Jasmin Godemann

Developing Key Competencies for Sustainable Development in Higher Education

Purpose – To date, little attention has been given to the circumstances in which developing key competencies for sustainable development may take place. Within higher education, the possibilities both of formal and informal learning and their relationship to competence development should be considered.Design/methodology/approach – Based on focus groups an explorative, qualitative study was designed, using different groups from formal and informal learning settings.Findings – The development of key competencies is based both on cognitive and non-cognitive dispositions and asks for multiple contexts. Through combining formal and informal learning settings within higher education – as part of a new learning culture – a variety of contexts can be given and competence development can be enhanced.Research limitations – While aspects of both formal and informal learning settings could be identified, the interdependencies between them remain elusive.Practical implications (if applicable) – Based on the findings, some main aspects can be pointed out that may be crucial for competence development in higher education settings.Originality/value – The paper analyses the implications of new ways for both formal and informal learning settings for developing key competencies within higher education. Particular attention is given to interdisciplinarity and students’ self-responsibility.

Higher education and sustainable development Exploring possibilities for organisational change

Purpose - – This paper seeks to create the context within which research into how higher education institutions (HEIs) might engage with the goal of sustainable development. In particular, the paper outlines the context in which papers in a special section on this topic might be understood as well as developing propositions for how a research focus might emerge in this area. The paper, therefore, seeks to contribute to discussions about whether, under which circumstances and how social accountability and engagement processes focusing on sustainable development might trigger, frame and/or promote change processes in HEIs. The papers that compose this special section are also introduced and future research avenues offered. Design/methodology/approach - – Literature review Findings - – Despite a dearth of literature in the area of HEI responsiveness to sustainable development (and leaving side education/learning and research for sustainable development), numerous points of intersection exist. Foremost among these is the role of HEIs as shapers of the values of society (and a place for debates about these values). In addition, HEIs are substantive organisations with sustainable development impacts. The paper suggests, however, that understanding HEIs and self-consciously seeking change in their activities has to seriously engage with the characterisation of these organisations as loosely coupled systems. Originality/value - – The paper discusses the distinctive characteristics of HEIs and considers the higher education context as a challenging case to explore the capacity of social accountability and stakeholder engagement to foster change towards the goal of sustainable development.

Transferability of approaches to sustainable development at universities as a challenge

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to outline the particular character of the research and development project “Sustainable University – Sustainable development in the Context of University Remits” which lies both in its integrative perspective on universities and the attempt to transfer its findings onto other higher education institutions.Design/methodology/approach – The paper describes the testing and further development of transdisciplinary research methods (transformative approach, scenario development) for the purpose of both exploring and testing potentials/capabilities for sustainable development of a single institution (case study: University of Luneburg, Germany) against the backdrop of sustainability concept; and making this kind of development transferable to other universities. The paper offers additional reinforcement of strategic scope/effectiveness by means of reference to findings of higher education research (e.g. relevance of neo‐institutionalism)Findings – There is empirical evide...

Internet-supported sustainability reporting: developments in Germany

Purpose – The paper aims to explore trends in the use of internet‐supported sustainability reporting for German DAX30 companies. Particular focus is to be given to the question of the extent that these companies use the more effective internet‐specific methods of provision, accessibility, comprehensibility and dialogue compared to print‐based reporting systems in the dissemination of information to, and communication with, stakeholders.Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on data from three studies in 2004, 2005 and 2007. The research is based on quantitative content analysis from these studies and on an additional e‐mail survey in 2005.Findings – Analysis shows an overall increase in the use of internet‐specific approaches on sustainability web sites between 2004 and 2007. Particular attention has been paid to developments to improve the access and comprehensibility of information on sustainability. There remains a great deal of potential for improvement in the use of tools for stakeholder dialo...

Towards a ?Sustainable University?: scenarios for sustainable university development

Universities are key actors in sustainable development by generating new knowledge as well as contributing to the development of appropriate competencies and raising sustainability awareness. Within a project called ‘Sustainable University’ at the Leuphana University of LA¼neburg (Germany), a scenario analysis was carried out in order to think structurally about both the challenges that universities could face in the long run and to establish what chances and problems might arise in future from implementing an orientation towards sustainable development. This analysis results in the characterisation of a ‘Higher Education Landscape 2035’ consisting of eight clusters of possible future developments. This paper describes the process of inter- and trans-disciplinary scenario development, gives an overview of the scenarios identified, and finally discusses the adaptability of the LA¼neburg idea of a sustainable university to the future system of higher education.

Sustainability Communication – An Introduction

The development of the term sustainability communication is accompanied by the call for responsible human interaction with the natural and social environment. This entails a process of social understanding that deals with the causes and with possible solutions. The task of sustainability communication is to critically evaluate and introduce an understanding of the human-environment relationship into social discourse. Alongside defining and providing a theoretical framework for mutual understanding, this chapter will describe issues, concepts and methods relating to sustainability communication.

Sustainability Communication: An Integrative Approach

Sustainability communication is a relatively new concept. Its roots can be found in a number of different discourses, such as environmental, risk and science communication. On the one hand these discourses show a number of similarities, for example a similar thematic focus and the central role of the media. There are however clear differences concerning their theoretical foundations, political reach and respective actors. This contribution argues that sustainability communication should be seen as an integrative approach uniting the core elements of a number of different communication perspectives.

Sustainability reporting in the German banking sector during the financial crisis

This article investigates the sustainability reporting practice of the ten largest German banks during the financial crisis in 2008/2009. It is motivated by the wider debate about the irresponsible behaviour of banks which has resulted in the fraying of the social fabric between the banking sector and society and has created an atmosphere of deep distrust due to the failure of ensuring correct business governance and accountability. The article adopts two frameworks used in the wider analysis of sustainability reporting and sustainable banking research to explore the focus and nature of sustainability disclosure in print- and online-based reporting during the financial crisis. It finds four different approaches to sustainability reporting and discusses strategies to foster improvements in sustainability reporting in the banking sector and the rebuilding of the publics confidence. The significance of the findings is considered both for the notion of responsibility in the wider terms of the relation between sustainability and the banking sector and for the reporting strategies of individual banks.

Responsible management education

In diesem Beitrag werden nationale und internationale Entwicklungen zu Responsible Management Education (RME) sowie die Ziele und Inhalte einer der führenden und von den Vereinten Nationen unterstützten Initiativen zu RME, die Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) vorgestellt. Der Beitrag erörtert, inwieweit sich die Diskussion um eine verantwortungsvolle Managementbildung innerhalb der deutschen betriebswirtschaftlichen Bildungslandschaft niederschlägt.

Sustainable Communication as an Inter- and Transdisciplinary Discipline

The goal of sustainability communication is to generate knowledge in inter- or transdisciplinary research processes and then have it enter the public discussion. The following chapter discusses the basic terms ‘interdisciplinarity’ and ‘transdisciplinarity’ and reflects upon the results of collaboration within heterogeneous groups. The challenge is that such communication processes must achieve understanding between individuals who – in regards to the object of communication – have systematically different scientific perspectives and everyday points of view. Finally inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration is characterised as social learning and an argument is made for the creation of frameworks that enable such a form of collaboration.