Education for Sustainable Development and Skills Development for Employability: Lessons from the Private Sector1

Dr. Rupert Maclean Chair, Professor of International Education Director, Centre for Lifelong Learning Research and Development, Hong Kong Institute of Education Former Director, UNESCO UNEVOC International Centre, Bonn, Germany

ABSTRACT
UNESCO works primarily through establishing collaborative relationships between countries and by catalysing partnerships with governments, civil society groups and the private sector. The UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Education is the body responsible for supporting education, training and capacity building for sustainable development in relation to the world of work. This paper presents how UNESCO-UNEVOC are involved and collaborating, particularly with the private sector in supporting education, training and capacity building for sustainable development. Case studies and various examples on Corporate Services Responsibility (CSR) policies and practices in which business and industry are promoting worker and community health using education, training and capacity building as modalities for CSR and as part of their sustainable development strategy are also highlighted in this paper. Environmental, social and related responsibilities related to their tasks and the companys wider operations are some of the focal areas being undertaken in the corporate training programmes for all employees integral to the companys CSR activities. This paper also discusses examples directly related to education, training and capacity building for sustainable development in and through corporate assistance to the formal education sector. society groups and the private sector. Thus, there are many intellectual, commercial, ethical and practical NESCO is not a development agency that challenges faced in exploring the contributions of funds anti-poverty projects. That is the Business to the Millennium Development Goals, role of bodies such as the UN Development concerning the concepts and tools we need to meet Programme. The World Health Organisation and those challenges. the International Labour Organisation, UNESCO is a standard setting organisation and a catalyst to WORK AND THE MILLENNIUM innovation for sustainable human development. DEVELOPMENT GOALS UNESCO works primarily through establishing collaborative relationships between countries and The world of work those who create employment by catalysing partnerships with governments, civil opportunities, the employees and workers themselves,

INTRODUCTION

This presentation is based on a chapter by Rupert Maclean and John Fien which is published as Chapter 11 Education for Sustainable Development: Lessons from the Private Sector, in Masemann, V., Majhanovich, S., Truong, N. And Janigan, K. (Eds.) (2010), A Tribute to David Wilson: Clamouring for a Better World, Sense Publishers, Rotterdam and Taiwan. 30 | Section 1 -PLENARY SESSIONS: Global ESD Enablers and Barriers in TVET

and the educators and trainers who provide the skills needed for employability are central to achieving sustainable development. At its base level, achieving sustainable development means achieving the targets in the Millennium Development Goals agreed by all countries in the world at the special September 2000 session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Skilled workers are central to achieving all the eight goals and associated targets in the Millennium Development Goals (Box 1). The Millennium Development Goals include: halving extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education and gender equity, reducing under-five mortality and maternal mortality by twothirds and three-quarters respectively, reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS, halving the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water, and ensuring environmental sustainability. They also include the goal of developing a global partnership for development, with targets for aid, trade, and debt relief.

Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women Target 4: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and to all levels of education no later than 2015 Goal 4: Reduce child mortality Target 5: Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate Goal 5: Improve maternal health Target 6: Reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases Target 7: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS

As a strategic vision, the Millennium Development Target 8: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse Goals are steps towards a longer-term vision of the incidence of malaria and other major building human, social, economic and environmental diseases capital, especially in developing countries. However, maintaining and building social, economic and Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability environmental capital depends upon human capital Target 9: Integrate the principles of sustainable - and upon the institutions for technical, vocational development into country policies and education and training (TVET) that develop workprogrammes and reverse the loss of ready human capital that is the engine for sustainable environmental resources development over the long run. Target 10: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking Box 1: The Millennium Development Goals water Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Target 11: By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers

Target 1: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for than one dollar a day Development Target 2: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from Target 12: Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading hunger and financial system Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education Target 3: Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling Target 13: Address the Special Needs of the Least Developed Countries Target14: Address the Special Needs of landlocked

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countries and small island developing States Target 15: Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long term Target 16: In co-operation with developing countries, develop and implement strategies for decent and productive work for youth Target17: In co-operation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable, essential drugs in developing countries

A key outcome of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development was the establishment of a special United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, from 2005 to 2014, with primary goal of making sustainable development central to education and training, across all sectors, by refining and promoting the transition to a sustainable future through all forms of education, public awareness and training. UNESCO was designated the lead UN agency for the Decade and has catalysed key initiatives in all parts of the world.

The UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Education1 is the body responsible for supporting education, training and capacity building for sustainable development in relation to the world of work. One of its early initiatives was to convene an Target 18: In co-operation with the private sector, International Experts Meeting on Learning for Work, make available the benefits of new Citizenship and Sustainability in 2004 to prepare technologies, especially information and for the United Nations Decade of Education for communications. Sustainable Development. This meeting recognised the need for new paradigms of both development and (Source: United Nations, 2000) learning for the world of work,and declared education and training for and through the workplace to be the Achieving the MDGs necessitates action on issues master key that can alleviate poverty, promote peace, such as poverty, hunger, education, gender equality, conserve the environment, improve the quality of life child and maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS, safe for all and help achieve sustainable development. water, upgrading slums, and global partnerships for development that include technology The responsibilities of national systems for Technical transfer. Effective TVET is integral to finding and and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) implementing solutions to all of these issues. In in advancing sustainable development through this way, TVET underpins every one of the MDG workforce development were discussed at followand the achievement of sustainable development. up meetings in Thailand (2005) Bahrain (2005) It is impossible to think of making gains in poverty and Vietnam (2006). With our partner, InWEnt, reduction, job creation, health or environmental UNESCO-UNEVOC is now beginning to engage concerns without a focused TVET policy, and it is very closely with the private sector to explore ways equally true that a well-articulated and focused TVET in which education and training for sustainable policy can lead to huge improvements in education, development can be integrated into their training gender equality and living conditions. Much of the and capacity building endeavours in corporate improvement in human welfare over the last century environmental management and corporate social is due to technological innovation in the fields of responsibility. public health, nutrition, and agriculture. These improvements have reduced mortality rates and improved life expectancy. Similarly, improvements 1 Rupert Maclean was Director of the UNESCO-UNEVOC in areas such as environmental management will also International Centre for TVET for eight years until March increasingly rely on the generation and application of 2009, and so was personally closely involved with the new knowledge. In essence, implementing the MDGs positioning of ESD within UNESCO-UNEVOC and will require the development of appropriate forms of UNESCO particularly with regard to education for the world of work and skills development for employability. Technical and Vocational Education.

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As Michael Hopkins argues in his 2007 book on The case studies they presented included activities CSR and International Development - Is Business the such as: Solution?: providing corporate training programmes for employees, Improving peoples skills in a myriad of ways is undoubtedly the best way to create sustainable development. Education, training, skill development, capacity development are all aspects of the same issue . There is no substitute. (p. 14) Thus, a UNESCO-APEID paper identified that: Many initiatives undertaken by businesses and their partners in the area of sustainable development can contribute considerably to the area of Education for Sustainable Development. In particular, sustainable business models resulting in the improvement of the quality of local life, sustainable supply chain management, corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and development of local sustainable development initiatives could inform educational practices of business schools, training provided by companies, labour unions, NGOs and other businessrelated organizations. (2006, p. 1) In order to draw lessons from the private sectors work in this area, this presentation will provide some highlights from case studies of the activities of companies with a strong record of engagement of engagement in education and training for sustainable development. The case studies were presented by companies and organizations that participated in a meeting in Bonn in May 2007, and included:
Untouched World Foundation DaimlerChrysler National Health Service (UK) D. Swarovski & Co Wuppertal Institute Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production CISCO Systems Cap Gemini Newmont Mining Corp Frauenhofer Institute Shell Garment 10 Joint Stock Company Vocational Training Institute of the Construction Industry, North Rhine Westphalia World Business Council for Sustainable Development

establishing training programmes for clients and employees of firms along their supply chains, partnering local organizations and NGOs to provide community development and education programmes, and assisting schools, TVET institutions and universities with sustainability related teaching.

This presentation will provide some examples of these activities as well examples of other companies that UNESCO is linking with. It will also discuss a range of issues that have emerged from a meta-analysis of these case studies, including: the motivations, opportunities and drivers underlying private sector involvement in education and training for sustainable development,the corporate and broader sustainability benefits it brings,the barriers faced and ways in which they are addressed, and lessons for other firms to guide their future involvement in education and training for sustainable development.

