The 2016 ProSPER.Net Leadership Programme was held in Labuan Island and Beaufort, Sabah, Malaysia. The Programme included workshops, plenary sessions, and fieldwork around the topics of local sustainable development challenges in the region. The main goals of the Programme were to identify local leadership opportunities for sustainable development and to link local and national sustainable development projects to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Climate Treaty, and the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction.

1. Leadership and Education
for Sustainable
Development
2016 AKEPT-ProSPER.Net Leadership Programme
Labuan, Malaysia – August 8th, 2016
Dr. Philip Vaughter
UNU-IAS

2. Leadership for Sustainability
 Around the world, leaders shape how their organizations engage with the
world around them
 Government leaders steer policy
 Business leaders work with markets
 Civil Society leaders work on a variety of issues
 However, there has been a lack of leadership in shifting to a just and
sustainable lifestyle across sectors and across nations
 Why is there a lack of quality leadership around sustainability?

3. What makes a leader for sustainability?
 According to the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership there are
seven key characteristics for leadership tackling sustainability issues:
1) Systemic, interdisciplinary understanding
2) Emotional intelligence and a caring attitude
3) Values orientation that shapes culture
4) A strong vision for making a significant difference
5) An inclusive style that engenders trust
6) A willingness to innovate or be radical
7) A long-term perspective on impacts

4. What factors enable sustainable
leadership?
 Collaboration is key
 Systems must operate to allow
diverse groups to interact;
breakdown the silos
 Focus on critical challenges
 Priorities must be set to tackle
most critical challenges first
 Support for change
 Leaders must operate in
institutions that allow for change –
the status quo must be
questioned

5. Challenges leaders face in addressing
sustainability problems
 Often takes long time for a
solution
 Complex interactions with the
components and people
involved
 A weak and scattered science
base for making evidence-based
decisions
 Lack of integration across
disciplines needed to tackle
problem
 Atmospheres are often emotional
and contentious

6. Challenges leaders face in addressing
sustainability problems
 Communication has made
information more available – but
this quantity of information can
make communication more
difficult and complex
 More stakeholders are making
their voice heard, very different
than the past

7. Challenges leaders face in addressing
sustainability problems
 Sustainability is complex – leaders
have to be careful that
addressing sustainability in one
context does not mean
neglecting sustainability in
another context

8. Who are seen as leaders for addressing
sustainable development?
 According to GlobeScan
Sustainability Leaders Survey, non-
state actors consistently
outperform national governments
in contributions to sustainability
 NGOs still leading with
conservation of ecosystems
 City/local governments active
with climate change mitigation
 Research/academic
organizations seen as crucial
players

9. Who are seen as leaders for addressing
sustainable development?
 Perceptions on corporate
leadership divided by regions
 Wide range of economic sectors
 Consumer facing companies
(businesses that emphasize
consumer satisfaction and
feedback) lead this list

10. Who are seen as leaders for addressing
sustainable development?
 But while individual companies in
different sectors were seen as
being leaders, no sector in the
global market stands out as a
leader
 While experts feel companies
have an important role to play in
sustainability, they were critical of
performance, with all sectors
receiving mostly negative or
neutral ratings

11. How does education relate to
leadership for sustainability?
 Education can…
 Train leaders how to work with
long term timelines
 Provide systemic ways to
breakdown complex problems
 Inform decision makers about
knowledge bases to provide
evidence
 Teach how to work between
disciplines
 Give insight into stakeholders
motivations

12. How does education relate to
leadership for sustainability?
 Education is often promoted as a tool leaders can use to change the
behavior of their team or their institution to make it more sustainable
 But ironically, sometimes it is the most educated that are leading the least
sustainable lifestyles
 Therefore, it is not just that leaders need more education, but a different
type of education

13. Education for Sustainable
Development and Leadership
 Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a different approach to
education
 Note the difference (McKeown, 2014):
 Education about Sustainable Development is an awareness lesson or theoretical
discussion
 Education for Sustainable Development is using education as a tool to transform
society
 If leaders are going to meaningfully engage with sustainability, education
for sustainable development is the most appropriate educational tool to
use

14. Education for Sustainable
Development and Leadership
 UNESCO defines ESD as having the following characteristics:
 Based on principles of sustainable development
 Deals with four dimensions of sustainability – environment, society, culture,
economy
 Promotes lifelong learning
 Locally relevant and culturally appropriate
 Based around local needs but links to global processes
 Engages formal, non-formal, and informal education
 Builds capacity for community-based decision-making, social tolerance,
environmental stewardship, adaptable workforce, and good quality of life
 Is interdisciplinary – no discipline can claim ESD for itself

15. Education for Sustainable
Development and Leadership
 While leaders in many different fields can use ESD to advance sustainability,
the following skills are essential for using ESD (Tilbury & Wortman, 2004):
 Envisioning – being able to imagine a better future. What does it look like?
 Critical Thinking – question our assumptions. What is development?
 Systemic Thinking – looking for links. How is this system connected to others?
 Building Partnerships – learning to work together. How can we help each other?
 Participating – feeling empowered to act. How can I use my knowledge to make
the world more sustainable?

