House of Commons - Environmental Audit

Select Committee on Environmental Audit Written Evidence

APPENDIX 58

Letter and Memorandum from WWF-UK

I am pleased to enclose WWF's submission to the Environmental Audit Committee's inquiry into the Government's use of learning avenues to deliver its sustainable development objectives. WWF welcomes this opportunity to input into the strategic direction of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) which is a field WWF has been committed to developing over the past 15 years. The length and breadth of WWF's involvement in ESD, involving substantive partnership working with a wide range of practitioners from the formal and informal education sectors, has led WWF to build up a considerable knowledge base and effective practice in ESD.

WWF would welcome the opportunity to expand on the evidence provided in the written submission, and would be happy to answer any questions that the Committee may have, in oral evidence if appropriate.

I hope that you will find this submission a useful addition to the sustainable development debate and look forward to continuing a fruitful dialogue with the Committee.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. WWF-UK (the global environment network) welcomes this opportunity to input into the Environmental Audit Committee inquiry into the Government's use of learning avenues to deliver its sustainable development goals, and commends the Committee's appointment of a sub-committee to specifically examine the work of Government in promoting Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). This consultation comes at an important juncture; the current review of the Sustainable Development Education Panel (on which a WWF representative sits) brings with it a number of impending decisions on how ESD is to be taken forward at a strategic level. The Committee has also pointed to other timely developments including DEFRA's audit of its activities relating to the communication of sustainable development.

2. WWF-UK's Education Department has established a long-term commitment to ESD, working through Government, national and local bodies and practitioners in the field over the last 15 years to develop ESD programmes and good practices. WWF has particularly sought to work in partnerships with a range of organisations to develop locally owned solutions to environmental, social and economic problems through an action research led approach. WWF believes that ESD is key to the social change required if society as a whole is to look forward to a more sustainable future. To achieve this in practice, people must acquire the knowledge and skills to enable them to participate in sustainable development throughout their personal and working lives.

3. WWF acknowledges that some positive steps have been taken by Government to recognise the importance of ESD through its sustainable development agenda[36], culminating in a number of welcome initiatives including the development of sustainable development terminology in the National Curriculum framework and work by the Learning and Skills Councils to integrate ESD in the further education sector.

4. However, much more remains to be done throughout formal and informal education. Whilst sustainable development has been increasingly included on the education radar, WWF is concerned that recognition of the value and the importance of this agenda remains limited. As a result, those institutions involved in developing and implementing education have little motivation to make sustainable development a priority area or indeed to develop institutional expertise around ESD.

5. Coupled with low public awareness and understanding of sustainable development, highlighted in this submission, there is a real danger that ESD will remain an exclusive process reserved for "enthusiasts" within a minority of institutions. WWF certainly believes that it can and does play an important role in developing and disseminating good practice, but it is outside the scope and remit of any NGO to develop the comprehensive programmes of capacity building required. This is clearly the territory of central Government and in particular points to the role of a national strategy, the potential of which is discussed in this submission.

6. As an output of the Committee review process, WWF would hope that a clear message is taken to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, that ESD cannot be delivered without sustained Government leadership and support to develop capacity throughout the education system. WWF would urge the Secretary of State to build on the important groundwork already laid by the Sustainable Development Education Panel for an overarching strategy and framework to prioritise ESD throughout responsible institutions and organisations.

7. This submission draws on a small selection of the important evidence and research gathered by WWF and its partner organisations in recent years, and highlights those issues that WWF thinks are particularly crucial for Government to take forward as well as those areas where WWF can most add value.

Memorandum from WWF-UK

INTRODUCTION

WWF-UK's involvement in ESD

1. WWF-UK's Education Programme reflects its long-standing commitment to the contribution that formal and informal learning can make to developing sustainable solutions to reverse the degradation of the Earth's natural environment. The goal of WWF's Education programme is to ensure that all parts of society contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, using its extensive network to work with policy makers in central, regional, and local government, the business community, and the formal education system to develop consensus for sustainable development[37]

Broad role of ESD

2. Education for sustainable development is about equipping all of us—individuals, communities, businesses and tiers of government—with the skills to live and act sustainably. This requires people learning throughout life experiences about how the pillars of sustainable development—encompassing environmental, social and economic issues—interact, and the role they have to play in minimising negative impacts.

3. The ethos behind ESD is about much more than information provision. Rather it is about a longer-term commitment to increasing active participation, leading to broader social change and ultimately sustainable development. Key to delivering social change will be clearer signals from Government about the direction of policy in the long term, and demonstration of its commitment to sustainable development by ingraining economic, social and environmental considerations throughout its policies and programmes, and acting as an exemplar by the way in which it conducts its own business.

