Purpose: Determine how sustainability specifically relates to the discipline and what skills, knowledge, or values related to sustainability a student may need to know.
Process: Review what content students already learn, the relevance of sustainability, and what students may need in the future. Departments will review what existing learning objectives need to be updated to include a sustainable perspective and what new content needs to be created to remain current in the field and create future-ready graduates.
Outcomes: Departments will ideally identify key skills, competencies, and values students will need related to sustainability, and formulate appropriate learning objectives.
Resources: Include industry associations and relevant academic research, as well as reflection guides to facilitate discussions within the department. You can also find available supports in the Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE), the Sustainability Office, and other groups on campus to aid in initial conversations.
Guiding Questions:
- What does sustainability mean for the discipline?
- How does it impact students and what competencies does a graduate need?

Resources
Reflection Guide
Summary: A series of questions to prompt discussion and thinking within the department when mapping relevant knowledge, skills, and values in sustainability.
Purpose: This resource will help guide discussion and thinking to identify connections.
Research Connected to Sustainability
Summary: Broken out by faculty, these are example articles considering sustainability in the context of various disciplines across the university. This is primarily research from North America, but includes some more international findings as well. This provides a basis of how sustainability is being considered in academia in these disciplines.
Purpose: These examples in research may provide some context for how peer researchers are considering sustainability within the field, and may inspire relevant connections to curriculum.
If you have an industry association you would like to add to the list, or a link is broken, please contact us.
Arts
Business
- Caliyurt, K. T. (Ed.). (2021). Ethics and Sustainability in Accounting and Finance, Volume II (1st ed. 2021.). Springer Nature Singapore.
- Azarenkova, G., Golovko, O., & Abrosimova, K. (2018). Management of enterprise鈥檚 financial sustainability and improvement of its methods. Accounting and Financial Control, 2(1), 1鈥14.
- Ilic, M. (2021). Karl Bruckmeier: ECONOMICS AND SUSTAINABILITY Social-Ecological Perspectives. Dru拧tvena Istra啪ivanja, 30(4), 833鈥835.
- van Niekerk, A. (2020). Inclusive Economic Sustainability: SDGs and Global Inequality. Sustainability (Basel, Switzerland), 12(13), 5427-.
Social Sciences
- Eriksen, T. H. (2022). The Sustainability of an Anthropology of the Anthropocene. Sustainability (Basel, Switzerland), 14(6), 3674-.
- John 脴demark. (2019). Touchstones for Sustainable Development: Indigenous Peoples and the Anthropology of Sustainability in Our Common Future. Culture Unbound, 11(3鈥4), 369鈥393.
- Park, S. K., & Berger-Walliser, G. (2015). A Firm-Driven Approach to Global Governance and Sustainability. American Business Law Journal, 52(2), 255鈥315.
- Crowther, D., & Seifi, S. (2020). Governance and Sustainability: International Perspectives (1st Edition 2020). Springer Singapore Pte. Limited. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6370-6
- Fisher, J., & Rucki, K. (2017). Re鈥恈onceptualizing the Science of Sustainability: A Dynamical Systems Approach to Understanding the Nexus of Conflict, Development and the Environment. Sustainable Development (Bradford, West Yorkshire, England), 25(4), 267鈥275.
- Machlis, G. E. (Ed.). (2011). Warfare Ecology A New Synthesis for Peace and Security (1st ed. 2011.). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1214-0
- Krampe, F. (2017). Toward Sustainable Peace: A New Research Agenda for Post-Conflict Natural Resource Management. Global Environmental Politics, 17(4), 1鈥8.
- Parker, J. (2014). Critiquing sustainability, changing philosophy. Routledge.
- Brenner, J. (2018). The Philosophy of Ecology and Sustainability: New Logical and Informational Dimensions. Philosophies (Basel), 3(2), 16鈥0. https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies3020016
- Scoones, I. (2016). The Politics of Sustainability and Development. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 41(1), 293鈥319. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev environ-110615-090039
- Paterson, M. (2021). 鈥淭he End of the Fossil Fuel Age鈥? Discourse Politics and Climate Change Political Economy. New Political Economy, 26(6), 923鈥936. https://doi.org/10.1080/13563467.2020.1810218
- Pelletier, L. G., Lavergne, K. J., & Sharp, E. C. (2008). Environmental Psychology and Sustainability: Comments on Topics Important for Our Future. Canadian Psychology = Psychologie Canadienne, 49(4), 304鈥308.