THE UNESCO-UNEVOC INTERNATIONAL CENTRE

The UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training assists UNESCOs 193 member states strengthen and upgrade their TVET systems. UNEVOC is driven by three concerns: The acquisition of skills for work, and for citizenship and sustainability, is crucial for economic and social development because, after all, 80% of the worlds workforce use technical and vocational skills in their work Ideally, TVET should be relevant to the needs of the labour market, be of high quality, and broadly accessible to all. However, this ideal is not being met in many countries and so UNESCOUNEVOC gives priority to working with those with the greatest need: developing nations, economies in transition, and those in a postconflict situation.
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UNESCO-UNEVOC particularly focuses on contributing to overarching UNESCO goals in TVET. These are to assist member states improve and integrate TVET as part of the global Education for All Campaign, and also to assist the alignment of TVET with the tenets of sustainable development. UNESCO-UNEVOC is also the hub of a worldwide network of over 250 key organisations and institutions specialising in TVET in 166 countries worldwide. UNEVOC Centres act as focal points for the dissemination of the ideas discussed in meetings such as ours, and as key institutions for local, national and regional training on the skills needed for implementing them. And it is in regional and international meetings of UNEVOC Centres that UNESCO learns about the needs and concerns of different countries in this area and convenes meetings to begin the process of developing ideas for responding to them, sharing good practice between countries, and working with partners to build capacity where it is needed.

Physical dangers: safety clothing Food in workplace canteens Psychological problems (values in the workplace)

Our discussions on the contributions that the corporate sector is already making identified several areas: Promoting a healthy workplace Supporting staff through health insurance Health education in the workplace Health education in the community

These examples of modalities through which business and industry are promoting worker and community health are, in fact, examples of sound CSR policy and practice. Let me now progress into the body of my paper and outline examples of ways in which various companies are using education, training and capacity building as modalities for CSR as part of their sustainable development strategy.

An example - the area of health involves the need to train people to work in the environmental health sector which has been identified as a key priority, especially by developing countries. Health is chosen since when it comes to thinking about sustainable development and the workplace, we can draw lessons from the UNEVOC experience of stimulating education, training and capacity building in the area of health and work.

Corporate training programmes for employees

The training of staff in environmental, social and related responsibilities related to their tasks and the companys wider operations is the most fundamental of all CSR activities. However, sustainability training is also vital to broader industry sustainability.

For example, the construction industry in the North Rhine Westphalia region of Germany comprises over 500 hundred companies. The industry association In May 2008, UNESCO-UNEVOC and WHO, recognizes the challenges posed by looming energy along with other partners, co-hosted a conference on shortages, climate change and the need for energy Health in the Workplace. We identified a number of efficiency in buildings. It also recognises the business very important areas of concern about health in the opportunities in responding to the fact that 75 per workplace that are relevant to our focus on sustainable cent of Germanys building stock was built before development. For example: 1949 and is, therefore, highly energy inefficient. Clean air (dust; toxic chemicals, cigarette smoking etc.) There is a popular German slogan, that the country Clean water Sanitation & personal hygiene practices: adequate toilet facilities; hand-washing etc. HIV/AIDS Disposal of chemicals, garbage etc. aspires to the 3-litre house, i.e. a house that consumes three litres of oil per cubic metre per year. At the present time, the average German residence is consuming 18 litres of oil per cubic metre per year. As a result, the construction industry has intervened in the curriculum of the Vocational Training Institute of

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the Construction Industry, North Rhine Westphalia with a goal of Sustainable development education for every apprentice, trainer, expert and member company. Thus, it is now compulsory for all in the industry to understand:

