Education for sustainable development (ESD)

Education for sustainable development (ESD) is an approach to the whole curriculum and management of a school, not a new subject. It has its roots in environmental education and development education. As a result, many of the building blocks of education for sustainable development are already present in every school.

ESD has clear links with a number of curriculum subjects, notably geography, citizenship and science, and many other aspects of the curriculum, for example, literacy, numeracy, thinking skills and key skills.

Sustainable development is the fundamental challenge that all societies face if we are to avoid long term damage to the Earth's basic life-support systems. Young people will be the decision-makers of the future, in both their personal and professional lives. They need to learn to live in ways that increase quality of life for themselves and others without eroding the Earth's resources at a rate quicker than they can regenerate.

Education for sustainable development enables people to develop the knowledge, values and skills to participate in decisions about the way we do things individually and collectively, both locally and globally, that will improve the quality of life now without damaging the planet for the future. (The National Curriculum, 1999Government Panel for Sustainable Development Education, 1999)

For more information about the Department of Education's view on sustainable development -click here.