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Sustainability is defined as a process where, after a defined period, a program, intervention, or behaviour change continues to be delivered or maintained, may evolve or adapt, and continues to produce benefits for individuals or systems. It involves long-term maintenance and adaptation to sustain outcomes and benefits over time. It is also understood as the equitable, ethical, and efficient use of natural resources to fulfill current and future generations' needs, involving maintaining the capacity of ecological systems to support and enhance social systems through understanding their complex interactions and feedback.
Systems thinking is a foundational sustainability competency that involves understanding, identifying, describing and analysing complex issues and sustainability challenges through patterns, structures, feedback loops, context, and cross-domain interactions (environmental, social, economic). It helps in grasping the dynamics and interrelations within and across systems.
Interdisciplinarity generally refers to integrating knowledge, methods, and perspectives from different academic disciplines to address complex problems, especially in sustainability contexts. It is implied in the context of sustainability education and team collaboration.
Values-thinking competence is the ability to identify, map, specify, negotiate, and apply sustainability values, principles, and goals. It involves assessing the sustainability of systems and actions, reflecting on ethics, justice, tradeoffs, and applying sustainability principles to decision-making processes.
Futures-thinking competence entails the capability to construct simulations, forecasts, scenarios, and visions to anticipate future states and dynamics of complex systems and sustainability challenges. It includes anticipating how sustainability action plans might play out over time with consideration for intergenerational equity and uncertainty.
The following texts provide key overviews of the above-mentioned sustainability competencies and essential foundations for teaching practice and curriculum design. They also highlight related approaches such as interdisciplinary perspectives, or merging design thinking with futures thinking, which offer new insights for educators across disciplines.
Together, these resources on sustainability competencies support educators in contributing to global sustainability efforts, making responsible impact within their areas of expertise, and laying the groundwork for future research in sustainability education.