health/literacy program, the power of literacy emerges when the learner uses these new skills in a critical area of her life—her reproductive health. In other words, reproductive health content becomes the text of the reading and writing tasks that learners do to acquire and improve literacy skills. Access to reproductive health services through the program allows participants to take action to improve their reproductive health. Features of the Successful Integrated Health/Literacy Program include: - Use of sound educational principles in curriculum development, instructional design, and training. Good materials and training are the two most important features of a successful program. Application of the principles of adult learning creates a better environment

177 Civil Society Organization


EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




for learning and taking action. - Responsiveness to learners’ needs. The value of the integrated health/literacy program lies in its ability to meet two learner needs simultaneously. For women who want to acquire both literacy skills and reproductive health knowledge, an integrated program saves them time and can lead to faster changes in reproductive health practices. - Collaboration and pooling of resources. Building on existing programs and networks in health and literacy may reduce the time and costs involved in offering services to women. Sharing of financial resources, personnel, and expertise allows organizations to make the best use of their strengths, thereby increasing their credibility and creating sustainable partnerships. - Supervision. Supervision systems with trained supervisors, many from the health service system, support the literacy groups and demonstrate the value of integrated approaches to health service providers. They also increase participants’ access to health services. - Commitment to improving women’s wellbeing and a grassroots approach to programs. Project outcomes are improved by staff commitment to obtaining continuous input from various players at all levels and implementing their suggestions. Health and education are fundamental human rights. The


EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




Program of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994 and the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 affirmed women’s right to reproductive and sexual self-determination while reinforcing calls to eradicate illiteracy and promote gender equity. Reproductive health services and women’s literacy programs share common interests and perspectives. Each alone is a valuable mechanism to improve women’s lives. Bringing the two together is a compelling approach to help women empower themselves with the knowledge, skills, and access to technologies necessary to improve the quality of their lives and participate fully in the development process. It is a strategy to make women’s reproductive and educational rights a reality.

Quality of education

School attendance

Measures taken to promote and enabling school attendance: mobilizing parents, financing schools, building teacher capacity; matching learners with curricula, flexible schooling, bridging to formal education, ethnic and regional considerations, open learning centers, ... (Obligatory) education seem to be the best way to eliminate child labor. Education systems and institutions in related regions have to be flexible enough to take into account the needs of the children and their families (e.g. let them work with their families if needed). Report

575, 576 Civil Society Organization


EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




Skills and quality of teachers

Measures taken to guarantee effective initial teacher education, Continuing Professional Development (CPD), plus other types of support in order to provide teachers with the appropriate skills to teach in primary and secondary schools. Teachers, together with other educational staff, have an important role to play in translating the policy aims into effective practice. The quality of teachers is one of the most important factors influencing the learning of pupils and the quality of schools. Therefore, national governments put much effort in the development of policies to ensure and improve the quality of teachers.


Quality education is education that works for every child and enables all children to achieve their full potential Schools should operate in the best interests of the child. Educational environments must be safe, healthy and protective, endowed with trained teachers, adequate resources and appropriate physical, emotional and social conditions for learning. Within them, children’s rights must be protected and their voices must be heard. Learning environments must be a haven for children to learn and grow, with innate respect for their identities and varied needs. The Child-Friendly School (CFS) model promotes inclusiveness, gender-sensitivity, tolerance, dignity and personal empowerment.



EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




Other Corporate governance

Gender participation on governance bodies

GOVERNANCE / EUROPE: boardroom lady boom: is it possible without quotas? On 22 June, the CapitalCom agency published its 2011 survey into the boardroom gender mix of CAC 40 companies, with fairly encouraging results: the proportion of women on the board has doubled in recent years, from 10.5% in 2009 to 20.8% in 2011. In January, the French parliament adopted legislation imposing quotas for the proportion of women on the board of major companies. Under the measures, the development of female board membership is mandatory and gradual: 20% for listed groups, public companies of an administrative, industrial and commercial nature by January 2014, rising to 40% by January 2017. The law also stipulates that companies with no women present on their board must appoint at least one within six months of it being on the statute books (voted on 13 January 2011). In France, some 2,000 companies are affected (the 650 largest listed firms and companies with more than 500 employees and those generating sales in excess of €50bn). In terms of sanctions for noncompliance, appointments that run counter to the parity principles are to be declared null and void and attendance fees are to be temporarily suspended. At the European level and at the instigation of the Vice-president of the European Commission, Viviane Reding, the European parliament will decide in March 2012 on whether to adopt common legislation on this matter (a

