Situate sustainability in your discipline

1. Students can articulate connections between sustainability and their subject, discipline or industry
2. Students can identify practical links between sustainability and industry/ workforce needs

Lead-in/ warmer ideas (5 mins)

Invite students to watch this trailer about planetary boundaries. While watching, ask them to think about ways that their discipline/ future industry might contribute to a more sustainable future.

Main activities (15-20 mins)

What connections do you see?

• Ask students to find an online resource (news article, blog post, video, podcast) that shows the connection between this subject and sustainability. Do they work together or are they at odds?
• Invite students to add the link to a shared online space or talk about it with a class group, including 1-2 comments about how you imagine this discipline can contribute to a more sustainable future.

Finishing up (5 mins)

Take a quick look at the subject outline for this or another subject you’re studying. Where does sustainability fit in (even if it is not mentioned)? Where does it feel most relevant to you?

You can copy or adapt these words to explain more in your class or online space:

• You might be wondering why there is an introduction to sustainability in [add subject name here]. At first sight, these two may not seem related. However, when you dig a little deeper, you’ll realise that sustainability is inherently multidisciplinary. Striving for a world that is equitable and sustains many generations to come, requires us all to work together.
• Closing the sustainability skills gap: In recognition of the daily reality of climate change and wider social and environmental challenges across the globe, companies are looking for ways to integrate sustainability into their business strategies. Of course, their motivation is not purely ethical, and the bottom line always drives these decisions. More and more, governments are also enforcing businesses to adhere to sustainable practices and consumer demand is now driving the development of products and services that have less of a footprint. For these reasons, employers seek staff who have a strong understanding of the concept of sustainability and can help them achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Graduates who are SDG-literate and have relevant skills such as sustainability reporting, environmental management, social impact, or risk assessment are therefore highly sought-after by employers.

You may find the following tools and resources useful:

• Run remote/ asynchronous discussions via a Canvas discussion board, Teams chat or other collaborative spaces like Padlet and google docs
• Mentimeter for polls – especially where answers are better shared anonymously

As an introductory activity, you could use this towards the beginning of your course, or at a point in the subject where sustainability more easily connects to a specific topic.

The activities above would also work with:

• Small or large class cohorts
• In-person, blended and online learning
• Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) subjects and careers sessions
• Social Sciences, Business, Design, Architecture and Building, Engineering and subjects where students consider the impact of their discipline and profession on society

Green jobs are booming, but too few employees have sustainability skills to fill them. This article from The Conversation suggests 4 ways to close the skills gap.