- Hunecke, M.(2022). Psychology of Sustainability: From Sustainability Marketing to Social-Ecological Transformation (1st ed.). Springer International Publishing AG.
- Takhar, S. (2015). Sustainability, human rights, and sexuality: Making the right connections. Local Economy, 30(3), 256鈥264. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269094215580084
- Gaard, G. (2015). Ecofeminism and climate change. Women鈥檚 Studies International Forum, 49, 20鈥33.
- Social development and sustainability. (2019). In Transit Oriented Development and Sustainable Cities (pp. 118鈥118). Edward Elgar Publishing.
- Drolet, J. L., & Sampson, T. (2017). Addressing climate change from a social development approach: Small cities and rural communities鈥 adaptation and response to climate change in British Columbia, Canada. International Social Work, 60(1), 61鈥73. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872814539984
- Longo SB, Isgren E, Clark B, et al. Sociology for sustainability science. Discover sustainability. 2021;2(1):1-14. doi:10.1007/s43621-021-00056-5
- 听Islam M. Sustainability through the Lens of Environmental Sociology: An Introduction. Sustainability (Basel, Switzerland). 2017;9(3):474-. doi:10.3390/su9030474
History and Culture
- Post, R. (2017). The environmental history of Classical and Hellenistic Greece: The contribution of environmental archaeology. History Compass, 15(10), e12392-n/a.
- Neumann, J. (1985). Climatic change as a topic in the classical Greek and Roman literature. Climatic Change, 7(4), 441鈥454.
- Beal, V. (2012). Urban governance, sustainability and environmental movements: post-democracy in French and British cities. European Urban and Regional Studies, 19(4), 404鈥419.
- Sanches, S. (2005). Sustainable consumption 脿 la fran莽aise? Conventional, innovative, and alternative approaches to sustainability and consumption in France. Sustainability听: Science, Practice, & Policy, 1(1), 43鈥57.
- Person, M. W. (2016). Review of Sabine Wilke, German Culture and the Modern Environmental Imagination: Narrating and Depicting Nature. Environmental Values, 25(2), 250鈥252.
- Oldfield, J. D., & Shaw, D. J. B. (2002). Revisiting sustainable development: Russian cultural and scientific traditions and the concept of sustainable development. Area (London 1969), 34(4), 391鈥400.
- Petric, H., & Hirt, P. (2015). ECONOMIC- AND ECOHISTORY. INTRODUCTION FOR SPECIAL ISSUE ON HISTORY AND SUSTAINABILITY. Ekonomska i Ekohistorija, 11(1), 5-.
- Martin, M. S. (2023). Agrotopias: An American Literary History of Sustainability . By Abby L. Goode. Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment, 30(2), 522鈥523.
- Zaleha, B. D. (2016). Religion and Sustainability: Social Movements and the Politics of the Environment [Review of Religion and Sustainability: Social Movements and the Politics of the Environment]. Environmental Ethics, 38(4), 503鈥506. Environmental Philosophy, Inc.
- Koehrsen, J. (2015). Does religion promote environmental sustainability? 鈥 Exploring the role of religion in local energy transitions. Social Compass, 62(3), 296鈥310. https://doi.org/10.1177/0037768615587808
- T脿bara, J. D., & Ilhan, A. (2008). Culture as trigger for sustainability transition in the water domain: the case of the Spanish water policy and the Ebro river basin. Regional Environmental Change, 8(2), 59鈥71.
- Heyd, T. (2005). Sustainability, culture and ethics: Models from Latin America. Ethics, Place and Environment, 8(2), 223鈥234. https://doi.org/10.1080/13668790500237385
- Rodr铆guez-Rivero, R., Ortiz-Marcos, I., & Pati帽o-Arenas, V. E. (2022). Exploring the Influence of Culture in the Present and Future of Multicultural Organizations: Comparing the Case of Spain and Latin America. Sustainability (Basel, Switzerland), 14(4), 2327-.
Arts, Communications, and Language
- Godemann, Jasmin., & Michelsen, Gerd. (Eds.). (2011). Sustainability Communication Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Theoretical Foundation (1st ed. 2011.). Springer Netherlands.
