Abstract
Problem Statement: Patterns of consumption are considered as a main driver of unsustainable development. In the debate, education and educational organizations are unisonous considered as a key player to contribute to a more sustainable socialization of young consumers. Both schools and universities are challenged to become places and life-worlds in which sustainable consumption can be learned and experienced. The objective of this paper was to explore how educational organizations can effectively engage their members in bringing about the aspired transformations and monitoring their effects. Approach: The study used a conceptual approach that included three steps. Firstly, the concept of an educational organization's Culture of Consumption (COC) was adopted as an analytical frame of reference. In a second step, methodological propositions for changing the organizational COC were discussed drawing on the concepts of mode-2 knowledge production and participatory change management. In a third step, existing tools and approaches to sustainability auditing in the educational context were screened and critically discussed against the background of recent innovations in mode-2 approaches to sustainability evaluation. Results: The findings revealed that while existing sets of indicators did adequately account for key consumption-related organizational operations and to some extent for educational goals and aspirations, they failed to tap the realm of underlying and tacit basic assumptions that substantiate the essence of an organizational COC. To remedy this shortcoming, additional indicators and modifications were proposed. As a synthesis, a synoptic framework of a monitoring system for an educational organization's COC was presented. Conclusion: The study's results highlighted the need to develop monitoring frameworks that go beyond assessing operative performances and pay greater attention to reflective, interpretative and deliberative capacities in educational organizations.
Highlights
Sustainable consumption as a cultural challenge: Many of the phenomena of global change that can be observed today are closely linked to the globalization of cultural patterns of consumption and production
Change management for a “culture of sustainable consumption”: This study proposes that in order to unfold their full potential as promoters of sustainable consumption, educational organizations need to engage in a holistic development of their Culture Of Consumption (COC)
Based on the premises of participatory change management and knowledge generation, a sequential model for participatory cultural change initiation is Drawing on experiences reported in the change proposed that involves different groups of management literature, changing cultural organizational members and stakeholders in the design artifacts promises to be a vital starting point for the of interventions and their implementation aimed at initiation of cultural change in organizations (Higgins et changing organizational structures and processes as al., 2006)
Summary
Sustainable consumption as a cultural challenge: Many of the phenomena of global change that can be observed today are closely linked to the globalization of cultural patterns of consumption and production. For this to happen, action is called for to develop a better understanding of the role of consumption and how to bring about more sustainable consumption patterns (UNCED, 1993). As UNESCO states, the aspired transition needs to be a cultural change: “To the extent that the global crisis facing humanity is a reflection of our collective values, behavior and lifestyles, it is, above all, a cultural crisis” (UNCED, 1993). What is asked of education is nothing less than “to promote attitudes and behavior conductive to a culture of sustainability” (UNCED, 1993)
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