4. The case for step changes being required in the way in which households, companies and organisations carry out their activities has been accepted by Government if we are protect the environment and enjoy economic growth. For its policy interventions to be effective in bringing about this change, the Government must accelerate the process of educating society about its role and responsibility in bringing about change. In particular, the Government must address the role of formal and informal learning avenues.

ESD in lifelong learning

5. WWF would assert that individuals are more likely to change their behaviour if they are given the opportunity and the space to assess the facts, apply the facts to their own local situations, and reach their own conclusions with regard to the impact of their life choices on the environment. There are a number of new vehicles for lifelong sustainable development learning that should be capitalised on such as the Work/Life Balance initiative, and the expansion of e-learning and broadband technology, post-16 education, social inclusion, urban regeneration and citizenship agendas. Local Agenda 21 also provides an important route into public engagement in sustainable development at local level. The business community too is increasingly looking to use resources more sustainably to increase profits, minimise environmental damage and meet customer demand for ethical practices.

ESD in formal education

6. In the formal education sector, WWF has found that ESD programmes have brought wide-ranging benefits to participants. ESD has embraced core curriculum subjects including the demand for basic literacy, numeracy and ICT skills, as well as cross-curricular themes such as PHSE and citizenship. Beyond this, the influence of ESD has extended into the core values, management and ethos of schools.

7. WWF has engaged with a number of individual schools to develop ESD practices. ESD in schools has been found to exemplify good teaching practice, fostering improvements in standards particularly where it is ingrained in whole school policies. WWF has gathered a range of anecdotal evidence from sources such as OFSTED inspections and Beacon status[38] to validate its views. OFSTED inspections have shown that, where ESD has been examined as a part of reviewing good practice, links can be demonstrated between ESD and improvements in standards[39] Responses from teachers and pupils to WWF-run programmes have also demonstrated the tangible benefits of ESD across the curriculum and school practices[40] ESD has helped develop pupils' skills and confidence as active, emerging citizens with the ability to think critically, debate issues holistically, work co-operatively, and respect each other's rights and responsibilities. ESD has also involved teachers using innovative ways of delivering their subjects, often sharing ideas and knowledge with colleagues in other departments with whom they would otherwise have limited contact in delivering the curriculum. WWF believes that current teaching structures, especially in secondary schools, can make it difficult to make connections between subjects separated by traditional boundaries. Far from being judged to be an extra requirement that takes time away from other subjects, those schools which have embarked on ESD have found its principles and practices to be so integral to teaching and school life, that they remain engaged in ESD in the long term. A number of schools with whom WWF has worked have gone on to contribute good practice case studies to the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) ESD web site[41]

Role of WWF-UK

8. WWF's experience of working with organisations throughout the formal and informal education sectors makes it well placed to help evaluate the level and quality of participation in ESD and to suggest ways in which good practice at local level can be multiplied to bring about wider engagement in ESD.

9. Taking in turn the questions which the inquiry particularly seeks views on:

Q1. Is a lack of public engagement and understanding a real obstacle to the Government's progress on its sustainable development agenda? Have there been any studies to show this? Please refer to practical examples where possible.

10. WWF supports the view that a lack of public understanding and engagement in sustainable development is an obstacle to progress on delivering the Government's sustainable development agenda. It is crucial that the public understands (i) what the problem is and (ii) their role in solving it. Change will only be achieved if individuals see their roles and responsibilities as part of a broader societal change ie businesses, organisations they engage with, local, regional and national Government must all be seen to change with them. WWF would therefore urge the Government to place its sustainable development agenda firmly in the context of a longer-term movement to shift culture.

Barriers to public participation

11. The UK is starting from a low baseline in terms of public engagement in sustainable development. For example, the particular problem of engaging school children in sustainable development was evidenced by a WWF commissioned MORI survey, outlined in Box 1 below. The results indicate the size of the challenge.

Box 1: MORI poll of "Sustainable Development" understanding by secondary school pupils WWF-UK commissioned a MORI poll of 250 middle and secondary State schools in England and Wales from January to March 2002. Pupils were asked what they understood by the phrase "sustainable development."

The results show that at present there is very little knowledge of the term among 11-16 year olds; in total 81% could not answer the question (70% not stated, 9% don't know/never heard of it/don't understand, 2% nothing). Of the answers given, most were incorrect, with only 2% giving a correct or partly correct answer.

In total, 108 schools participated and responses were received from 2,670 pupils.