emphasis on assisting workers to know their own rights, to protect themselves, as well as training in dispute resolution and communications. As the 2006 UNESCO-APEID report on the corporate sector and education for sustainable development states, These How to use the right materials in order to avoid types of skills are entirely consistent with the skills required for engaging in the challenges of sustainable unnecessary energy consumption development (p. 24). The transnational textile, How to behave and work to minimise energy clothing and footwear companies operating in China consumption are world leaders in this field. Take the example of How to identify, source and use new, more Reebok for example. efficient materials to save energy Reebok organises training workshops in its It is a similar case in the Vietnam textile industry. worldwide network of factories on issues such as For example, the Garment 10 Joint Stock Company, strengthening compliance with standards for nonGarco10, is a leader in environmental training for discrimination, acceptable working hours, no forced its employees. The company employs 7,500 workers or compulsory labour, fair wages, no child labour, across 13 factories in six provinces and has a turnover freedom of association, non-harassment and safe of $US85 million, manufacturing clothing for and healthy working environments. Outside experts companies such as Perry Ellis, Colombia, J. C. Penney, and NGOS are commissioned to help worker Gap, Van Heusen, Walmart and K-Mart. Recognising representatives understand their rights and to improve the need to integrate into global standards, especially their communication and problem solving skills. since Vietnam joined the World Trade Organisation, Garco10 has obtained ISO9001 certification for Toyota provides an example of training along the quality and management, ISO14001 for environment supply chain in the more economically developed protection, and SA8000 for social responsibility world in that Toyota collaborates with the for employees. Training is central to all these; thus Coordinating Committee for Automotive Repair Garco10 runs its own training academy for 500 new (CCAR) to host a website called CCAR-GreenLink. employees each year, with social and environmental This website provides their dealers with environmental responsibility as part of the core curriculum. information and compliance assistance related to requirements for the storage and disposal of their waste steam materials, the way to implement their Corporate training programmes for own waste management programs and other ways employees of firms along their supply of operating their businesses in an environmentally chains to ensure they have the capacity to responsible manner. Additional support is provided achieve corporate sustainability goals through a telephone hotline and newsletters. A key feature of a globalised economy is outsourced production with many companies now having very complex supply chains, often involving the employment of workers in developing countries where industrial and environmental standards are lower than in a companys home base, but also where opportunities for investment and employment to enhance human development are immense.

Partnering local organizations and NGOs to provide community development and education programmes

For companies to operate sustainably, there is a need for the communities in which their operations are located to appreciate the companies goals and to have the skills, themselves, for sustainable community However, the traditional ways of handling such issues, development. This is not only part of the licence e.g. by codes of conduct and factory inspections, are to operate but also a way in which to ensure that not working well. Thus, much effort is now going employees and their families and communities into management and employee training with an can obtain maximum benefit from local economic
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development. Here are three examples of corporate sector involvement in promoting sustainable community development. Shell is a major stakeholder in the Sakhalin Energy Investment Company (SEIC). Despite its vast oil and gas reserves and the significant economic, social and environmental transformations the oil and gas industry has brought, Sakhalin characterised by: limited understanding and acceptance of the aims and activities of the oil and gas industry, among wide sectors of the public; widespread mistrust and suspicion towards foreign companies; limited experience and capacity of key social actors in Sakhalin to effectively address the challenges posed by the activities and impacts of the oil and gas industry; very limited knowledge about (or experience of) sustainable development; very limited tradition of civil society participation in decision-making on development issues; and very limited experience of government consultation on development issues.

different stakeholder groups associated with the impacts of the oil and gas industry in the North Sea, during the past 35 years or so. Small pilot-projects to enable different stakeholder groups (among which there is little experience of cooperation) to learn to work together to design, implement and monitor modest local projects based on multi-stakeholder consensus and joint responsibility.

Three other case studies of corporate engagement in sustainable community development projects include: Adaro Envirocoal: Adaros mining and port activities in South Kalimantan are supported by a community education and development programme that includes equipping schools and hospitals, staff training, and scholarships for high school, agricultural college and university study. Adaro also provides training and loans to support the establishment of farming and plantation activities, aquaculture, automotive and light engineering and local cooperatives. These are supported by a procurement policy optimizing the use of local goods and services, thus ensuring market viability in the initial phases of development. H & M: In Cambodia, H & M organises a HIV/ AIDS Awareness and Prevention Program. Activities include health promotion session, and training of 300 peer educators providing education to 3000 factory employees on the issues of HIV/AIDS and reproductive health. BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgerte GmbH: In Germany, BSH organizes the Yolante Women Engineering Training Programme to train women to be ready for working in the field of engineering through mentoring programme and personal development programme. In South Africa, BSH supports the Buskaid Soweto String Project that provides musical training for students in classical music forms as well as their own composition and interpretations of traditional and modern African forms. In Turkey, the firm has developed a highly trained rescue team to assist community organizations develop skills in managing disasters and providing assistance to victims. Firefighters at the BSH Fire Department also hold training sessions for schools to raise public awareness of fire prevention techniques to improve safety at school and at home.

