Leadership and Education for Sustainable Development, Philip Vaughter, UNU-IAS
1. Leadership and Education for
Sustainable Development
2017 ProSPER.Net Leadership Programme
Hosted by Chulalongkorn University
Bangkok, Thailand – July 1st, 2017
Dr. Philip Vaughter
UNU-IAS
2. Leadership for Sustainability
Around the world, leaders shape how their organizations engage with the world
around them
Government leaders steer policy
Business leaders work with markets
Civil Society leaders work on a variety of issues
However, there has been a lack of leadership in shifting to a just and sustainable
lifestyle across sectors and across nations
Why is there a lack of quality leadership around sustainability?
3. What makes a leader for sustainability?
According to the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership there are
seven key characteristics for leadership tackling sustainability issues:
1) Systemic, interdisciplinary understanding
2) Emotional intelligence and a caring attitude
3) Values orientation that shapes culture
4) A strong vision for making a significant difference
5) An inclusive style that engenders trust
6) A willingness to innovate or be radical
7) A long-term perspective on impacts
4. What factors enable sustainable
leadership?
Collaboration is key
Systems must operate to allow
diverse groups to interact;
breakdown the silos
Focus on critical challenges
Priorities must be set to tackle most
critical challenges first
Support for change
Leaders must operate in institutions
that allow for change – the status quo
must be questioned
5. Challenges leaders face in addressing
sustainability problems
Often takes long time for a solution
Complex interactions with the
components and people involved
A weak and scattered science base
for making evidence-based decisions
Lack of integration across disciplines
needed to tackle problem
Atmospheres are often emotional
and contentious
6. Challenges leaders face in addressing
sustainability problems
Communication has made
information more available – but this
quantity of information can make
communication more difficult and
complex
More stakeholders are making their
voice heard, very different than the
past
7. Challenges leaders face in addressing
sustainability problems
Sustainability is complex – leaders
have to be careful that addressing
sustainability in one context does not
mean neglecting sustainability in
another context
8. Who are seen as leaders for addressing
sustainable development?
According to GlobeScan
Sustainability Leaders Survey, non-
state actors consistently outperform
national governments in contributions
to sustainability
NGOs still leading with conservation
of ecosystems
City/local governments active with
climate change mitigation
Research/academic organizations
seen as crucial players
9. Who are seen as leaders for addressing
sustainable development?
Perceptions on corporate leadership
divided by regions
Wide range of economic sectors
Consumer facing companies
(businesses that emphasize
consumer satisfaction and feedback)
lead this list
10. Who are seen as leaders for addressing
sustainable development?
But while individual companies in
different sectors were seen as being
leaders, no sector in the global
market stands out as a leader
While experts feel companies have
an important role to play in
sustainability, they were critical of
performance, with all sectors
receiving mostly negative or neutral
ratings
11. How does education relate to leadership
for sustainability?
Education can…
Train leaders how to work with long
term timelines
Provide systemic ways to breakdown
complex problems
Inform decision makers about
knowledge bases to provide
evidence
Teach how to work between
disciplines
Give insight into stakeholders
motivations
12. How does education relate to leadership
for sustainability?
Education is often promoted as a tool leaders can use to change the behavior of
their team or their institution to make it more sustainable
But ironically, sometimes it is the most educated that are leading the least
sustainable lifestyles
Therefore, it is not just that leaders need more education, but a different type of
education
13. Education for Sustainable Development
and Leadership
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a different approach to
education
Note the difference (McKeown, 2014):
Education about Sustainable Development is an awareness lesson or theoretical
discussion
Education for Sustainable Development is using education as a tool to transform
society
If leaders are going to meaningfully engage with sustainability, education for
sustainable development is the most appropriate educational tool to use
14. Education for Sustainable Development
and Leadership
UNESCO defines ESD as having the following characteristics:
Based on principles of sustainable development
Deals with four dimensions of sustainability – environment, society, culture, economy
Promotes lifelong learning
Locally relevant and culturally appropriate
Based around local needs but links to global processes
Engages formal, non-formal, and informal education
Builds capacity for community-based decision-making, social tolerance, environmental
stewardship, adaptable workforce, and good quality of life
Is interdisciplinary – no discipline can claim ESD for itself
15. Education for Sustainable Development
and Leadership
While leaders in many different fields can use ESD to advance sustainability, the
following skills are essential for using ESD (Tilbury & Wortman, 2004):
Envisioning – being able to imagine a better future. What does it look like?
Critical Thinking – question our assumptions. What is development?
Systemic Thinking – looking for links. How is this system connected to others?
Building Partnerships – learning to work together. How can we help each other?
Participating – feeling empowered to act. How can I use my knowledge to make the
world more sustainable?
16. Who is using ESD in Leadership?
The Provincial Government of
Manitoba in Canada
17. Who is using ESD in Leadership Training?
The Provincial Government of
Manitoba in Canada
The Ministry of Education in Scotland
18. Who is using ESD in Leadership Training?
The Provincial Government of
Manitoba in Canada
The Ministry of Education in Scotland
The Ministry of Education and
Ministry of Environment in Japan
19. Who is using ESD in Leadership Training?
The Provincial Government of
Manitoba in Canada
The Ministry of Education in Scotland
The Ministry of Education and
Ministry of Environment in Japan
German Federal Ministry for
Economic Cooperation and
Development, in partnership with
governments of India, Mexico, and
South Africa
20. But, is leadership training using ESD
reaching current leaders?