Further details about the survey are available from Ann Finlayson at WWF-UK: afinlayson@wwf.org.uk

12. WWF supports the evidence of the Sustainable Development Education Panel that the language of sustainable development can be an obstacle to public participation; the term is not well understood or user friendly. And because sustainable development involves finding a balance between economic, social and environmental solutions, individuals and organisations are always likely to interpret it slightly differently. Research by the Panel into the problems of language and how to overcome them, is described in Box 2 below.

Box 2: Research by Quadrangle Design Ltd for the Sustainable Development Education Panel: "Towards a Language of Sustainable Development" The Quadrangle project commissioned by the Panel was asked to look at how to develop a language for sustainable development, which would resonate with a wide range of individuals and bodies.

Quadrangle's report confirmed that there is no current consistency of meaning in the term "sustainable development" that could be used to develop a fixed language blueprint. Quadrangle found that businesses, campaigning NGOs and Government funded campaigns tended not to use explicit sustainability language when addressing their key customers and audiences.

Quadrangle identified the main challenge as being not to fix a language blueprint, but rather to encourage the evolution of an improved language for sustainable development, and to speed up the learning process, facilitated through the use of creative tools—including icons and imagery—to embed the basic principles.

Quadrangle's report is available at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/sustainable/educpanel/language/01.htm

13. Clearly, a better understanding of the language used across the board to communicate sustainable development would facilitate education about the issues that the term encompasses. WWF would suggest that the Government works closely with a range of organisations to help develop consistency of language, and to give sustainable development meaning through practical examples and by embedding the concept throughout its policies and practices.

Developing solutions

14. WWF can demonstrate a number of ways in which it has sought to break down barriers to participation in ESD through developing a range of tools and teaching materials available in different mediums, as well as tools to demonstrate the impact of ESD. WWF can report numerous positive experiences and sustained benefits from those engaged in sustainable development. Just a few examples are set out in Box 3 below. Others are included later in this submission.

Box 3—WWF-UK's Participatory On Line ESD course This on-line course aims to provide professional development for educators in ESD and to enable action on ESD to take place throughout learning/informal learning. It uses an online workshop approach to explore ESD developments, and exchange information and ideas on applying principles, including relevance to the National Curriculum and opportunities for input into whole school policies. Invited guests from the ESD community and industries throughout the UK and overseas have provided input to online discussions. Seventy five teachers have completed the course over the last two years, and feedback from participants has been very positive: the course has helped teachers to apply the principles of ESD to individual schools, and to better define ESD in relation to the curriculum.

Further information about the ESD on-line course is available at www.wwflearning.co.uk. Testimonials are also available from Ann Finlayson at WWF-UK (e-mail: afinlayson@wwf.org.uk.)

WWF-UK's Baseline Audit tool

WWF has started to develop a Baseline Audit tool with South Bank University to assist in the tracking and documentation of the progress made when people (especially schools) participate in sustainable development. The aim of the tool is to enable educators to continue to develop their ESD practice. WWF has so far concentrated on building up small-scale case studies to demonstrate their "multiplier effect" in terms of wider impact.

WWF-UK Our World project

The Our World project was developed by WWF-UK and partners including DEFRA/DfES, to engage UK schools and the Education Community in the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002; to provide a platform for the voice of young people at the Summit; and to begin the process of mainstreaming ESD with key target audiences. While the project only attracted participation from a limited number of schools, this did mean that detailed case studies could be developed for wider dissemination and learning.

One of the key elements of the project was the Schools Challenge: a competition for UK schools to develop a visionary sustainable development project for their school and community. Four schools from across the UK were selected to receive a grant of £15,000 to help them develop their sustainability project. The projects aimed to introduce ESD into various areas of the curriculum and to promote sustainable lifestyles within the school and local community, for example, by introducing recycling schemes and using renewable sources of energy.

Full details of the winning schools and reactions to how the Our World project impacted on participating schools is available from the Our World web site at www.wwflearning.co.uk/ourworld. All those schools that participated in the project found it an important landmark in implementing ESD, in helping them to relate ESD to global issues and boosting the morale of staff and pupils; positive impacts were also noted in OFSTED inspections. A number of respondents to WWF's evaluation of the project also said that it particularly encouraged the development of young people as active and responsible citizens, and creative and collaborative ways of working.

15. Dissemination of these examples and others is vital in proving the case that public understanding can lead to greater engagement (which in turn can lead to action) thereby assisting the Government with its progress on sustainable development.

Q2. Is there a need for a national strategy for education for sustainable development? Would additional infrastructure be required to deliver a coherent, national strategy?