16. Who is using ESD in Leadership?
 The Provincial Government of
Manitoba in Canada

17. Who is using ESD in Leadership
Training?
 The Provincial Government of
Manitoba in Canada
 The Ministry of Education in
Scotland

18. Who is using ESD in Leadership
Training?
 The Provincial Government of
Manitoba in Canada
 The Ministry of Education in
Scotland
 The Ministry of Education and
Ministry of Environment in Japan

19. Who is using ESD in Leadership
Training?
 The Provincial Government of
Manitoba in Canada
 The Ministry of Education in
Scotland
 The Ministry of Education and
Ministry of Environment in Japan
 German Federal Ministry for
Economic Cooperation and
Development, in partnership with
governments of India, Mexico,
and South Africa

20. But, is leadership training using ESD
reaching current leaders?
 Many countries now include sustainability in the education that primary and
secondary students receive
 Example of long-term thinking – train tomorrow’s leaders today
 However, this is typically education about sustainability, not education for sustainability:
lot’s of good knowledge, not a lot of workable solutions
 Other major challenges (Leicht, 2014):
 Going from a pilot project to a policy
 Small scale to large scale
 Margins to mainstream
 Most ESD focuses on youth – adults need to change their behavior as well

21. What helps leaders engage with ESD?
 In addition to the before mentioned skills, the following preconditions are necessary
for helping a leader engage with sustainability, and to use ESD to do this
1) Make the case for change: a leader must be adept at shifting others from
unconscious to conscious reactivity to the challenge. Must be able to educate
about the challenge and frame in a way that seems serious but also one that
can be overcome.
2) Translate vision into action: stakeholders respond to plans with action rather than
vague commitments to concepts. Must be able to work with experts and ideas
to design actions that fit with sustainable vision.
3) Expand boundaries: a leader must anticipate and evaluate long-term
sustainability trends to embed sustainability within the organization, spotting new
opportunities along the way. Must be able to learn from similar case studies and
use critical thinking and forecasting.

22. What structures can help leaders
engage with ESD?
 To recap:
 Collaboration is key
 Systems must operate to allow
diverse groups to interact;
breakdown the silos
 Focus on critical challenges
 Priorities must be set to tackle most
critical challenges first
 Support for change
 Leaders must operate in institutions
that allow for change – the status
quo must be questioned

23. Regional Centres of Excellence (RCE) as an
approach to Leadership using ESD
 An RCE is a network of existing
formal, non-formal, and informal
organisations that facilitate
education for sustainable
development in local and
regional communities
 Because of this unique synthesis of
actors, leaders from different
sectors can access a pool of
experts
 Helps break down silos
 Gives overview of critical issues
due to multiple stakeholders
 Pool of experts can support
change

24. Regional Centres of Excellence (RCE) as an
approach to Leadership using ESD
 The RCE network brings together
multi-sectoral and interdisciplinary
members who might not usually
work together. As such, they are
uniquely placed to help create
solutions to these challenges
through dialogue, education, and
learning.
 With their official links to UN
agencies, formal education
institutions, and informal educators
worldwide, RCEs are excellent
models leaders can use to gain and
share knowledge about
sustainability challenges in their
home regions.

25. Regional Centres of Excellence (RCE) as an
approach to Leadership using ESD
 Local leaders around the world
have used the RCE model to help
incorporate ESD into their decision
making
 City governments using ESD in
leadership in RCEs include:

26. Regional Centres of Excellence (RCE) as an
approach to Leadership using ESD
 Local leaders around the world
have used the RCE model to help
incorporate ESD into their decision
making
 City governments using ESD in
leadership in RCEs include:
 Okayama, Japan

27. Regional Centres of Excellence (RCE) as an
approach to Leadership using ESD
 Local leaders around the world
have used the RCE model to help
incorporate ESD into their decision
making
 City governments using ESD in
leadership in RCEs include:
 Okayama, Japan
 Tongyeong, South Korea

28. Regional Centres of Excellence (RCE) as an
approach to Leadership using ESD
 Local leaders around the world
have used the RCE model to help
incorporate ESD into their decision
making
 City governments using ESD in
leadership in RCEs include:
 Okayama, Japan
 Tongyeong, South Korea
 Grand Rapids, USA

29. Regional Centres of Excellence (RCE) as an
approach to Leadership using ESD
 Local leaders around the world
have used the RCE model to help
incorporate ESD into their decision
making
 City governments using ESD in
leadership in RCEs include:
 Okayama, Japan
 Tongyeong, South Korea
 Grand Rapids, USA
 Skane, Sweden

30. We can’t wait for a new generation of
leaders!
 Leaders across all sectors need to
start engaging with ESD today –
right now!

31. We can’t wait for a new generation of
leaders!
 Leaders across all sectors need to
start engaging with ESD today –
right now!
 Why?

32. We can’t wait for a new generation of
leaders!
 Leaders across all sectors need to
start engaging with ESD today –
right now!
 Why?
 Life expectancy and material
aspirations continue to rise around
the world

33. We can’t wait for a new generation of
leaders!
 Leaders across all sectors need to
start engaging with ESD today –
right now!
 Why?
 Life expectancy and material
aspirations continue to rise around
the world
 GHG emissions tend to be higher
among the most educated and
powerful

34. We can’t wait for a new generation of
leaders!
 Leaders across all sectors need to
start engaging with ESD today –
right now!
 Why?
 Life expectancy and material
aspirations continue to rise around
the world
 GHG emissions tend to be higher
among the most educated and
powerful
 Adaptation is the key to good
leadership

35. Remember, “Once you are through
learning, you’re through…”
 Will Rogers (1879-1935)