Centre for Sustainable Futures (CSF)
REPORT FOR 2011-12 (to 1 March 2012)
Summary
Since September 2010 the Centre for Sustainable Futures (CSF) has been the sustainability
education team of Plymouth University’s Teaching and Learning Directorate, responsible for
leading and supporting sustainability education in the curriculum at Plymouth through support
and research. CSF is a constituent part of the ‘tri-cameral’ structure consisting of the Office of
Procurement and Sustainability (OPS), the Institute for Sustainability Solutions Research
(ISSR), and CSF within the Teaching and Learning Directorate, jointly responsible for taking
forward the university’s sustainability agenda. CSF’s work has two interrelated emphases:
supporting the sustainability curriculum (CSF-c), and working with colleagues across the
university to coordinate educational and pedagogic research in this area (CSF-r). CSF works
particularly closely with Education Development and PedRIO.
Introduction
CSF has been in the process of developing a new programme and strategy since the end of
CETL funding in 2010. With modest capacity and resource base, it has sought to integrate more
closely into the Teaching and Learning Directorate’s programmes, and at the same time
strategise and lead developments conducive to the broad realisation of the university’s
sustainability curriculum ambitions. The strengthening of cross-institutional structures and
policies - such as the Sustainability Advisory Group, the Sustainability Executive Group, and
ERCS’ Sustainability Communication Action Plan – has helped create a positive environment for
the pursuit of CSF’s work, and has opened new opportunities for cross-institutional collaboration
towards an integrated approach to sustainability. Securing the Green Gown Award for ‘Whole
Institutional Change – Continuous Improvement’ in November 2011, attests to the effectiveness
of CSF’s work in collaboration with other key players. We are optimistic about moving forward
effectively in 2012, although capacity issues remain.
Mandate
CSF works to:

develop ‘university learning and teaching, scholarship and enterprise activities to inform
and illuminate sustainability understanding and practices’ (PU Sustainability Strategy
2009-12).

support the principles of the Teaching and Learning Strategy, particularly key theme 6:
’...to continue to develop education for sustainability’. Teaching and Learning Strategy
2010-11

facilitate Key Performance Indicators 2010-12, Strategic Ambition 1 Through-life
learning, Target 14: ‘5% increase in students experiencing a sustainability and green
curriculum in their studies (baseline identified by the 2010 CSF curriculum audit)’.
Further, CSF works to help realise the Research and Innovation Strategy 2009-12 key areas of
research identified in the strategy as ‘Environmental, Social and Economic Sustainability’ , and
‘Pedagogic Research’ and specifically, their interrelationship. In this, role CSF occupies a
linking and brokering space between the ISSR and the pedagogical research institute (PedRIO).
These activities contribute to KPI 9 (sustainability in the curriculum) under Super KPI 2 (Student
Experience).
Strategy
Post CETL funding, CSF developed two iterations of a strategy to help guide its work, covering
both curriculum initiatives and pedagogic research. The aims of the strategy are:
1.Curriculum: To promote, facilitate and monitor the embedding of sustainability in
curricula, and in order to develop the sustainability literate graduate as outlined in the
T&L strategy, and in tandem with other key PU agendas and ambitions, through formal
and informal learning.
2.Research: To promote pedagogic research related to ESD, focusing on the relevance
and potential of ESD in enhancing teaching and learning.
Structures
CSF sits within the Teaching and Learning Directorate. A new Senior ESD Advisory Group,
drawn from senior academics across the university plus OPS representation, is chaired by
Pauline Kneale.
CSF is represented on the Sustainability Executive Group, chaired by David Wheeler, and on
the broader stakeholder Sustainability Advisory Group.
Staffing
CSF is led by Professor Stephen Sterling, as Head of Sustainability Education. He is supported
by Joanna Blake as research administrator, appointed Feb 2011 on temporary contract, and
currently on a one-year p/t 0.6 contract to July 2012. In 2011, further short term and part-time
contracts were made with consultants to support the work, and further similar contracts are
being established in 2012.
Key activity modes of CSF in 2011-12
1. Curriculum support through resource development, events, advice and assistance
2. ESD research and coordination of ESD research community, with a view to 2014 REF
3. Cross-institutional monitoring and coordination of ESD-related initiatives and policy as
part of the tri-cameral structure
4. Dissemination - communication/networking and profile: internally and externally
5. Working with students
1 Curriculum support
Curriculum was highlighted as an area of excellent performance in the People and Planet Green
League 2011. However CSF is working to improve performance further in terms of reach and
consistency. Given limited capacity, curriculum support is delivered through two modes (see
document ‘CSF Curriculum Support Services’ for more details):
Level A: services available to all at distance through the intranet and offered across the
university.
Level B: bespoke assistance to key people and sustainability teams within specific Schools, by
arrangement. Currently, CSF is working with Plymouth Business School at this level as an
advisory member of the PBS ‘Sustainability in the Curriculum Steering Group. This provides a
model of support which will inform work with further Schools.
Level A new initiatives include:

