Petra Molthan-Hill

Food for Thought: A University-Wide Approach to Stimulate Curricular and Extracurricular ESD Activity

Sustainability and Higher Education have been the focus of much recent academic and professional research as there has been a growing expectation that Higher Education institutions will produce ‘sustainability-literate graduates’ (Lacy et al. in A new era of sustainability. U.N. Global Compact-Accenture CEO Study, 2010; Sky in The sustainable generation: the sky future leaders study, 2011; Scott et al. in Turnaround leadership for sustainability in higher education, 2012) and a growing demand from students for future-proof skills (Drayson et al. in Student attitudes towards and skills for sustainable development. NUS/HEA, 2012). The process of embedding Education for Sustainable Development into curriculum is however challenging, and for some disciplines more than others. This paper examines how Nottingham Trent University has adopted a unique approach to centre the development of Education for Sustainable Development around the specific topic of food. The paper will share the model for engaging students and staff members across an institution with sustainability using a unifying theme which constitutes a critical global challenge of relevance to all disciplines. Details will be given of the process and challenges of the approach which has sought to facilitate personal, disciplinary and inter-disciplinary sustainability literacy. The approach has been largely successful in its aim of developing new processes and content to lead to the embedding of Education for Sustainable Development across the formal and informal curriculum as well as the institutional culture.

Academic Freedom, Bureaucracy and Procedures: The Challenge of Curriculum Development for Sustainability

In 2013, a group of colleagues at Nottingham Trent University (NTU)—a large UK HEI—was tasked with embedding sustainability throughout the institution. The options available to us were manifold, as were the challenges. In this chapter, we discuss these challenges and how we addressed them. This involved delivering an internal online course in four sessions, offered to all NTU students (over 25,000), addressing the main elements of sustainability using relevant issues in nearly 100 disciplines, from Astrophysics to Business to Decorative Arts. After completing the online course, our students have the opportunity to submit an assignment in order to obtain the Sustainability in Practice (SiP) certificate in addition to their degree. The assignment requires them to create either a video, a poster or a mood board, in which they reflect how their discipline engages with food and sustainability. In the next iteration, the focus of the assignment will switch to how their discipline helps to solve sustainability challenges. As we enter our third year of operation, this and other improvements will be highlighted, along with the underlying rationale.

The moral muteness of managers An Anglo-American phenomenon? German and British managers and their moral reasoning about environmental sustainability in business

Several studies in the Anglo-American context have indicated that managers present themselves as morally neutral employees who act only in the best interest of the company by employing objective skills. The reluctance of managers to use moral arguments in business is further accentuated in the now common argument presented as a neutral fact that the company must always prioritise shareholder value. These and other commercial aims are seen as an objective reality in business, whilst questions about sustainability, environmental problems or fair trade are seen as emotional or moral ones; a phenomenon described as ‘moral muteness’. This research explores whether this moral muteness is an Anglo-American phenomenon and/or whether managers in other countries – in this case Germany – might express themselves in a different way. The focus is on moral arguments around environmental sustainability and the implications of this study for cross-cultural management. This article is based on a qualitative, comparative cross-cultural study of British and German managers in the food retail and energy sectors. In line with the studies mentioned above, British managers placed a strong emphasis on their moral neutrality. In contrast, German managers tended to use moral arguments when discussing corporate greening, often giving such arguments more weight than financial arguments. Overall, the study suggests that the moral muteness of managers is a British phenomenon and quite distinct from the German approach. The article ends in a short exploration of how this understanding can help managers better manage people, organisations and change across cultures.

Supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals: reconceptualising a ‘sustainable development assessment tool’ for the health and care system in England

Aim: As one of the biggest organisations in the world, the National Health Service (NHS) in England can contribute considerably to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN’s SDGs). In order to optimise this, this study evaluated and reconceptualised a sustainable development assessment tool for health and care settings in England. Methods: A quantitative survey and user/expert discussion panels were conducted to evaluate and reconceptualise the existing sustainable development assessment tool used by the NHS in England, the so-called ‘Good Corporate Citizenship Assessment Tool’, including potential improvements such as the integration of the UN’s SDGs. Results: A reconceptualised self-assessment tool integrating the UN’s SDGs was developed and implemented online as the ‘Sustainable Development Assessment Tool’ (SDAT). Further improvements included a process-oriented redesign and the creation of new modules and cross-sections aligning them with the leads responsible for the implementation of key initiatives in NHS organisations, which would contribute to achieving the targets of the SDGs. Conclusion: User/expert involvement has enabled an informed approach to a reconceptualisation of a sustainable assessment tool for health and care settings. The tool will support organisations to build their mandatory Sustainable Development Management Plans, as part of the National Public Health Outcomes Framework. Alignment of the tool to the UN’s SDGs provides an opportunity for health and care organisations to demonstrate accountability and progress against the UN’s set of transformational goals. Furthermore, the tool could be adapted to other public service providers.