389 Financial Markets & Information Users


EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




mandatory proportion of women in decision-making positions of 30% in 2015 and 40% in 2020). This will depend on the level of improvement seen based on the selfregulation of European companies, in accordance with the equality initiative adopted by the European Commission in December 2010 and the European parliament resolution of 17 January 2008 calling for the Commission and member states to promote a balance between women and men on company boards, particularly where member states are shareholders. Europe as a whole illustrates the degree of hesitation between a soft-law approach and conventional legislation (quotas in this instance), but it is clear from the experience at national level that the second method tends to get much better results.

Business strategy

Implementation of strategical key competences

Measures taken to implement national strategies, action plans or similar policies with regard to education. Strategies that guide and support the implementation of key competences may differ in scope. They may be confined to a particular stage of education and training, cover all levels of the education and training system, or extend to society as a whole. This last option, widest in scope, is most usually applied to areas relating to literacy and information and communications technology (ICT). A strategy may take the form of a specific policy focusing on the development of key competences or it may be part of a broader legal, regulatory or policy framework relating to education, youth and culture, lifelong learning



EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




or other general government programme. In the latter case, the emphasis given to one or more key competences can vary considerably. Eight key competences have been defined at EU level, which represent a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes that are considered necessary for personal fulfilment and development; active citizenship; social inclusion; and employment (6): • communication in the mother tongue; • communication in foreign languages; • mathematical competence and basic competences in science and technology; • digital competence; • learning to learn; • social and civic competences; • sense of initiative and entrepreneurship; • cultural awareness and expression. Education authorities in all countries issue guidelines on what should be taught or learnt in schools. Usually these guidelines are included as part of curriculum documents or syllabuses. In recent years, reforms in many countries have reshaped curricula on the basis of new concepts such as 'key competences' and 'learning outcomes' and some have introduced achievement scales. In many countries, a subject-based organisation with a focus on subject content has given way to a more complex curricular architecture built, in part, on practical skills and cross-curricular approaches. In addition, new


EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




curriculum areas have been either introduced or given a higher profile in many European curricula. Supporting the development of key competences is a complex process. It involves introducing or adapting policies to improve the quality of education and to ensure that learning and teaching continues to reflect the needs of both individuals and society. The process takes place at several levels and involves a range of different bodies. In many countries an important element is the introduction of a strategic and coherent approach to improving students' knowledge, attitudes and skills in the form of a national strategy, action plan or similar policy. While such an approach is not a pre-condition for undertaking reforms, its adoption may indicate to the education community that a particular issue is considered a government priority. A national strategy or plan can also bring together a number of actions such as curriculum reform, teacher education and professional development or support for low achievers, and it can address a variety of educational issues in a comprehensive way. In addition, a national strategy can provide direction and guide efforts at local and school level, whilst taking into account developments such as growing decentralisation and school autonomy. The absence of a national strategy might indicate that central authorities consider that local bodies are best positioned to direct activities in the field; or it may simply indicate that a national strategy has either run its course, or is still in the development stage.


EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




Inclusive education - Disabled and special educational needs in mainstream schools

UNESCO defines inclusive education as a process intended to respond to students’ diversity by increasing their participation and reducing exclusion within and from education. It is related to the attendance, participation and achievement of all students, especially those who, due to different reasons, are excluded or at risk of being marginalized. The focus is on the transformation of education systems and schools so that they can cater for the diversity of students’ learning needs resulting from their social and cultural background and their individual characteristics as regards learning motivations, abilities, styles and rhythm. According to this perspective, it is not the students enrolled in school that must adapt to the existing educational provision, but rather the school that should be adapted to the needs of every student, since all students are different. Inclusion is characterized by the following aspects: • It implies a different vision of education based on diversity and not on homogeneity. • The educational provision, the curriculum and the teaching-learning process have to be flexible so that they can be adapted to the needs and characteristics of all students and the diverse contexts in which they develop and learn. • The educational institutions should constantly review their values, organization and educational practices so as to identify and minimize the barriers encountered by



EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




students to participate and succeed in learning, seeking more appropriate strategies to respond to diversity and learn from differences. Inclusive education can be seen as a process of strengthening the capacity of an education system to reach out to all learners. It is, therefore, an overall principle that should guide all educational policies and practices, starting from the belief that education is a fundamental human right and the foundation for a more just society. An inclusive school has no selection mechanisms or discrimination of any kind. Instead, it transforms its pedagogical proposal into ways of integrating the diversity of students, thus fostering social cohesion, which is one of the main goals of education. Inclusion represents a progress compared with the integration movement. The aim of inclusion is wider than the aim of integration. The latter seeks to ensure the right of the disabled to study in mainstream schools, whereas inclusion is intended to realize the right of all people to a high quality education, focusing on those who, due to differing reasons, are excluded or at risk of being marginalized. These groups vary depending on the country but, in general, include the disabled, those belonging to an ethnic or linguistic minority, those from isolated or poor areas, children from migrant families or without a birth certificate, those affected by HIV and AIDS, armed conflict or violence. As regards gender, girls


EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




are the most excluded in many countries, however in some other countries, the boys are more excluded.

Sustainability Agenda

Stakeholder engagement

The stakeholder engagement spectrum ranges from informing through to empowering. The primary stakeholders are the staff and students, but within these constituencies there are of course particular groups and individuals whose involvement is critical: • University leadership – the office of the President / Vice Chancellor and the governing Council or Board, academic and operational executives; • Key operational departments – facilities management, purchasing, IT, marketing and media, student housing, etc; • Academic experts in various aspects of sustainability; • Academic and operational staff associations; • The student association and student clubs. In addition, the web of groups and individuals who affect, or are affected by the university and its activities extends well beyond the immediate university community to include: • Alumni, who may be scattered across the world; • Public and private sector funding bodies, which have their own agendas and objectives; • Government and corporate research partners, as above; • National and international associations to which the university may belong; • External suppliers of goods and services, for whom the



EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




university may represent a major economic development opportunity; • School students and their families, as prospective university students; and • The local community within which the university is situated. Possibilities to engage stakeholders in implementing sustainability agenda include: - inform (Inform or educate stakeholders.) - consult (Gain information and feedback from stakeholders to inform decisions made by management.) - involve (Work directly with stakeholders to ensure their views are understood and considered in decision-making.) - collaborate (Partner with or convene a network of stakeholders to develop mutually agreed solutions and joint plan of action.) - empower (Delegate decision making on a particular issue to stakeholders.) Higher level engagement makes for greater opportunities for transformation. In practice, the three lower levels – Inform, Consult and Involve, and their associated methods – are most appropriately applied during the early stages of consolidating commitment, articulating a vision and formulating a policy. The two higher levels – Collaborate and Empower – are more relevant to the implementation of a comprehensive sustainability program. In particular empowerment necessitates


EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




governance structures of a distinctly new type, appropriate for an organisation well advanced along the transition to sustainability. There are several different models for training opportunities for staff and students: • Student internships, paid or unpaid, with the sustainability team. These would include an appropriate level of academic credit awarded for successfully completed projects. • Inclusion of teaching and assessment material on campus sustainability in an existing course. • A specific course focused on campus sustainability. Ideally this would be cross-disciplinary, and open to students from different fields of study. • Integration of teaching and assessment material on campus sustainability across a number of courses, covering a range of disciplines and coordinated with implementation of the university’s sustainability action plans. This is the preferred model to support the university’s ongoing transition to sustainability, and will likely require several iterations of the sustainability planning cycle to achieve. "Universities can teach and demonstrate the theory and practice of sustainability through taking action to understand and reduce the unsustainable impacts of their own activities." ISO 14001 requires organisations to identify training needs associated with their environmental aspects for all


EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




persons performing tasks for or on behalf of the organisation, i.e. contractors, subcontractors, agency staff, etc as well as the permanent workforce. Personnel performing specialised environmental management functions must have appropriate education, competence, experience and training. It is important that such personnel are exposed to the most recent technology and knowledge base relevant to the organisation’s significant environmental impacts. This includes those staff with responsibilities for delivering particular tasks associated with actions specified in the university’s sustainability action plans. Many of today’s adults received their schooling before climate change was a issue. As a result, professional development and training related to climate changes are needed for all sectors of the workforce to reduce atmospheric emissions of greenhouse gases and to move towards a green economy. Training and development opportunities should also be provided for students working as volunteers or interns on environmental or other sustainability projects. This may be integrated with, or managed separately from, the university’s usual curriculum, and may be run as an incentive scheme (e.g. fee-free) to encourage participation. Genuine engagement of academics, administrative / operational staff and students in the early stages of the


EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




institutional transformation is crucial to the successful initiation of the sustainability agenda. Indeed the organised participation of students and staff in every aspect of the sustainability transition is essential to success. Experience worldwide has demonstrated time and again that leadership from university management at the highest level is essential to integrate sustainability into mainstream practice. Bottom-up action by staff and students is necessary, but is not in itself sufficient to bring about inclusion of sustainability in the university’s core business. For development to be sustainable, it must be rooted in cultural values – the bottom-up approach alone is unlikely to achieve the cultural shift which is a precondition for institutional sustainability transformation. However, the top-down approach by itself is also insufficient. The decentralised and semi-autonomous nature of university entities such as departments, schools and research centres tends to encourage responsibility to the unit rather than the university, so initiatives driven solely from the top may be seen as an imposition and will be difficult to implement successfully. There are three distinct constituencies in any university – students; academic staff; and administrative / operational staff. Any sustainability program which aims to achieve widespread participation must take account of


EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




the varying roles, experiences and expectations of these separate subcultures as the starting point. The evidence suggests the greatest leverage in achieving institutional change occurs when all three groups share a vision and a perception that they are working to the same end. Further, once an idea has been accepted and incorporated into the system’s culture and day-to-day operations it becomes difficult to dislodge, even with a change of top management

Political accountability

There are various measures of political accountability that can be measured (contributions, disclosure, board oversight). Note that this topic is applicable to more than the three industries noted. Essentially the political accountability practices of any company that is owned by public stockholders. Political contributions, the amount of disclosure and board oversight are among the data items that would be helpful in a sustainability report. In making investment decisions (especially for investors interested in socially responsible investing) is would be helpful to understand how a given company is exposed to political risk (i.e. are they backing the winning candidate, are they subject to potential retribution, why do they find it necessary to make political contributions, etc.). I have found the information I reference to be helpful in constructing investment portfolios that take into account

394, 616 Financial Markets & Information Users


EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




this attribute of sustainability. Since it is not currently an established parameter in the socially responsible investment industry (www.ussif.org), adoption by the Global Reporting Initiative would go a long way in moving the topic of political accountability forward.

Sourcing strategy and policies

Sourcing standards for goods and services

Sustainable procurement specifications may be performance based (e.g. incorporating an outcome driven target for reducing energy use) or technical (e.g. requirement for a particular certification or eco-label). In practice, specifications for goods or services frequently combine both approaches. In summary, sustainable procurement is about preference for purchased goods and services which minimise life cycle environmental impacts, meet ethical and Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) criteria and provide value for money. The procurement process can usefully be divided into three main stages: the initial tendering process (specification writing), tender evaluation; and contract management. Sustainability criteria need to be addressed in all three stages. Specifications for provision of goods or services will necessarily include details specific to the product or service in question. Tender evaluation in addition will usually seek to identify more general sustainability information. Best practice contract management will often utilise target-driven “service level agreements” which provide incentives for improved performance and disincentives for poor performance. Standard sustainability criteria for tender evaluation include:



EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32




• Internal sustainability management practices – ISO 14001(environmental) / 9000 (quality) certification; existence of signed sustainability policy; any actions or findings against the supplier in past 2 years. • Fair employment practice – initiatives promoting women and/or minorities to senior roles; any employment related convictions or actions in past 2 years, including OH&S. • Public reporting – corporate social responsibility / Global reporting Initiative / greenhouse gas and energy reporting, including activities, strategies, plans. • Sustainability strategies and plans – must include objectives, targets, actions and timeframes); examples of achievements; waste, water, energy, transport reduction strategies and action plans. • Services / goods sustainability attributes – certification to a robust environmental label; providers who offer eco-design /eco-manufacture in the use of recycled content, tight management of GHG emissions, , design for disassembly and recycling, best practice e-waste management, product / packaging take-back, recyclable packaging. Sustainable procurement is a major driver for sustainable development. It also makes good business sense and is good risk management. Strategic procurement aligns supply contracts with the university’s strategic aims, thus embedding sustainability into procurement embeds it into the university’s core business.