- Weder, F. (2023). Cultivation of sustainability in a discourse of change: Perspectives on communication for sustainability as new 鈥渘orm鈥 and principle of action in socio-ecological transformation processes. Journal of Language and Politics, 22(5), 577鈥600.
- Gunina, N., Mordovina, T., & Shelenkova, I. (2021). Integrating sustainability issues into English language courses at university. E3S Web of Conferences, 295, 5006-.
- Rudenko, E. (2023). Embedding sustainability into English environment: a holistic approach. E3S Web of Conferences, 371, 5017-.
- Clarke, A., & Hulbert, S. (2016). Envisioning the Future: Working toward Sustainability in Fine Art Education. The International Journal of Art & Design Education, 35(1), 36鈥50.
- J枚rissen, B., Unterberg, L., & Klepacki, T. (2023). Cultural Sustainability and Arts Education: International Perspectives on the Aesthetics of Transformation (1st ed., Vol. 2). Springer.
- Schippers, H., & Seeger, A. (Eds.). (2022). Music, communities, sustainability: developing policies and practices. Oxford University Press.
- Franco Pistono. (2022). Music and sustainability: An educational proposal. Formazione & Insegnamento, 20(2). https://doi.org/10.7346/-fei-XX-02-22_21
- TITON, J. T. (2009). Music and Sustainability: An Ecological Viewpoint: Music and Sustainability. World of Music, 51(1), 119鈥137.
- Bendor R. Interaction design for sustainability futures: Towards worldmaking interactions. In: Digital Technology and Sustainability. 1st ed. Routledge; 2018:205-216. doi:10.9774/gleaf.9781315465975_24
- Nunes L, Alv茫o CM. Perspectives in Sustainable Interaction Design: A preliminary discussion involving human values and HCI. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting. 2017;61(1):823-827. doi:10.1177/1541931213601700
Engineering
- Boarin, P., Martinez-Molina, A., & Juan-Ferruses, I. (2020). Understanding students鈥 perception of sustainability in architecture education: A comparison among universities in three different continents.听Journal of Cleaner Production,听248, 119237-.
- Ahmed, I., & Noguchi, M. (Eds.). (2023). Resilience and sustainability in architecture and urban planning鈥: policies, practices, strategies and visions. MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute.(Book)
- Karjanto, N. (2022). Seeking Genuine Vocations through Sustainability in Chemical Engineering. Sustainability (Basel, Switzerland), 14(12), 6980-.
- Roland Clift, Sustainable development and its implications for chemical engineering, Chemical Engineering Science, Volume 61, Issue 13, 2006, Pages 4179-4187, ISSN 0009-2509, .
- Nnaji, U. P. (2019). Sustainability in Chemical Engineering Design. In Introduction to Chemical Engineering (pp. 277鈥293). John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.
- Braham, A. (2020). Fundamentals of sustainability in civil engineering. (Second edition.). CRC Press.
- Committee on Social Science, P., Harper, Ben., Davidson, C. Ian., Eide, Fran., Rosenberg, Heather., Hegelson, Jennifer., McNeil, Sue., Field, Caroline., & Zawislak, Chris. (2023). Integrating Resilience and Sustainability into Civil Engineering Projects. (1st ed.). American Society of Civil Engineers.
- Mihelcic, J. R., Zimmerman, J. Beth., & Auer, M. T. (2010). Environmental engineering听: fundamentals, sustainability, design. Wiley.
- Myers, D. Hobson. (2020). Sustainability in Business A Financial Economics Analysis (1st ed. 2020.). Springer International Publishing.
- Schroedel, S. (2023). The Sustainable Business Model Database: 92 Patterns That Enable Sustainability in Business Model Innovation. Sustainability (Basel, Switzerland), 15(10), 8081-.
- Braun, D. (2010). Teaching Sustainability Analysis in Electrical Engineering Lab Courses. IEEE Transactions on Education, 53(2), 243鈥247.
- Moiseev, S. B. (2020). Analysis of the competitive advantage sustainability factors based on the key competencies of an electrical engineering enterprise. 袙械褋褌薪懈泻 褍薪懈胁械褉褋懈褌械褌邪, 2, 134鈥141.
- Paucar-Caceres, A., & Espinosa, A. (2011). Management science methodologies in environmental management and sustainability: discourses and applications. The Journal of the Operational Research Society, 62(9), 1601鈥1620.