Shell engaged the UK NGO, Living Earth Foundation (LEF) to assist with such issues. LEF carried out public initial introductory presentations to mixed audiences of local and regional government officials, academics, local entrepreneurs, students and representatives of the oil and gas industry. These activities centred on basic concepts and principles of sustainable development. In parallel, LEF started engaging staff at Sakhalin State University (SSU) to work together to promote sustainable development on Sakhalin. In 2005-2006, LEF and SSU implemented an initial education for sustainable development (ESD) project with 24 local and regional government officials of Sakhalin. The course has involved: Practical skills for multi-stakeholder dialogue, negotiation and consensus-building. Practical exercises and field trips to explore stakeholders concerns and promote consultation and shared reflection in decision-making processes. A learning visit to the UK by key Sakhalin stakeholders to share the experiences with

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4. Assisting schools, TVET institutions and universities with sustainability related teaching
This is an area where many companies have been working for a long time. Here are three examples directly related to education, training and capacity building for sustainable development in and through corporate assistance to the formal education sector. Newmont Gold Australia: Newmonts Indigenous programs in remote areas of Australia are based upon a sustainable and effective Indigenous training and employment strategy. Newmont has developed a comprehensive programme of pre-vocational and mine access training, guaranteeing successful graduates a job with Newmont upon completion. These are based upon key principles, including: development of a culturally appropriate literacy and numeracy assessment tool; engagement of land councils and Traditional Owners in participant selection and program evaluation; and, participant, supervisor, and post-graduate mentoring to ensure strong retention rates. The programme also involved Cross Cultural Awareness training to assist in providing a culturally safe work environment for Indigenous employees with the objective of creating a culturally competent and culturally safe work place.As well as providing direct employment in the company (or through its contractors), Newmont supports local Indigenous business enterprises through partnerships that deliver sustainable benefits to local communities.

BP is embedding environmental education in Chinas national school curriculum through teacher training, pilot schools that test new materials and approaches and 21 environmental education centres at teacher training universities. In June 2005, a 10-year, $16-million commitment was made to the BP Energy and Environmental Programme to provide education and training to emerging leaders in the fields of conservation and development.

HK Electric Holdings Ltd: HK Electric runs Education Tours on Renewable Energy for students in Hong Kong in partnership with the Education & Manpower Bureau of the HKSAR Government under the School-Business Partnership Programme. HK Electric is one of more than 130 companies that delivers education on environment and sustainable development in this programme. Through visits to the companys wind station and exhibition centre on the Lamma Island of Hong Kong, engineers of the company educate secondary school students on the operation of windmills as well as the wider use of renewable energy.

Lessons from the Case Studies

At our UNESCO-UNEVOC conference in May 2007, after the corporate representatives presented their case studies, we asked them to participate in a metaanalysis of their experiences in order to identify any patterns and recurring issues. This section presents a summary of their discussions:

BP: BPs initiatives in the formal education sector range from projects to help schoolchildren learn about the environment in the UK, US and China to Broad view of sustainability? high-level academic work in Russia and China. For It was noted across the case studies that a variety of example: interpretations of the term sustainability were being BPs signature programme in California and used. There were limited examples of integrating Texas, A+ for Energy, provides $2.5 million social, economic, environmental and cultural in grants and training for teachers for the perspectives within each case study with most enhancement of energy education and has focusing upon one of these dimensions, commonly the environmental. The participants believed that the reached more than 3,000 teachers. lack of a common understanding of terms, principles, In China, the Environmental Educators underlying concepts and visions for the future within Initiative (EEI) a partnership between the a company can be a major impediment to both its Chinese Ministry of Education, WWF and CSR and its education and training activities.

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Range of motivations of the corporate sector Across the cases there was a range of reasons why the corporate sector was engaged in various education activities associated with sustainability. The case studies identified five major categories. The first identifies business opportunities that create a market by capturing future consumers through innovative marketing using an indirect link to sustainability. Several case studies showed that business also became involved because of direct cost savings. The second reason was about promoting a brand and identifying the brand as a good corporate citizen through a link to sustainability, thus impacting on positive customer relationships. A third reason placed a high value on staff professional development and protection of talent to promote employee retention and attraction and ensures a future talent pipeline. The fourth reason identified specific political motivations, costs and damage control associated with the concept of business standing on a burning platform.

