The United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) in 2005-2014 sought to mobilize the educational resources of the world to help create a more sustainable future. The overall goal of the DESD was to integrate the principles, values and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning.

 See the page http://www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/mods/theme_a/mod01.html?panel=3#top

Many paths to sustainability exist (e.g. sustainable agriculture and forestry, research and technology transfer, finance, sustainable production and consumption). Education is one of these paths. Education alone cannot achieve a more sustainable future; however, without education and learning for sustainable development, we will not be able to reach that goal.

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) includes

Full answer to this question could be found in Allen Tough´s on-line book A Message From Future Generations

One idea in The Letter From the Future:

„We live downstream from you in time; whatever you put into the stream flows on to our era.“

When we think about sustainability, we need to think globally.

The world is a single space for all of us. Over the past decades, economic growth has helped millions of people out of poverty but very often it happens at the expense of the environment. Earth’s natural sources have been used without thinking about the future.

We can see that everything is interconnected, and that we cannot address any of the problems only individually.

To keep the planet sustainable requires common approach, this means that we all are responsible for the planet.

Exercise: What about the situation in your community?

Does everybody have enough food and clean water and access to electricity? Do you have healthy natural environment? Please reflect individually.

Definition of sustainability

In 1987 there was a special report prepared by the United Nations World Commission for Environment and Development. The Commission was chaired by Mrs. Gro Harlem Brundtland of Norway and it became known as the Brundtland Report.

This report says that we cannot speak of various individual crises in the world, such as an environmental crisis, an energy crisis or a development crisis, as they are all interconnected and they are parts of one big global crisis.

The report defines sustainable development in terms of the present and the future: “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

Find out what sustainability means, watching this video

In September 2015 all member states of the United Nations adopted Global Goals and committed themselves to reach them until 2030. The Global Goals and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development seek to end poverty and hunger, realise the human rights of all, achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, and ensure the lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources. The Global Goals are integrated and indivisible, and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: the economic, social and environmental.

Here you can read about all 17 sustainable development goals: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

Zero waste solutions—including waste reduction, redesign, composting, biogas, extended producer responsibility, consumption transformation, and recycling—could be implemented today, using existing innovations, with immediate results.

1. Reduction of GHG (green house gas) emissions in every household. 

When discarded materials are recycled, they provide industry with an alternative source of raw materials from which new products can be made. Zero Waste solutions thus reduce emissions in all extractive industries: mining, forestry, agriculture, and petroleum extraction. 

2. Reduction of GHG emissions at the production line. Additional energy and associated emissions are saved in the manufacturing process, as recycled materials generally require less energy to be turned back into products. This is particularly notable in products such as aluminum, where the direct energy use is reduced by 88% from that required to produce primary aluminum.

3. Soil restoration with compost and increase of carbon sink capacity. 

Compost from green waste — everything from household food scraps to dairy manure — avoids methane emissions from waste disposal. Source-separated organic waste is key to produce high-quality compost to restore the carbon sink capacity of soils and most importantly, it contributes to soil restoration and helps increase its capacity to act as carbon sinks. 

4. Reduction of GHG and toxic emissions from waste disposal. Zero Waste solutions also directly reduce GHG emissions and toxic pollutant releases from waste disposal facilities, which are a significant source of both.

5. Zero Waste Solutions are cost-effective and accessible. Recycling for example has been noted as an extremely cost effective method of achieving emissions reductions.

6. Zero Waste Solutions create green jobs and revitalize local economies. The recycling sector, with more than two million informal recyclers in developing country cities, offers climate-smart urban solutions to sustain and strengthen livelihood development, improve local environmental health, and strengthen local economies. 

7. It reinvigorates and develops our communities. 

Solving the waste and climate problem requires more than technical fixes: zero waste solutions are part of a larger web of decisions about health, equity, power, poverty, development, policy decisions and governance which require the participation and engagement of everyone. Waste is everyone’s business and zero waste programs can draw support from diverse constituencies who may otherwise not engage in climate-related work.

https://zerowasteeurope.eu/2015/03/zero-waste-a-key-solution-for-a-low-carbon-economy/#_ftn3

We hear the term "carbon footprint" all the time, but how much do we really know about carbon dioxide and its effects on the planet? Here is the graphic to give you the facts!

Concrete examples: https://cotap.org/carbon-emissions-calculator/

We know we are standing at the edge of the technological revolution which will influence/change the way of life and communication of people. It is seen as fundamental change as no one before. We do not know yet how it will develop, but one thing is already clear – the reaction on it has to be complex – from state to private sector, from academic to civil society.

Industry 4.0 is the label given to the gradual combination of traditional manufacturing and industrial practices with the increasingly technological world around us. Industry 4.0 is not a new technology, nor is it a business discipline, but in fact a new approach to achieve results that weren't possible 10 years ago thanks to advancements in technology. 

The first industrial revolution saw Britain move from farming to factory production in the 19th century.

The second industrial revolution spanned the period from the 1850s to World War I and began with the introduction of steel, culminating in the early electrification of factories and the first spouts of mass production.

Finally, the third industrial revolution refers to the change from analogue, mechanical, and electronic technology to digital technology that took place from  the late 1950s to the late 1970s.

is the move towards digitisation. Industry 4.0 will use the Internet of Things and cyber-physical systems such as sensors having the ability to collect data that can be used by manufacturers and producers. Secondly, the advancements in big data and powerful analytics means that systems can trawl through the huge sets of data and produce insights that can be acted upon quickly. Thirdly, the communications infrastructure backing this up is secure enough to be used by heavy industries.

Smart factories, which will be at the heart of Industry 4.0, will take on board information and communication technology for an evolution in the supply chain and production line that brings a much higher level of both automation and digitisation. It means machines using self-optimisation, self-configuration and even artificial intelligence to complete complex tasks in order to deliver vastly superior cost efficiencies and better quality goods or services. The demand on digital competences of emplyees/citizens will grow rapidly.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical devices, vehicles, home appliances, and other items embedded  with electronics, software, sensors and connectivity which enables  these things to connect and exchange data opportunities for more direct integration of the physical world into computer-based systems, resulting in efficiency improvements, economic benefits, and reduced human exertions.

IoT involves extending Internet connectivity beyond standard devices, such as desktops, laptops, smartphones and tablets, to any range of traditionally dumb or non-internet-enabled physical devices and everyday objects. Embedded with technology, these devices can communicate and interact over the Internet, and they can be remotely monitored and controlled. With the arrival of driverless vehicles, a branch of IoT, i.e. the Internet of Vehicle starts to gain more attention. 

To become digitally competent is the role for 21st century. Digital competence is a key transversal competence that means being able to use digital technologies in a critical, collaborative and creative way.

Digital competence asks people to think about a range of issues such as storing information, protecting digital identity, developing digital content and behaviour online.

Digital competence can be used across sectors and be a key support for collaboration and development work by educators, trainers, employers, professional bodies and policy-makers.

The European Digital Competence Framework, known as DigComp, offers a tool to improve citizen's digital competence. Today, being digitally competent means that people need to have competences in all areas of DigComp.

The Digital Competence Framework can help with self-evaluation, setting learning goals, identifying training opportunities and facilitating job search.

Free on-line self diagnosis

From summer 2015 onwards, the Europass CV includes an online tool for jobseekers to self-evaluate their digital competence and describe and include it in their Curriculum Vitale (CV). The tool uses the five areas of the DigComp framework with an easy to use self-evaluation form.