- Dzwigol, H. (2023). Case Studies in Management Science Research for Digitalization and Sustainability Development. E3S Web of Conferences, 456, 1002-.
- Jakobsen, M. M., T酶rdal, S. S., Klausen, A., Robbersmyr, K. G., & Tyapin, I. (2021). Product development and project-based learning in Mechatronics, in the context of digitization and sustainability. Nordic Journal of STEM Education, 5(1).
- Rao, C. S. P. (Ed.). (2019). Mechanical engineering for sustainable development. Apple Academic Press.
- Philbin, S. P. (2021). Driving Sustainability through Engineering Management and Systems Engineering. Sustainability (Basel, Switzerland), 13(12), 6687-.
- Tuzun, U. (2020). Introduction to systems engineering and sustainability PART I: Student-centred learning for chemical and biological engineers. Education for Chemical Engineers, 31, 85鈥93.
- Sriraman, G., & Raghunathan, S. (2023). A Systems Thinking Approach to Improve Sustainability in Software Engineering鈥擜 Grounded Capability Maturity Framework. Sustainability (Basel, Switzerland), 15(11), 8766-.
Environment
- Kolk, A., & Pinkse, J. (2008). A Perspective on Multinational Enterprises and Climate Change: Learning from 鈥淎n Inconvenient Truth鈥? Journal of International Business Studies, 39(8), 1359鈥1378.
- Stubbs, W., & Cocklin, C. (2008). Conceptualizing a 鈥淪ustainability Business Model.鈥 Organization & Environment, 21(2), 103鈥127.
- Fu, B. (2020). Promoting Geography for Sustainability. Geography and Sustainability, 1(1), 1鈥7.
- Fu, B., Meadows, M. E., & Zhao, W. (2022). Geography in the Anthropocene: Transforming our world for sustainable development. Geography and Sustainability, 3(1), 1鈥6.
- 听Gugerell, K., Radinger-Peer, V., & Penker, M. (2023). Systemic knowledge integration in transdisciplinary and sustainability transformation research. Futures听: The Journal of Policy, Planning and Futures Studies, 150, 103177-.
- Zeigermann, U. (2021). Knowledge integration in sustainability governance through science-based actor networks. Global Environmental Change, 69, 102314-. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102314
- Mersal, A. (2016). Sustainable Urban Futures: Environmental Planning for Sustainable Urban Development. Procedia Environmental Sciences, 34, 49鈥61.
- Spiliotopoulou, M., & Roseland, M. (2022). Sustainability planning, implementation, and assessment in cities: how can productivity enhance these processes? Discover Sustainability, 3(1), 1鈥19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-022-00081-y
Health
- Chilibeck PD. The role of exercise physiology in the United Nations鈥 sustainable development goals. European journal of applied physiology. 2023;123(5):935-936. doi:10.1007/s00421-023-05180-w
- Gruen RL, Elliott JH, Nolan ML, et al. Sustainability science: an integrated approach for health-programme planning. The Lancet. 2008;372(9649):1579-1589. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61659-1
- Sherman JD, Thiel C, MacNeill A, et al. The Green Print: Advancement of Environmental Sustainability in Healthcare. Resources, conservation and recycling. 2020;161:104882-. doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.104882
- Tirone, S., & Halpenny, E. (Eds.). (2019). Leisure and Sustainability (1st ed.). Routledge.
- Maki ZEY, Hassan TH, Helal MY, Saleh MI. Sustainability of Leisure Tourism Events from a Destination Social Responsibility Perspective: Do Attribution Theory Dimensions Matter? International journal of environmental research and public health. 2023;20(6):4847-. doi:10.3390/ijerph20064847
- Coles T. Tourism, Recreation and Sustainability: Linking Culture and the Environment. Land use policy. 2002;19(3):269-271. doi:10.1016/S0264-8377(02)00021-2
Mathematics
- Asensio MI, Oliver A, Sarrate J. Applied Mathematics for Environmental Problems. Vol 6. 1st ed. Springer International Publishing AG; 2021. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-61795-0
- Sadollah A, Nasir M, Geem ZW. Sustainability and Optimization: From Conceptual Fundamentals to Applications. Sustainability (Basel, Switzerland). 2020;12(5):2027-. doi:10.3390/su12052027
- Milano M, O鈥橲ullivan B, Sachenbacher M. Guest Editors鈥 Introduction: Special Section on Computational Sustainability: Where Computer Science meets Sustainable Development. IEEE transactions on computers. 2014;63(1):88-89. doi:10.1109/TC.2014.4
- Van der Velden M, Gjelsten BK, Bergersen GR, Jensen SM. Sustainability Competence in Computer Science Education. Nordic journal of STEM education. 2021;5(1). doi:10.5324/njsteme.v5i1.3953
- V谩squez C, Alsina 脕, Seckel MJ, Garc铆a-Alonso I. Integrating sustainability in mathematics education and statistics education: A systematic review. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education. 2023;19(11):em2357-. doi:10.29333/ejmste/13809
- Reddy, T. L., & Thomson, R. J. (2015). Environmental, social and economic sustainability: implications for actuarial science. Actuaries Institute, 23-27.
