We have cut our direct carbon emissions significantly, we have responsible waste management measures in place and are creating diverse and balanced habitats across our campuses. The university is also committed to offering Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) to all of our students to help them understand how to apply their subject knowledge to make society more sustainable.
With a world population of 7 billion people and limited natural resources, we, as individuals and societies need to learn to live together sustainably. We need to take action responsibly based on the understanding that what we do today can have implications on the lives of people and the planet in future. ESD empowers people to change the way they think and work towards a sustainable future.
Ulster has developed a focused approach to embedding education for sustainable development into the curriculum. We want to educate the next generation who will be most affected by the global climate crisis to have the skills needed to find solutions. There is growing international recognition of ESD as an integral element of quality education and a key enabler for sustainable development. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the global community for the next 10 years includes ESD.
UNESCO is responsible for the coordination of a new framework ‘Towards achieving the SDGs: ESD for 2030’. The framework’s strategic objective is to promote ESD as a key element of quality education and a key enabler of all 17 SDGs.
More information on Education for Sustainable Development is available on the Centre for Higher Education and Research Practice website.