16. Much of the education community with whom WWF works sees great value in a national strategy[42] The Sustainable Development Education Panel itself has led the call for Government to implement a centrally co-ordinated, long-term strategy for the provision of sustainable development education[43] The need for a coherent strategy has been further highlighted by the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development from 2005, with proposals for UNESCO to support the development and implementation of national strategies.

The rationale for a national strategy

17. The level of support provided to delivers of ESD from the Government, institutions and other private providers varies greatly. While those at the cutting edge of ESD are able to interpret the Government's overall policy framework to include ESD, activities on the ground are fragmented, and often reliant on short-term project funding from NGOs and others. There are too few examples to disseminate the interconnectedness of environmental, social and economic issues. WWF has found particular knowledge gaps in educators' appreciation of business activities to promote sustainable development. For ESD to be an inclusive process, progress and learning experiences must be embedded within an overall strategy which seeks to increase the level of participation in ESD at an individual, collective and corporate level.

The role of Government and a national strategy

18. WWF believes that the role required of Government takes several forms. Government must:

— set out clear national aspirations and high level goals for change as part of a strategy developed through cross-departmental consensus;

— underpin this strategy with a framework that draws together the strands of sustainable development (awareness, education and implementation), and direct appropriate resources;

— have in place effective mechanisms for driving forward, monitoring and reporting on progress.

19. WWF would look to DfES to take a lead in ensuring the integration of ESD into the process of education reform, in consultation with the Learning and Skills Council and Higher Education Funding Council for England. OFSTED also has a key role in monitoring schools' progress. As outlined above, an overarching framework is required to enable ESD to become an integral part of best practice in teaching, development plans and funding, career advancement, and inspection criteria; as well as to embed ESD into workforce practices and training provision.

Delivering the strategy on the ground

20. Widespread ownership of any strategy is vital. To achieve this, the Government must ensure that links are in place between the strategy and delivery on the ground. WWF believes that much of the required infrastructure already exists but that stronger regional and local networks of ESD need to be developed, working through the Learning and Sector Skills Councils to develop toolkits for local authorities, educational and business organisations. More regionally distributed good practice examples are required, particularly from schools (for example, those schools with Beacon status for Environmental Education are very few). In the absence of developed supportive networks, WWF has found that those schools who are involved in ESD can lack the confidence to disseminate/support learning in others. This problem can also be replicated in the informal education sector.

21. Some initiatives are starting to emerge to support the development of regional and local best practice in ESD. Box 4 below sets out an example of WWF's involvement in developing and disseminating good practice at local authority level.

Box 4: WWF's Mainstreaming Sustainable Development Resource Pack WWF, in association with the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) has published a web-based resource pack, which explores how sustainable development can be mainstreamed through local government modernisation structures. The pack is aimed at officers working on modernisation issues (eg community strategies, Best Value or local strategic partnerships (LSPs)), as well as sustainable development practitioners, partner organisations and elected members. Evolving pack material includes route maps and systems for integrating sustainable development into modernisation issues and consists of briefing papers, PowerPoint presentations and workshop resources, which can be tailored for local use. The Pack has also been used as a networking tool for local authorities to share learning and best practice.

Feedback from local authorities involved in piloting the Pack has illustrated its value in a number of contexts. For example:

— demonstrating the relevancy of sustainable development to particular council services and the Community Strategy;

— influencing a range of specific initiatives including Health Action Plans, Regeneration and Land Use strategies;

— influencing Best Value reviews;

— developing a common understanding of sustainable development for staff training purposes; and

— developing the roles of corporate/member bodies involved in sustainable development.

Further information about the Pack is available from www.wwf.org.uk/mainstreamingsustainability.

22. Long-term, ongoing support is crucial throughout the formal and informal education sectors, and WWF-UK can advice on the types of support that are most effective. Teachers in particular require additional support through initial training, and once trained, it is vital that the education system supports them through opportunities for personal development, and enables them to put their learning into practice. WWF has been aware of instances where the level of institutional support for ESD has not been forthcoming[44]

23. WWF would urge the Government to do more to understand and tackle existing barriers to the take up of ESD and provide more strategic direction where required. In the schools' sector, WWF's experience has been that teacher enthusiasm for ESD is not always matched by the school ethos within which they work, and as a result, they are currently not afforded the time, space, or legitimacy to explore learning routes to develop ESD.

ESD supports a common agenda

24. WWF would add that an ESD strategy is wholly consistent with a number of Government objectives. ESD supports an outcome-based curriculum and encourages sustainable livelihoods. It also contributes to the attainment of a well-educated populace and active citizenry, which the Government's own sustainability indicators recognise are key to achieving stable and sustainable growth. ESD is also in tune with teachers' vision of their role in the twenty first century (as demonstrated by a recent survey outlined in Box 5 below); and will help communities and businesses alike to make the changes required.