Science
- Gilbert SF. Evolutionary developmental biology and sustainability: A biology of resilience. Evolution & development. 2021;23(4):273-291. doi:10.1111/ede.12366
- Jeronen E, Palmberg I, Yli-Panula E. Teaching Methods in Biology Education and Sustainability Education Including Outdoor Education for Promoting Sustainability鈥擜 Literature Review. Education Sciences. 2017;7(1):1-. doi:10.3390/educsci7010001
- Sheldon RA. Metrics of Green Chemistry and Sustainability: Past, Present, and Future. ACS sustainable chemistry & engineering. 2018;6(1):32-48. doi:10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b03505
- Timmer BJJ, Schaufelberger F, Hammarberg D, Franze虂n J, Ramstro虉m O, Dine虂r P. Simple and Effective Integration of Green Chemistry and Sustainability Education into an Existing Organic Chemistry Course. Journal of chemical education. 2018;95(8):1301-1306. doi:10.1021/acs.jchemed.7b00720
- Schlosser P, Pfirman S. Earth science for sustainability. Nature geoscience. 2012;5(9):587-588. doi:10.1038/ngeo1567
- Lazrus H, Maldonado J, Blanchard P, Souza MK, Thomas B, Wildcat D. Culture change to address climate change: Collaborations with Indigenous and Earth sciences for more just, equitable, and sustainable responses to our climate crisis. PLOS climate. 2022;1(2):e0000005-. doi:10.1371/journal.pclm.0000005
- Buchan JC, Thiel CL, Steyn A, et al. Addressing the environmental sustainability of eye health-care delivery: a scoping review. The Lancet Planetary health. 2022;6(6):e524-e534. doi:10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00074-2
- Zhang JH, Ramke J, Mwangi N, et al. Global eye health and the sustainable development goals: protocol for a scoping review. BMJ open. 2020;10(3):e035789-e035789. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-035789
- K眉mmerer Klaus, Hempel Maximilian, eds. Green and Sustainable Pharmacy. 1st ed. 2010. Springer Berlin Heidelberg; 2010. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-05199-9
- Roy C. The pharmacist鈥檚 role in climate change: A call to action. Canadian pharmacists journal. 2021;154(2):74-75. doi:10.1177/1715163521990408
- Colfer CJP. Michael R. Dove and Daniel M. Kammen: Science, society and the environment: applying anthropology and physics to sustainability: Routledge, London, 2015, 163 pp, ISBN: 978-0-415-71599-7. Agriculture and Human Values. 2015;32(4):801-802. doi:10.1007/s10460-015-9649-0
- How you can make physics sustainable. Nature reviews physics. 2023;5(10):547-547. doi:10.1038/s42254-023-00651-7
- Burtscher L, Dalgleish H, Barret D, et al. Forging a sustainable future for astronomy. Nature astronomy. 2021;5(9):857-860. doi:10.1038/s41550-021-01486-x
Industry Associations Connected to Sustainability
Summary: Broken out by faculty, these are industry associations and conferences considering sustainability in the context of various disciplines. These are some examples of how sustainability is being considered in the context of industry.
Purpose: These examples in industry may provide some context for how students will encounter sustainability in their careers after studies, and may inspire relevant connections to curriculum.
If you have an industry association you would like to add to the list, or a link is broken, please contact us.
Arts
Business
Social Sciences
Arts, Communications, and Language
- 听
History and Culture
Engineering
Environment
Health
Mathematics
- s