‘7 Steps to Embedding Sustainability in your Teaching’ (written with Education
Development), published 1 March 2012.

National ESD guidelines, written by Professor Sterling based on the work of the HE Academy
ESD Project. The ‘Future Fit Framework – An introductory guide to teaching and learning for
sustainability in HE’ -, commissioned by and delivered to Higher Education Academy is
anticipated to be launched in March 2012. Strong potential for widespread use across PU.

Xerte Toolkit - Sustainability for Our Leaders. Joanna Blake is working with HR to develop an
introduction to sustainability for leaders across the university. With support from T&LD's
learning technologists, the Xerte guide is an interactive, e-learning toolkit that guides leaders
through the relevance of, and institutional commitment to, sustainability. The introductory toolkit
will link to two further Xerte guides. One is near completion by the T&LD and is designed for
academic leaders. It will explore curricula development for sustainability. A further, Xerte guide
is being developed by the Office of Procurement and Sustainability and will support staff around
environmental sustainability issues on campus.
Internally, Stephen Sterling gave six presentations/workshops or lectures on ESD in 2011.
2
ESD research and coordination
ESD related research is one of Plymouth’s strengths. CSF has led the ESD Research
Community (CSF-r) which has over 20 members across the university involved and interested in
pedagogic research related to ESD. Two meetings were held in 2011, and another is due in
March 2012. The web presence of the ESD researchers is in development.
CSF staff are involved in two research projects currently:
‘Investigating innovative pedagogies at Schumacher College and their wider potential in HE‘,
with Ivor Goodson (Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Education). Funded by PedRiO.
This is looking at the nature of transformative learning at the alternative, civil society college in
Dartington, and the potential for its pedagogical approaches to influence the HE sector. The
project is now at write-up stage, which Ivor Goodson, Stephen Sterling and Joanna Blake are
completing.
‘The impact and effectiveness of carbon visualisation technology on awareness, understanding
and behaviour’, led by Stephen Sterling and Debby Cotton, in association with Carbon Visuals
Ltd. This project is being undertaken in cooperation with the Office of Procurement and
Sustainability and looks at the effectiveness of visualisation techniques on the understanding of
carbon footprints. This contributes to the carbon reduction KPI 10 (under Super KPI 1), and has
wider potential for the HE sector and business.
In addition, Stephen Sterling is leading the production of a book, co-edited by Larch Maxey and
Heather Luna. Entitled 'The Sustainable University - Exploring Practice, Process and Prospects’
it will be published by the end of the year by Taylor and Francis, under the Routledge/Earthscan
imprint. The book is intended to make a major contribution to debate about the contemporary
role of universities and the potential of the sustainability agenda to enhance and influence their
work and operation. It includes chapters by universities leading on the sustainability agenda, in
the UK and internationally.
This book is a follow-up to the CSF led book ‘Sustainability Education: Perspectives and
Practice across Higher Education’ which was selected in spring 2011 by the University of
Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership (CPSL) as one of the 'Top 40 books of
2010' www.cpsl.cam.ac.uk/
In 2011, Stephen Sterling had two academic papers published, and two book chapters.
Archiving CSF-CETL-years material: the project to archive CSF-CETL years material onto the
globally-available, UPlace Repository is near completion.
3 Cross-institutional monitoring
CSF is currently working on how to systematically capture data in terms of uptake of
sustainability across the curriculum, based on the last survey (July 2010). This will feed into the
university’s submission to the newly introduced Learning in Future Environments (LiFE) index
against which the university will judge its future performance and seek to improve its
sustainability record over time.
The next step is development of a self-evaluation tool - partly based on previous work, and
current work with PBS - that Schools can use to assess progress and feed into an overall