Box 5: General Teaching Council for England/The Guardian/MORI teacher survey (reported in The Guardian, 14 January 2003) The survey demonstrated the high ideals of teachers when asked about their vision of teaching in the twenty first century—61% of respondents cited the development of the whole child as most important. The vision for 60% was to create active and responsible citizens, and 51% to inspire a love of lifelong learning. Only 28% cited ensuring basic levels of literacy and numeracy as a vision.

Some 70,000 teachers responded to the survey

25. As a next step, WWF would urge the Government to set in train a timetable for consulting on the draft national strategy for ESD produced by the Sustainable Development Education Panel, and publicly reporting back on its findings.

Q3. Are existing awareness raising Government campaigns such as "Are you doing your bit" effective and well targeted? Have past campaigns been evaluated? How could they be improved in the future?

National environmental campaigns

26. WWF's understanding is that the "Are you doing your bit" campaign was designed purely as a means of raising environmental awareness, rather than specifically targeting individuals about changing their behaviour. In particular, the campaign did not focus on the institutional change required to support individual changes in consumption. WWF would stress that to be successful, ESD must engage people at all these levels.

27. In its awareness raising capacity, feedback from the "Are you doing your bit" campaign seems to have been relatively positive. Nine out of 10 people said that they recognised the campaign, and it also apparently had an influence on active awareness, as two out of 10 people claimed they were motivated to do more by the campaign[45]

  28.  WWF is aware of a number of other campaigns, which have also demonstrated some success in raising public awareness of specific environmental issues including the "Rethink Rubbish" campaign outlined in Box 6 below.

Box 6: National Waste Awareness Initiative (NWAI) "Rethink Rubbish" campaign   "Rethink Rubbish" is a nationwide initiative to raise awareness about waste reduction and to ultimately change behaviours through educating the public. Campaign tracking research was undertaken during May-September 2002 to assess the effectiveness of the campaign both in terms of raising awareness and its influence on behavioural change. The research demonstrated some impact on awareness and understanding of the importance of recycling (an increase in awareness levels from 20% before the campaign, to 24% afterwards). However, there was noticeably less public understanding of the importance of activities higher up the waste hierarchy, including waste minimisation and reuse. The research was unable to demonstrate an influence on behavioural change stating that actual changes in recycling and waste tonnages could not be measured at the time, but concluded that any impact was expected to be small.

  For further information about the "Rethink Rubbish" campaign see www.nwai.org.uk/rethinkrubbish

29. In terms of overall awareness of municipal waste as a growing environmental problem in the UK, this remains relatively low according to recent MORI research[46] despite the efforts of NWAI campaigns. The effectiveness of national campaigns, particularly in terms of changing behaviour, can be difficult to pin point because the effects are often combined with other policy changes (or they are unfairly criticised because they are not supported by the policy levers and incentives required to deliver the economic environment for change). Clearly the resources afforded to campaigns is also an issue; the "Are you doing your bit" campaign has not been funded to the level or consistency of the Government's road safety campaign for example.

30. WWF believes that large-scale, generic campaigns to raise public awareness of sustainable development issues must be supplemented by focused, practical messages and the roll-out of specific programmes to make it easier for people to change their behaviour in practice (for example, education campaigns to encourage recycling must be underpinned by the provision of more kerbside recycling schemes).

Lessons learnt from WWF-UK's "Our World" project

  31.  Turning specifically to campaigns by WWF to raise awareness of ESD, an evaluation of the Our World project as set out in Box 7 below (see also page 7), demonstrated some interesting lessons learnt for future campaigns, as well as pointing to the need for a long-term strategy to communicate and disseminate good ESD practice.

Box 7: Our World—lessons learnt

  The Our World project combined both communication and educational objectives for sustainable development through a variety of activities including school competitions, online student debates, a dedicated web site, and an opportunity for schools ("Earth Champions") to attend the Johannesburg Summit.

  Early planning and design of the communications strategy was key to the project's success, particularly in engaging high regional and local media interest. The project's partnership approach helped secure high profile media events, including a meeting with the Prime Minister, which maintained momentum in the run up to the Summit. WWF was able to utilise its global network, linking the project in with other initiatives, such as the professional development component of the project and the Ivory Park visit in South Africa.