Many countries now include sustainability in the education that primary and secondary
students receive
Example of long-term thinking – train tomorrow’s leaders today
However, this is typically education about sustainability, not education for sustainability: lot’s of
good knowledge, not a lot of workable solutions
Other major challenges (Leicht, 2014):
Going from a pilot project to a policy
Small scale to large scale
Margins to mainstream
Most ESD focuses on youth – adults need to change their behavior as well
21. What helps leaders engage with ESD?
In addition to the before mentioned skills, the following preconditions are necessary for
helping a leader engage with sustainability, and to use ESD to do this
1) Make the case for change: a leader must be adept at shifting others from unconscious
to conscious reactivity to the challenge. Must be able to educate about the challenge
and frame in a way that seems serious but also one that can be overcome.
2) Translate vision into action: stakeholders respond to plans with action rather than
vague commitments to concepts. Must be able to work with experts and ideas to design
actions that fit with sustainable vision.
3) Expand boundaries: a leader must anticipate and evaluate long-term sustainability
trends to embed sustainability within the organization, spotting new opportunities along
the way. Must be able to learn from similar case studies and use critical thinking and
forecasting.
22. What structures can help leaders engage
with ESD?
To recap:
Collaboration is key
Systems must operate to allow diverse
groups to interact; breakdown the silos
Focus on critical challenges
Priorities must be set to tackle most
critical challenges first
Support for change
Leaders must operate in institutions that
allow for change – the status quo must
be questioned
23. We can’t wait for a new generation of
leaders!
Leaders across all sectors need to
start engaging with ESD today –
right now!
24. We can’t wait for a new generation of
leaders!
Leaders across all sectors need to
start engaging with ESD today –
right now!
Why?
25. We can’t wait for a new generation of
leaders!
Leaders across all sectors need to
start engaging with ESD today –
right now!
Why?
Life expectancy and material
aspirations continue to rise around
the world
26. We can’t wait for a new generation of
leaders!
Leaders across all sectors need to
start engaging with ESD today –
right now!
Why?
Life expectancy and material
aspirations continue to rise around
the world
GHG emissions tend to be higher
among the most educated and
powerful
27. We can’t wait for a new generation of
leaders!
Leaders across all sectors need to
start engaging with ESD today –
right now!
Why?
Life expectancy and material
aspirations continue to rise around
the world
GHG emissions tend to be higher
among the most educated and
powerful
Adaptation is the key to good
leadership
28. Remember, “Once you are through
learning, you’re through…”
Will Rogers (1879-1935)
Notes de l'éditeur
Many theorists maintain that leaders operate in a way that they preserve the status quo, and thus preserve their own power and prestige; however, leaders and institutions are adaptable if they are in the right operating environment, which often times means public support for a new idea (Nixon example)
Leaders don’t operate in a vacuum – they need certain conditions for their leadership to thrive.
H.E. Ms. Tarja Kaarina Halonen, former President of the Republic of Finland and Co-Chair of the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Global Sustainability at the World Leaders Investment Summit
Often, sustainability problems are considered ‘wicked problems’ and therefore create particularly challenging environments for leaders to operate in
Gordon, J. C., & Berry, J. K. (2006). Environmental leadership equals essential leadership: redefining who leads and how. Yale University Press.
When a subject is described without reference to the sampling or methodological limitations, it can be misleading; also, mis-information can spread just as quickly as accurate information, making spreading accurate information difficult. Leaders not longer have as great an edge on information.
The rise in market capitalism and democracy has given many more people the notion that they are stakeholders in activities that previously seemed remote and unimportant. Most people feel they can or should influence policy with their vote, and be able to vote with their money in the market place. Furthermore, more decision on how to act lead to decision fatigue, which is associated with poorer judgement.
The issue of “leakage” – for example, if a leader is focused on growing the job market, but does not take into account ecological limits with natural resources, the leadership is not sustainable – this is often what happens because leaders tend to think in the short to medium term; we all contribute to this type of thinking with our own behavior
GlobeScan and SustainAbility have tracked expert opinions on sustainable development leadership for more than 20 years.
Perception is different than reality, however, it is a useful indicator when same actors have same perception
907 Sustainability Experts from 84 countries polled on April 21, 2016
The most educated people also tend to have the largest ecological footprints
Why do you think it is important for a leader to engage with each one of these points?
This takes practice – and often, the best way to learn is to teach!
Need way to get teacher’s activities into laws – make sure we are addressing sustainability in education systems but also in how all decision makers evaluate options
Shift from small activities (recycling) to big activities (what kind of house to buy, how to participate in urban planning, campaign for alternative energy)
ESD still on sidelines, need to make it a part of everyday life, like economics
Adults need to change too – schools can’t do this; maybe public education programs? Japanese adults use much fewer resources than American adults
This is adapted from “The Change Leadership Sustainability Demands,” by Christoph Lueneburger and Daniel Goleman, which appeared in the Summer 2010 issue of MIT Sloan Management Review. Copyright (C) Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2010. All rights reserved.
Leaders aren’t only living longer, they are staying in power longer; furthermore, all of our aspirations continue to grow as technology changes and markets grow. If leaders want to meaningfully engage with sustainable development, they need to stay abreast of the latest trends and be mindful that they could be leading their organizations for a significant amount of time. Standards of living have changed, and leaders need to recognize this is not sustainable.
Leaders take up more than their fair share of resources, and since they are staying in power longer, they need to learn about how to decrease emissions now, not wait for new leaders to take over.
Being a good leader means being able to adapt to the reality of the situation you are faced with and inspire others to do the same.