Education for Sustainable Development
ESD:
“Education for Sustainable Development empowers people with the knowledge, skills, values, attitudes and behaviours to live in a way that is good for the environment, economy, and society”. .
“Education for Sustainable Development - the process of creating curriculum structures and subject-relevant content to support sustainable development.” .
The University is successfully embedding ESD across all disciplines in interesting ways. Here are two examples of programmes that have successfully enhanced the student experience through innovative pedagogical design with real world application of ESD related competencies.
Embedding ESD Examples:
Impact:
As a result of the commitment to embedding sustainable development within our teaching and learning experience we have improved our standing in key national metrics.
The ESD rating in the has increased year on year from 23% to 95% settling on 100% since the inception of the ESD working group. The University was also recognised as THE Sustainable University of the year 2025, building on work resulting in the THE award for Outstanding Contribution to Environmental Leadership in 2023.
ESD Key Principles:
We have developed 4 key ESD principles, designed to support University strategic aims regarding sustainability. They also reflect evolving data themes around student expectation and the implications for practice. Each one is designed to underpin a whole university approach to Sustainable Development, embedded within the educational experience and subject curriculum. Any and all ESD activity should help demonstrate how ESD practice is:
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Excellent |
Become a world-leading institution for sustainability learning and teaching, informed by research.
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| Embedded | Embed ESD in-to the subject curriculum, encouraging the application of subject knowledge and practices to develop an explicit understanding of the challenges facing the wider world. |
| Empowered | Empower our students with the knowledge, skills, and attributes to contribute solutions to global challenges in an equitable and just way. |
| Authentic | Ensure that ESD is the business of all subjects at the University but experienced in a way that is authentic to the discipline. |
The principles can be found within the ESD vision statement. They are also located in the Overview Guidance document along with some practical considerations for anyone looking to embed ESD.
Data and the Student Experience:
Sustainability is increasingly important to students and therefore HEI’s. Understanding student expectations enables us to refine our approach, and provide a meaningful student experience focussed on development. Getting the approach right could be central to our continued success.
The collected by Students Organising for Sustainability (SoS), shows us that engagement with the subject curriculum is THE key way of meaningfully engaging students with sustainability. Data for shows that:
- 91% of students think that their place of study should actively incorporate and promote sustainable development
- 84% would like to see sustainable development actively incorporated and promoted through all subjects
- 93% feel it is important for students to graduate with the knowledge and skills required to address sustainability challenges
The expectations students hold regarding their experience of the subject curriculum also directly impacts the shape of subsequent feedback metrics like the NSS. These numbers challenge preconceptions about which subjects are expected to address sustainability. The data also highlights trends in student choice and motivation for selecting place and subjects of study.
ESD and Sustainability:
Sustainability is one of the key principles outlined in the , with the aim of helping us “act together, using our collective skills and diversity, to deliver a better world through the transformational power of quality education and research”.
(ESD) is one of designed to approach sustainability from a necessarily wide set of perspectives. ESD is the only strand directly focussed on embedding sustainability within the subject curriculum; the only guaranteed point of contact with students.
Embedding ESD:
To successfully embed ESD across the institution we need a shared vocabulary. ESD can be a broad topic and we need to apply it to a varied set of subject disciplines. Utilising established international frameworks can provide a foundation for programme and module designers to explore their own unique ESD innovations.
We recommend you start by highlighting:
- UNSDG’s: What subject topics are ESD?
- Skills: What skills are developed as a result of engagement with the curriculum?
- Pedagogy: What teaching strategies you use to encourage development aligned with the UNSDG’s
It is a good idea to use the STEAP process to keep track of progress and impact.
Identify your ESD activity. Establish how it aligns to the UNSDG’s. Highlight the skills/competencies that are developed. If your teaching aligns with any of the 17 UNSDG’s you are likely embedding sustainable development. It is recommended that you make this as explicit as possible.
UNESCO Competencies:
If your teaching results in students developing sustainability oriented skills and competencies it is even more likely you are embedding ESD.
The UNESCO competency framework breaks skills down in to ways of thinking, practicing and being. These skills are also transferable, and linked to employability.