considered in many cases as essential for in-depth engagement. A lack of understanding about the full benefits and drivers for corporate sector engagement in ESD was viewed as the main issue. Learning to work in collaborative partnerships and working with people with different perspectives, needs and end goals (outcomes) was viewed as a limiting factor. Especially in developing a common language across cultural difference, use of terminology and differing contextual backgrounds. Thus knowledge and understanding about ESD and the differing perspectives and values placed on the economic, social and environmental aspects of ESD caused confusion. There was also the perception that many business managers may lack the knowledge and understanding of how to start to engage in ESD, how to start partnerships and how to access the knowledge to navigate the management change process. Thus, a key competency/skill for future managers is the ability to change as things around them change. In other words they remain capable as things around them become more complex. Conflicting interests between the economic, social and environmental agenda was considered a major limitation. Conservative views towards sustainability and education for sustainable development was viewed as contributing towards a lack of understanding around the broader objectives of ESD. This often led to cynical perspectives and green-washing to appease or show that something was being done to contribute towards sustainability.

The fifth reason was the impact of the enlightened or aware business leader who is passionately committed to bring about change for sustainability because they understand the importance of a healthy planet to achieve broad business outcomes. They promote the concept of education for the planet, for people and for the economy. Furthermore, they recognise that knowledge, skills and key competencies associated Addressing the barriers with sustainability, are an essential element of The first solution participants suggested was to education for the future. develop a strong business case for increasing corporate sector engagement in education for sustainable Barriers development. This involves identifying the drivers, Several potential barriers were identified that limited benefits and potential outcomes to increase corporate sector engagement in ESD. The availability motivation and capacity for business. Second, they of resources such as funding, time and expertise suggested that consideration needs to be given to were viewed as critical factors. While funding and packaging key benefits and outcomes (production of time were business issues the lack of expertise was the bottom line) to boards and management. Greater viewed as a potential business and education sector access to knowledge and understanding is required problem. Commitment from senior management was to provide a frame of reference for engagement in sustainability and ESD.
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As a consequence they believed that increased access to mentors, organisational expertise, potential partners, NGOs and the World Sustainable Business Council for sustainable Development are critical to identifying and sharing positive models of engagement and examples of good practice to help overcome cynical perspectives and avoid potential conflicts within business and between business and wider community interests.

lived in the twentyfirst century. To do so would be to miss the Mount Everest of issues on the historical topography of our age. Let us go forward and climb Mt Everest together!

REFERENCES
w w w.unevoc.unesco.org/f i leadmin/user.../ Bulletin16en.pdf H & M: In Cambodia, H & M organizes a HIV/AIDS. Awareness and Prevention isppp.cpsctech www.unevoc.de/donors/countries/den.htm www.unevoc.unesco.org/.../Report_TVET_TE_ TowardsSustainability.pdf UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training; (2005) Learning for Work Citizenship and Sustainability www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/.../3B2_paper_ Stolte.doc www.voced.edu.au/td/tnc_96.472

CONCLUSION
The case studies discussed here show that we are living in exciting times. The challenge of sustainability brings an urgency that cannot be ignored. I would like to conclude with a short quotation from the American educator, David Orr, who said: The challenge of sustainability is now not only a permanent feature on the public agenda; for all practical purposes it is the agenda. No other issue of politics, economics and public policy will remain unaffected by the crisis of resources, population, climate change, species extinction, acid rain, deforestation, ozone depletion, and soil loss. Those presuming to lead - whether it be in government, business or education - simply cannot stand aloof from the decisions about how and whether life will be

BRIEF BIODATA
Dr. Rupert Maclean is currently the Director of the Centre for Lifelong Learning Research and Development, and Chair Professor of International Education, at Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd). Concurrent with his appointment at the HKIEd, he is also a Senior Research Fellow, Department of Education, Oxford University; Adjunct Professor of International Education at East China Normal University, Shanghai, and at RMIT University, Melbourne; and Special Advisor on Curriculum Development and Reform, Zhejiang Technology Institute of Economy, Hangzhou Province, China. Before joining the HKIEd Prof. Dr. Maclean was Director, UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Education, Bonn, Germany, and UNESCOs Representative to Germany; Chair, Committee of the Heads of the (23) United Nations Agencies in Germany; Director of Secondary Education in UNESCO Paris; Director a.i. of UNESCO Bangkok; and Chief, Asia-Pacific Centre of Educational Innovation for Development, UNESCO, Bangkok. (Email: maclean@ied.edu.hk)

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