  Particular elements of the project, such as the Our World debates clearly had the capacity to facilitate wider learning about ESD if disseminated and integrated into programmes of work by teachers. A multi-stranded approach was taken to ensure that youth voices came from a number of avenues. A gap highlighted by the project was the absence of a regular, ongoing route for youth voices to be heard beyond the period of an online debate. "Ownership" of specific initiatives by students was found to be crucial.

  As part of its follow-up to Our World, WWF-UK is exploring a variety of ways of supporting good practice in ESD emerging from the debates and contribution of specific schools. It is crucial that learning from the project is integrated into long term, whole school approaches to ESD.

  See www.wwflearning.co.uk/ourworld for further details about the "Our World" project evaluation.

32. In conclusion, WWF would emphasis that campaigns must be aimed not just at "the end product", but also at root causes, and must relate to public education. To motivate people to change their behaviour and lifestyles requires a vision that resonates with them, for example, encapsulating a vision of where the nation wants to be in 10 years time, and the part everyone must play in realising that vision.

33. To achieve maximum impact it is also crucial that campaigns clearly define their messages; identify and understand their key audience, areas of potential conflict as well as commonality; and can monitor and evaluate their impact.

Q4. Are there existing education programmes relating to sustainable development which might be considered good practice? These might include in-house training schemes for ESD for employees and stakeholders within businesses, the civil service, and other organisations. Are there elements of successful, strategic communications in other areas, which could be applied to ESD? For example, from other Government awareness campaigns such as those for drink driving, AIDS and smoking.

34. Over the course of WWF's long involvement in ESD, it has built up a considerable portfolio of guidance, curriculum materials and good practice case studies to demonstrate the learning experiences and practical benefits of ESD throughout formal/informal learning routes. Materials range from on-line action research for teachers and ESD distance learning programmes, to resource packs for local authority officers interested in broadening local ESD involvement. WWF also works with its business partners and professional bodies to develop material for professional/vocational courses, as well as exemplar workplace practices[47]

35. WWF is also pleased to note the positive steps taken by others to begin the process of developing education programmes for sustainable development, including web-based guidance on ESD produced by the QCA[48] This provides information about the requirements of and opportunities for ESD across the school curriculum, and practical guidance on managing schools' development of inclusive policies, mainstreaming ESD into the planning process and forging links with the wider community.

ESD good practice examples

  36.  Some specific examples of the range of WWF's involvement in education programmes have already been outlined in this submission. Some further examples of good practice relating to ESD are outlined in Box 8 below.

Box 8: ESD in action

WWF-UK Curriculum Management Award Scheme

  "Making it Happen", the Schools Curriculum Management Award Scheme for England and Wales (CMAS) involves the provision of grants, resources and in-service training to develop two-year projects using key areas of the curriculum to introduce a whole school approach to ESD.

  ESD enables teachers to pay some attention to the process of education, not simply the content of lessons. CMAS winners have found that many of the values and attitudes, skills and learning experiences required of ESD have been applicable to good teaching and learning practices in core curriculum subjects, particularly participatory learning.

  CMAS winners also demonstrate how ESD has been approached in different ways. For some, it addressed the specific requirements of core curriculum subjects such as geography or science; others embarked on ESD to demonstrate more coherence in PHSE programmes; while some saw a value in developing ESD as a means of addressing school discipline issues, by encouraging pupils to take greater responsibility for their own physical and social environment. Whatever the context, winning schools found that ESD provided a critical framework to reflect on a range of issues. Skills developed by pupils through ESD included co-operative working, critical thinking, reasoned debate and informed decision-making. Pupils became more knowledgeable about how their own actions connected with and impacted on the live of others, the environment and the eco-system; about how the process of decision making worked, and how to influence decisions and shape their future as a result.

  For further information see www.wwflearning.co.uk

WWF-UK/QCA/DETR Scholarship Schemes

  WWF has developed a number of innovative curriculum materials through industry/education partnerships to complement emerging vocational education for over 16's (including work on GNVQs) and ensure that sustainability issues are included in a range of courses, fostering links for example with business studies and economics.

  One example of the integration between ESD and business best practice was the WWF/QCA/DETR (and subsequently DEFRA) Scholarship Scheme run by WWF in conjunction with a range of business partners including B&Q, Tioxide Europe and British Airways. The scheme made important links between company learning about sustainable development and individual learning by students. WWF and its business partners developed sample teaching materials free to schools, and provided Internet-based interactive debates to enlist the expertise of partner firms. Schools that registered to use the materials were able to go on to formal entry in the scholarship competition. Scholarships were judged on the basis of the innovative processes undertaken by students to engage in sustainable development, as well as actual output. Successful students joined a residential course working with business partners to investigate sustainability policies and practices.

