News

Citation

(2012), "News", International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 13 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijshe.2012.24913caa.002

News

Article Type: News From: International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Volume 13, Issue 3

World Symposium on Sustainable Development at Universities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The World Symposium on Sustainable Development at Universities, was held on 5-6 June 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The aims of the “World Symposium on Sustainable Development at Universities” (WSSD-U-2012) were:

• •

  to provide universities all round the world with an opportunity to display and present their works (i.e. curriculum innovation, research, activities, practical projects) as they relate to education for sustainable development at university level;

• •

  to foster the exchange of information, ideas and experiences acquired in the execution of projects, from successful initiatives and good practice;

• •

  to discuss methodological approaches and projects which aim to integrate the topic of sustainable development in the curriculum of universities; and

• •

  to network the participants and provide a platform so they can explore possibilities for cooperation.

Last but not least, a further aim of the event was to document and disseminate the wealth of experiences available today. To this purpose, a special issue of the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education (IJSHE) with selected papers from the conference will be produced. Furthermore, the book Sustainable Development at Universities: New Horizons will be published, with a further set of papers. This will be volume 33 of the award-winning book series Environmental Education, Communication and Sustainability (Peter Lang Scientific Publishers), which since its creation in 1998 has become the world’s longest running book series on education and communication on sustainable development. Details on the programme can be seen at: www.haw-hamburg.de/index.php?id=26496&L=1

Recycling leadership by young people in the home

Take Home Action on Waste (THAW,) a programme by Waste Watch, attempted to measure the intergenerational influence of a schools education programme on recycling at home. The education of young people is often seen as a part of the solution to current environmental problems seeking urgent attention, but it is often forgotten that their parents and other household members can also be educated/influenced via home-based educational activities. The project worked with 6,705 primary age children in 39 schools to enable them to take the “reduce, reuse and recycle message” home to their families. As well as increases in students’ knowledge and understanding of waste reduction, measurement of the impact of the project in areas around 12 carefully chosen sample schools showed evidence of increased participation in recycling (8.6 per cent) and recycling tonnages (4.3-8.7 per cent) as well as declining levels of residual waste (4.5 per cent). Further details can be seen at: www.wastewatch.org.uk/news.php/31/recycling-leadership-by-young-people-in-the-home

IIED paper – ISO 26000 and global governance for sustainable development

This paper by Halina Ward for the International Institute for Environment and Development, describes the development of ISO 26000, a new international standard on social responsibility, which offers guidance across themes including human rights, labour, environment, consumer protection, fair operating practices and community development. She discusses the “governance dissonances” – potential conflicts or tensions between the standard and public governance/policymaking which could have broader implications for sustainable development and suggests steps to tackle these and enhance the positive contributions of the standard to global governance for sustainable development. It can be seen at: http://pubs.iied.org/16507IIED.html?k=ISO%202600

Commission for a sustainable London 2012 thematic review – in sight of the finishing line: a review of the preparations to stage a sustainable games

This review focuses on the operational delivery at Games-time to ensure that sustainability commitments are met. In 2011 LOCOG gained certification to BS 8901, the British Standard specification for a sustainability management system of events and the Greater London Assembly has been working towards it. In addition, there has been good progress towards meeting the commitment to zero Games-time waste going to landfill, with at least 70 per cent to be reused, recycled or composted. There is some concern regarding assurances from LOCOG about the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in cooling and refrigeration systems and the Commission is yet to see detailed calculations from LOCOG about their measures to reduce energy use. It is noted that one of the biggest challenges is the need for multiple organisations to be involved in meeting the sustainability commitments where there is not a traditional contractor-client relationship.

Grassroots innovations

Grassroots innovations researches the innovative approaches to sustainable development pioneered by community activists. Here, grassroots innovations are considered to be innovative networks of activists and organisations that lead bottom-up solutions for sustainable development; solutions that respond to the local situation and the interests and values of the communities involved. The most recent of a series of briefings derives from a project on Community Innovation in Sustainable Energy and provide preliminary evidence from the research. Details can be seen at: www.grassrootsinnovations.org/Grassroots_Innovations/Briefings.html