1 All references can be found at https://www.globalreporting.org/reporting/sector-guidance/Topics-Research/Pages/default.aspx



EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32

References

All references can be found at https://www.globalreporting.org/reporting/sector-guidance/Topics-Research/Pages/default.aspx

5 Acedo, C., Amadio, M. & Opertti, R., 2008. Defining an Inclusive Education Agenda: Reflections around the 48th session of the International Conference on Education, Geneva: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), International Bureau of Education.

146 European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2012. Citizenship Education in Europe, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.

147 European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2012. Developing Key Competences at School in Europe: Challenges and Opportunities for Policy. Eurydice Report, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.

177 Family Planning Service Expansion and Technical Support (SEATS) Project, 1997. Vital Connections: Linking Women’s Literacy Programs and Reproductive Health Services, Boston: World Education.

178 Fonseca, A., 2011. The state of sustainability reporting at Canadian universities. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 12(1), pp. pp.22 - 40.

253 Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB), 'The Dhaka Principles for Migration with Dignity', Dhaka, 2011.

353 Kershaw, P., Katsuhiko, S., Lee, S., Samseth, J., Woodring, D., & Smith, J., 2011. Plastic Debris in the Ocean. In United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), UNEP Year Book 2011 (pp. 20-33). Nairobi: United Nations Early Warning and Assessment.

364° Lozano, R., 2006. A tool for a Graphical Assessment of Sustainability in Universities (GASU). Journal of Cleaner Production, 14, 963-972.

365° Lozano, R., 2011. The state of sustainability reporting in universities. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 12(1), pp. pp.67 - 78

367 MacKerron, C., 2011. Unfinished Business: The Case for Extended Producer Responsibility for Post-Consumer Packaging, Oakland: As You Sow.

382 National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), 2003. Environmental education: roots in the past, visions of the future, opportunities in the present, London: National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER).



EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32

389° Natixis, 2011. Strategy Note Equity Research - Strategy/SRI: Monthly review June 2011, Paris: Natixis.

394 Nowak, T., 2012. Low Fee Socially Responsible Investing. 1st ed. Grayslake: Quantum Financial Planning LLC.

523 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education, 'Tbilisi Declaration', 1977.

524 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, International Bureau of Education (UNESCO-IBE), 2008. IBE Strategy 2008-2013, Geneva: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, International Bureau of Education (UNESCO-IBE).

525 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Greening Universities Toolkit [Draft], 2012.

532 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 2011. An Issues Guide for Education Planners and Practitioners - Climate Change Starter's Guidebook, Paris: UNESCO/UNEP.

538 United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), 2009. Manual: Child Friendly Schools, New York: United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

539 United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), 2012. Equitable access. [Online] Available at: http://www.unicef.org/education/bege_61657.html [Accessed 22 February 2013].

559° Waas, T., Verbruggen, A. & Wright, T., 2010. University research for sustainable development: definition and characteristics explored. Journal of Cleaner Production, 18(7), pp. 629-636.

574 World Education Forum, 2000. The Dakar Framework for Action - Education for All: Meeting our Collective Commitments, Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

575 World Education, 2009. Formal Education to Address Child Labor - Child Labor Strategies Report 2009, Boston: World Education.

576 World Education, 2009. Nonformal Education to Address Child Labor - Child Labor Strategies Report 2009, Boston: World Education.

616 Zicklin Center for Business Ethics at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, 2012. CPA-Zicklin Index of Corporate Political Accountability and Disclosure, Washington, D.C.: Center for Political Accountability.


EDUCATION SERVICES

May 2013 of 32

° Resource available on request and/or for a fee.

education services - global reporting initiative · topic for education services, ... different...

Documents