  For further information, see www.wwflearning.co.uk

Sustainability Action Network

  WWF-UK's Business Education Unit set up a Sustainability Action Network (SAN) three years ago to provide a forum for sustainability professionals from a range of organisations to share expertise and learning, and develop common solutions for a sustainable future. SAN consists of a wide group of invited companies, NGOs, academics, consultants and public sector bodies. Output from the network has included work with the corporate sector to develop understanding of environmental impacts and to devise practical ways of minimising environmental damage from their products and services. SAN has also held a series of action research workshops to explore a business model to facilitate wider and more consistent engagement in sustainable development issues by the financial services sector, as part of their corporate governance and strategic planning.

  Further details about SAN are available from Nichola Hugill, WWF-UK (e-mail: nhugill@wwf.org.uk)

"To Whose Profit? Building a Business Case for Sustainability" is available on the WWF web site at www.wwf.org.uk/towhoseprofit

  WWF worked with Cable & Wireless and Loop Environmental Networks to publish "To Whose Profit? Building a Business Case for Sustainability" in January 2002. This report is a practical tool to allow sustainability champions within organisations to win support up to board level, and equity analysts to demonstrate the link between shareholder value and sustainable business practice. The publication offers a route map for understanding business practice in a step-by-step format and will be supplemented by case studies from companies demonstrating the benefits of sustainable practices on the ground.

  "To Whose Profit? Building a Business Case for Sustainability" is available on the WWF web site at www.wwf.org.uk/towhoseprofit.

37. WWF firmly believes that building awareness of and support for the wide variety of experiences, motivations and learning routes towards ESD, demonstrated through programmes such as those discussed above, is key to widening participation in ESD.

Individual case studies on ESD

38. There are a number of individual success stories that WWF can point to—many of these are from the schools sector and numerous examples can be found on the QCA's web page on ESD[49]

39. In WWF's experience, those schools that have most successfully worked with WWF to integrate ESD, share some or all of a number of essential components[50]

— senior management support;

— whole-school co-ordination of initiatives;

— a cross-curricular, committed team;

— time allocation for planning and delivery;

— a commitment to participatory methods of teaching and learning;

— innovative ways of delivering curriculum subjects—for example, demonstrating the links between Mathematics and the environment/development; exploring key concepts of stewardship and interdependence in geography; or developing links with local businesses and communities to explore how sustainable development issues interact with economic and social issues as a part of business studies.

40. WWF is also working with Oxfam and UNED-UK to disseminate learning from a number of ESD case studies collated as a part of the UK's preparation for the Johannesburg Summit[51] Box 9 below lists these organisations. WWF would be happy to provide further information about individual case studies on request[52]

Box 9: ESD case studies collated by UNED-UK for the Earth Summit

GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS

UK Environment Agency

Forestry Commission

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS

Devon Local Education Authority

Dorset Local Education Authority

Dudley Local Education Authority

Durham County Council

Herefordshire Council Environmental Sustainability Unit

Medway Council

North Norfolk District Council

Pendle Borough Council

Suffolk County Council Education Service

West Midlands Education for Sustainable Development Forum

Worcestershire County Council

Worcestershire Local Education Authority

Yorkshire and Humber Regional Forum for Sustainable Development Education

EDUCATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

Centre for Cross Curricular Initiatives, South Bank University

Open University Centre for Complexity and Change

School of Information Systems, Kingston University

University of Brighton Lecturer

VALIDATE (Values in Design and Technology Education)

Workers' Education Association Tutor

BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS

Cambridge Programme for Industry

INCPEN (organisation of the packaging industry)

Marches Environmental Business Partnership

Professional Practice for Sustainable Development

Shell Education Services

NGOS

CADISPA (Scottish Community Learning for Sustainability)

Centre for Sustainable Energy

Christian Environmental Issues Network

Cumbria Development Education Centre

CYFANFYD—The Development Education Association of Wales

Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens

Forum for the Future

Global Action Plan

Global Link Development Education Centre

Groundwork

Institute for Earth Education

Living Earth Foundation

Northern Ireland Environmental Education Forum

Oxfam England Development Education Team

Plymouth Young Persons' Agenda 21

Save Our World

Scottish Environmental Education Council (now discontinued)

Scottish Natural Heritage

Warwickshire Association of Youth Clubs

Warwickshire Wildlife Trust

West Midlands Education for Sustainable Development Forum

WWF-UK

Young TransNet

CONCLUSION

41. To effectively develop public participation in sustainable development requires ownership by the system set up to educate society as a whole. Strategic leadership from Government is therefore vital, as is a comprehensive framework for change developed in consultation with, and owned by stakeholders from regional and local government, formal education, industry, NGOs and community groups to overcome the current fragmentation of responsibility. As a helpful first step, WWF recommends that the Secretary of State for Education and Skills consults on the Sustainable Development Education Panel's draft national strategy to further develop the Government's thinking in this area.