Embedding CSR within the undergraduate business curriculum: the development of a sustainable organisation module

This chapter examines the development and implementation of a sustainability module at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) in the UK and assesses how this is embedded within the undergraduate business curriculum. The objectives are to explain the background to the development of the module in the context of the University as a whole and to examine the issues and potential benefits concerning its implementation. The chapter explores how sustainability can be integrated effectively within the curriculum and focuses on a module for the academic year 2011/2012 ‘The Sustainable Organisation’ (SO) and its underlying principles from the perspectives of members of the module team. It also reflects on previous and concurrent modules incorporating sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR). The modules connections with industry and related research will also be discussed within the chapter. In conclusion, the wider implications of offering the SO module within a business school will be assessed.

A University Wide Approach to Embedding the Sustainable Development Goals in the Curriculum—A Case Study from the Nottingham Trent University’s Green Academy

Since 2015, governments, businesses and civil society, together with the United Nations have been encouraged to work towards seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (United Nations, 2017). In this context, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have a special responsibility to embrace the SDGs as they educate the decision-maker of tomorrow. The aim of this paper is to give practical examples of how to embed the SDGs in the curriculum of an HEI by outlining the process of integrating the SDGs into the core curriculum at Nottingham Trent University (NTU). This includes, among others; a Future Thinking Learning Room: an innovative online resource library, discipline specific approaches, the use of the estate as a ‘Living Lab’, community case studies and investing in staff development. As a result, ESD no longer needs to be an afterthought when it comes to curriculum content, allowing it to be an easily achievable priority across all academic departments. This chapter may be of interest to those looking for inspiration and ways to embed the SDGs within Higher Education and beyond.

Practical challenges and digital learning: getting the balance right for future-thinking

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a food-themed project at Nottingham Trent University, the Sustainability in Practice (SiP) Certificate, which has adopted a supra-disciplinary approach involving a collaborative enquiry into food sustainability through a flexible online course open to all staff and students. Design/methodology/approach The paper will describe the pedagogical approach of the certificate’s online and offline components, the various activities undertaken by participants and the digital tools used to encourage collaboration and skills development. Reflection on participant feedback is incorporated, and special attention is given to how the design of SiP equips students with the skills needed to solve sustainable challenges. Findings Feedback from previous participants indicated that despite high engagement in the SiP online discussion forums, there was a desire to go beyond theoretical discussion; students wanted to get actively involved in some practical challenges. “Sustainability Challenge Days” are therefore now offered and comprise in-person discussion, volunteering and collaborative group learning to complement the online course. This practice element as well as the crowdsourcing of sustainable solutions within SiP are described in detail in this paper. Research limitations/implications Although estimately 1,000 students have taken the SiP to date, SiP Challenge Day was only piloted this year, following recommendations by student focus groups in 2014 and 2015. Focus groups have not yet been undertaken for the 2015/2016 cohort. The feedback included in this paper is based only on students who participated in the Challenge Days. Analysis of the feedback forms indicates that the 2015/2016 SiP Challenge Days have constituted a promising pilot project, and, therefore, organisation of Challenge Days for the next academic year is already in progress, with two additional themes already in placed. Practical implications The SiP Challenge Day events have provided the opportunities for students from across all disciplines to discuss, collaborate and thus find solutions to a contemporary sustainability topic: food scarcity and accessibility. Hence, it has facilitated inter and supradisciplinary learning, a skill that is seldom available in a conventional lecture and/or seminar teaching environment. Social implications Activities in the SiP Challenge Day events included group discussions, team working and presentations. Some of the feedback received from students have included how they have enjoyed exchanging ideas from colleagues in different schools and culture, as the exchange have had them to consider different opinions and perspectives from other disciplines, culturally. Originality/value While a focus on sustainability within higher education curriculum is on the increase, it is still usual for universities to adopt a mono-disciplinary approach to addressing sustainability. This paper illustrates how using the digital world, higher education institutions can adopt a supra-disciplinary approach to facilitate students in addressing real-world sustainability problems. Additionally, how practical sessions can complement students’ digital learning in sustainability is also included in this paper.

Addressing Food Waste Through University and Community Partnerships

The sustainability of local and global food systems is a significant challenge with far-reaching implications for all. The purpose of this paper, which addresses the specific issue of food waste, is to offer replicable practices from five different projects which aimed to reduce or reuse food waste. These were partnership projects between university staff, students and local organisations to facilitate extra-curricular student activity, support students’ sustainability literacy, and to contribute towards creating sustainable communities. Projects included a ‘Super Kitchen’, where food destined for waste was used to create nutritious meals, a ‘Feeding the 5000’ event in partnership with a local Council and three other projects. The paper details findings from the project evaluations to explore student participation rates, motivation, and student awareness of food waste issues as well as reflections on the most effective aspects of project design for student appeal. The projects themselves contributed to the reduction of local food waste and the majority of participants reported that the projects transformed their perceptions of food waste. The paper may be of interest to academics and researchers interested in student perceptions of sustainability and of particular interest to those looking to establish their own sustainability-themed partnership projects.