If your teaching is aligned to a UNSDG, and results in the development of specific skills/competencies you are in a position to demonstrate that you are positively impacting the student experience in very tangible and practical ways.
| Ways of practising: | A student who displays this competency can: |
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Strategic competency
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develop and implement innovative actions that further sustainable. development at the local level and further afield. |
| Collaboration competency |
learn from others (including peers, and others inside and outside of their institution). understand and respect the needs, perspectives and actions of others. deal with conflicts in a group. facilitate collaborative and participatory problem solving. |
| Integrated problem-solving competency |
apply different problem-solving frameworks to complex sustainable. development problems. develop viable, inclusive and equitable solutions. utilise appropriate competencies to solve problems. |
| Ways of thinking: | A student who displays this competency can: |
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Systems thinking competency
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recognise and understand relationships. analyse complex systems. consider how systems are embedded within different domains and scales. deal with uncertainty. |
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Anticipatory competency (Future thinking)
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understand and evaluate multiple outcomes. create their own visions for the future. apply the precautionary principle. assess the consequences of actions. deal with risks and changes. |
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Critical thinking competency
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question norms, practices and opinions. reflect on one’s own values, perceptions and actions. take a position in the sustainable development discourse. |
| Ways of being: | A student who displays this competency can: |
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Self-awareness competency
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reflect on their own values, perceptions and actions. reflect on their own role in the local community and global society. continually evaluate and further motivate their actions. deal with their feelings and desires. |
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Normative competency
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understand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions. negotiate sustainable development values, principles, goals and targets, in a context of conflicts of interests and trade-offs, uncertain knowledge and contradictions. |
Teaching that results in the development of specific skills/competencies AND is aligned to one of the UNSDG’s is embedding ESD and demonstrates positive impact on the student experience. You can find more guidance and information on the UNSDG’s, and the competencies, as well as some useful practical guidance in the following locations:
ESD as Organising Principle:
There is an opportunity to use ESD as an organising principle; providing meaningful case studies, applying subject knowledge to address real world challenges. As a result, ESD aligns with but is not limited to employability and the development of skills, authentic teaching and assessment, diversity and inclusion, and impact and evaluation.
Department Workshops:
We have developed a workshop intended for use at department away days. The sessions are designed to highlight our approach and generate discussion. The aim is to encourage colleagues to think about how they embed ESD and how this can be communicated and constructively aligned. The discussions ideally lead to colleagues contributing their own good practice examples disseminated on this page.
A PDF of the is available here.
As part of the workshop we engage with the good practice template below:
Examples of Embedded ESD:
The and companion guide are available at these links. They are to be used and revised in whichever way best represents your examples and your disciplinary context. This way we can showcase the breadth of activity across the institution and provide a resource for colleagues hoping to do something similar.
Please feel free to complete the template to represent your own practice in context. Download, revise and send examples to Aaron Cooper.
Dr. Mara Oliva. Associate Professor: History:
Dr. Rhianedd Smith. Director of Academic Learning and Engagement: Museums and Collections:
Opportunities to Engage with ESD:
Online Courses:
Advocating for a Better Planet: Essential Skills for Climate and Sustainability Action
An exclusive, tailored, online course for all UoR students.
This course guides students through researching and planning an action to advocate for a sustainability or climate related issue of their choice. Students will explore techniques to understand complex problems and identify potential areas for change and finish feeling more informed, empowered to make a difference and able to demonstrate a range of transferable skills.
The course provides approx. 9 hours of flexible learning which students can complete at their own pace. Students can find out more on Essentials.
Contact oocs@reading.ac.uk for further information.
Typography Student Exhibition:
This website showcases an exhibition of work by Part 2 students in the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication, each responding to a specific United Nations Global Goal.
A physical exhibition runs in the Department, Monday 22 September – Friday 7 November 2025. Please do come and visit.
Students were tasked to design a cohesive campaign in order to promote a hopeful stance on one of the 17 Global Goals. Outcomes, both physical and digital, needed to
utilise graphic, typographic and illustrative elements to communicate a compelling call to action in relation to the goal being designed for.
The can be located here:
Contact details
If you have any questions regarding Education for Sustainable Development please contact Aaron Cooper aaron.cooper@reading.ac.uk.