42. WWF would ask the Secretary of State to commit to all parts of the formal education system developing the remit, capacity and skills to deliver ESD as an integral part of quality education. WWF would also reiterate the importance of schools receiving sustained support in delivering ESD through local education authorities. OFSTED and the Teacher Training Agency must also play more prominent roles in disseminating guidance for incorporating ESD into a range of curriculum subjects and whole school policies, and strengthening ESD's place in inspection criteria. The QCA must play a similarly expanded role in developing ESD as a part of the overarching criteria for qualifications in the National Qualification's Framework.

43. The Government's strategy also needs to promote wider public understanding of sustainable development through informal learning. Simple messages and practical examples must be supported by targeted programmes, policy levers and incentives to facilitate behavioural change. Effectively addressing and co-ordinating ESD across departmental policies and strategies will also be key to developing the culture change required. WWF would also call upon regional and local authorities to take steps to incorporate ESD throughout their education and workforce development plans, and for more to be done to mainstream ESD into the work of Learning and Skills Councils and vocational standards/qualifications.

44. As stated in this submission, ESD is wholly consistent with existing Government sustainability goals and indicators. Nevertheless, WWF would urge the Government to consider more explicit measurements of and entitlement to ESD in future reviews of its sustainable development strategy/indicators. Through more comprehensive programmes of capacity building to enable a greater range of organisations to effectively engage in ESD over time, WWF is confident that ESD will play the prominent role it must if we are to develop a sustainable society.

February 2003

36 The Government's Sustainable Development Strategy, A Better Quality of Life (May 1999), recognised the important role of education in sustainable development. The Government's Sustainable Development Indicators include a specific education indicator relating to access to education and educational attainment. Back

37 WWF-UK Annual Review 2001-2002 Making a difference. Back

38 Two schools (Crispin Secondary School in Somerset and Woodfield Infants School in Shrewsbury) were awarded Beacon status whilst developing ESD programmes as key areas of work. Back

39 For example, the OFSTED inspection report for Cassop Primary School in Durham (November 2002) recognised the positive impact of ESD on standards: "...[The school] leans heavily on the side of seeking solutions, rather than reinforcing pupils' sense of helplessness in the face of the enormity of global issues... [Pupils] quickly become used to giving explanations or putting forward a point of view...become independent and learn how to search for information or find answers to problems..." Pupils performed particularly well in National Curriculum tests in Mathematics, and achieved above average test results in reading. Back

40 For example, WWF-Scotland ran the Bright Sparks Award Scheme for classroom projects that developed informed attitudes to sustainable development in the context of the Scottish curriculum. Participating schools were offered free materials to generate ideas, in-service training, and support visits. 80% of teachers involved in the scheme said it helped them implement the curriculum; while 85% said that in-service training had furthered their understanding of sustainable development in education. For further details see www.wwflearning.co.uk. Back

41 available at www.nc.uk/net/esd Back

42 For example, a stakeholder survey carried out by the UNED-UK Education Task Group highlighted the need for more strategic national (as well as international) leadership and organisation of ESD and the importance of Government taking a lead in creating a more comprehensive framework in consultation with stakeholders. Further details are available from Anna Birney at WWF: abirney@wwf.org.uk Back

43 1st report of the Sustainable Development Education Panel, paragraph 35 Back

44 For example, WWF worked with South Bank University on a programme called "Partners for Change" which examined the role of ESD in teacher training programmes. Some teachers found that they were unable to take forward the ESD component of the training in their probationary year at school because it did not fit easily within existing school practices, although they were keen to take up ESD again from their second year. Back

45 reported in "Sustainable Development Commission papers and publications" at www.sd-commission.gov.uk/pubs/studies/010214/01-1-3.htm. Back

46 MORI research compiled for the Strategy Unit (September 2002) indicated that only 7% of the public (when unprompted) identify waste as an important environmental issue. This is reflected in the UK's overall recycling rate for municipal waste which-at 12 per cent-is amongst the lowest in Europe. Research findings are included in the Strategy Unit report "Waste not, Want not. . .A strategy for tackling the waste problem in England" November 2002. Original MORI findings and the Strategy Unit report are available at www.strategy.gov.uk Back