assessment suitable for the LiFE submission.
4 Dissemination - communication/networking and profile
PU sustainability courses and extranet Our ‘sustainability rich’ courses are now listed on the
university extranet web site. Imminent plans include extending the visibility of sustainability
courses on the extranet by working with ERCS to develop a ‘sustainability badge’ (graphic) on
course pages to highlight courses that have a strong sustainability focus and those that have a
more general sustainability slant to enable prospective students to find courses in line with their
interests.
Sustainability Education Developers: Following on from the Centre Fellows of the CETL
years, work commenced in 2011 on building a network of colleagues from each School (the
‘Sustainability Education Developers) working with CSF on this agenda. The aim is to have at
least two contacts in each School.
International: CSF continues to attract international interest, fielding queries from a variety of
institutions interested in the Plymouth experience, and hosting two international guests in the
autumn of 2011, Professor Geoff Scott and Professor Richard Bawden, who both gave
Teaching and Learning Directorate seminars.
In 2011, Professor Sterling gave an international webinar on sustainability in the curriculum
based on CSF’s 2010 Earthscan book, chaired a workshop at the UNESCO Chair Conference:
‘Higher Education for Sustainable Development: Moving the Agenda Forward’ 14-16
September, (Luneburg), and gave a keynote to the Heads of University Management and
Administration in Europe (HUMANE) conference, Brussels. In February 2012, he gave a
keynote at the UGAF conference (Universities Green Academic Footprint), UNICA (Network of
Universities from the Capitals of Europe), University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
CSF also brokered a visit from representatives of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, who gave a
well attended student lecture, and also a seminar to Plymouth Business School staff.
Regionally, Professor Sterling is chair of the SW Learning for Sustainability Coalition, and a
member of Sustainability South West. Nationally, in 2011, he was a member of the HE
Academy’s ESD Advisory Group, and a critical friend to HEA’s Green Academy, and remains a
key advisor to the Academy on ESD.
5 Working with students
Interactive Sustainability Student Guide Joanna Blake, (CSF RA) supervised a Work-based
Learning student Sarah Jackson from April 2011, who has worked on an interactive student
sustainability handbook - a guide for students covering the whole student experience as it
pertains to sustainability. The project was both text and video based and formed part of her final
year geography undergraduate degree. The guide will be launched in March 2012. Further, the
project has been supplemented by a further work on the design, technical side and publication
of the interactive guide. Lydia Baker is an MA Sustainable Design graduate from Plymouth and
her 3-month work experience placement at CSF will ensure that sustainability is communicated
to the student body via the guide in an inclusive, proactive and fun way. The placement will
enable Lydia to bridge the gap between leaving formal education and entering the 'Green Job'
market.
Students as Partners CSF's bid to the Change Academy under the Students as Partners
project was successful and £1000 has been awarded. CSF has integrated a staff and student
collaborative learning element into its Carbon Visualisation, multi-disciplinary research project.
The Environmental Science undergraduate student will join CSF RA Paula Jones and engage
the users of prominent buildings across campus with images of to-scale depictions of carbon
usage. The aim of the project is to test the effectiveness of carbon visualisation in support of the
university's carbon reduction plan.
Earthquake at Eden Project Plymouth University, led by CSF, has been part of the South West
Education for Sustainable Leadership Group since 2010. 'Earthquake at the Eden Project'
event is "a day of low-carbon conversations, demonstrations, games and challenges,
showcasing and performance, devised and hosted by the students themselves working in
collaboration with members of the Eden Team and other creative experts." Four post-graduate
Plymouth students are representing the university and will be showcasing their work at the
event in late spring at Eden Project.
.
1 March 2012