Sustainability Change Agents Research Articles

Fruta Feia cooperative: Examining the influence of income on sustainability value and agency among alternative food network consumers

Alternative Food Networks gain increasing importance in sustainability transitions of food production, retail, and consumption. This paper explores the role of AFN consumers as critical food sustainability change agents, with a special focus on low-income consumers. It challenges preconceived notions that associate sustainable living exclusively with affluent communities, highlighting the substantial influence of economically disadvantaged individuals in shaping sustainable food consumption patterns. Based on a survey of the Portuguese Fruta Feia cooperative, the paper examines how perceived income affects sustainable food values, decisions, and practices. Results highlight low-income consumers' significant, yet often overlooked, role in driving changes towards environmentally responsible food systems and practices. This research shifts the focus of sustainability change agency, underscoring the critical role of diverse, particularly financially disadvantaged, consumer groups in championing sustainability in the food sector. It also confirms the importance of AFNs and their members as critical transition stakeholders.

Intrapersonal capacities for sustainability: a change agent perspective on the ‘inner dimension’ of sustainability work

An ongoing discussion in education for sustainable development (ESD) research has focused on defining a list of agreed upon sustainability competencies required for the work of sustainability change agents. This discussion has included the consideration of an ‘Intrapersonal’ perspective that considers the role of inner qualities in change agents and how this impacts their ability to implement sustainability. While many researchers have looked at the ‘inner dimension’ of sustainability work, the identification and function of an ‘Intrapersonal’ competence remains in question. Utilizing practitioner responses, this paper identifies eight Intrapersonal capacities that change agents described as beneficial to their implementation of sustainability. These capacities are the ability to: Hold complexity, Foster a learner’s mindset, Deeply value others, Let be, Show up as one’s full self, Regulate and manage the self, Persist with lightness and Ensure one’s wellbeing. The study provides insights into the identification of the capacities and their relationship to a wider Intrapersonal research field. It also discusses the implications this perspective has on education for sustainable development should it consider incorporating such capacities into teaching and learning. While much literature in the field is of conceptual nature, this paper offers an empirical contribution by including the voice and perspective of change agents to the Intrapersonal discussion.

Auditing a case study: Enhancing case-based learning in education for sustainability

Case-based learning is a long-standing pedagogic practice involving students undertaking a single dimensional, independent analysis of a text case study which feeds forward into a class discussion. However, this poses several challenges for education for sustainability within the current culture of Higher Education; learners are required to analyze interlinked, multi-faceted aspects of sustainability whereas a traditional text case study generally presents a single situation for consideration; students are reluctant to prepare for classes; a text case study promotes backward reasoning rather than the forward thinking that education for sustainability requires to develop work ready graduates who are change agents for sustainable futures; case-based learning cannot substitute for the active, experiential learning that students find engaging.This paper presents the findings of a three-year research study into enhancing case-based learning within education for sustainability. It proposes utilizing an extensive mixed media case and facilitating multi-dimensional analysis through the completion of a sustainability audit in an active learning environment to overcome the challenges of traditional case-based learning. The inclusion of an audit to frame the case study analysis may enhance case-based learning as it provides a more immersive experience that guides students through the collection, collation, synthesis, and communication of case study information.The study's findings suggest students are more engaged and develop the knowledge skills and values required for work readiness and to become sustainability change agents through their immersion in an audit. Consequently, this paper may be of interest to educators seeking an innovative approach to education for sustainability that may overcome the challenges of traditional case-based learning and promote active, experiential learning of the multi-faceted aspects of sustainability.

Fostering students’ systems thinking competence for sustainability by using multiple real-world learning approaches

For a sustainable future, equipping sustainability change agents with relevant sustainability competencies is crucial. Among these competencies is system thinking competence – the understanding of complex interrelationships among the dimensions of sustainable development and the impacts of the interrelationships. Learning approaches relevant to fostering sustainability competencies have been studied. However, research is rare on fostering systems thinking competence by simultaneously using multiple, real-world, and innovative learning approaches. To address this gap, we conducted a pre-test–post-test exploratory experimental study involving higher education students (n = 36). The study explored the contributions of field trips and collaborative learning in combination with mobile learning and paper-and-pencil note taking. The study simultaneously implemented a combined set of learning approaches in a real-world environment. The results suggest that the learning approaches and the real-world environment contribute to fostering the systems thinking competence of participants by exposing them to complex real-world systems and enabling the exchanging of diverse ideas among collaborating participants. As such, our study contributes to social constructivist learning discourses in education for sustainable development by indicating specific combinations of learning approaches and environments that facilitate the meaningful engagement and motivation of learners through self-regulated learning.

What Motivates Students to Be Sustainability Change Agents in the Face of Adversity?

The world faces significant challenges that require transformative changes facilitated by Sustainability Change Agents (SCAs). Universities around the world have explicitly taken up the responsibil...

Social marketing and higher education: partnering to achieve sustainable development goals

Purpose Accomplishing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is imperative for societies to meet their grand challenges. Achieving these goals by 2030 requires sustainability change agents with a can-do-attitude. This study aims to show how institutions of higher education can become partners for social marketing in bringing forward such change agents. Design/methodology/approach Taking a case study approach, this paper examines a master’s programme to identify factors relevant to educating sustainability change agents that can serve as a basis for a social marketing planning primer to foster the SDGs. Findings This study presents the social marketing discipline with a viable option for supporting the achievement of the SDGs through higher education. Its contributions are twofold. First, it is shown that when interdisciplinarity and a project-based approach are conceptualized and organized to create a motivating and meaningful learning environment with the SDGs as guiding principles, students, as sustainability change agents, can increase awareness and have the potential to generate impacts regarding the SDGs at the individual, organizational and institutional levels. Second, based on this, the paper provides guidance to social marketers regarding the planning of a campaign targeting higher education institutions. The authors argue that the aim of this campaign should be to promote the implementation of the SDGs as guiding principles above all, as this can facilitate the process of students becoming sustainability change agents who help achieve the goals in a timely manner. Research limitations/implications Whilst single case studies are usually limited in drawing generalizations, the present study offers a starting point for investigating the role of universities as a target group for social marketing in fostering further sustainable development. Building on its findings, future research could test the proposed social marketing planning primer and evaluate the impact on the SDGs at a larger scale than only one university. Practical implications It is proposed to use the findings of the study to model a social marketing campaign aimed at universities to motivate them to help develop sustainability change agents in all disciplines by integrating the SDGs as guiding principles for study programmes. Social implications Students’ impacts range from leading peers to buy sustainable products and consume less to influencing a company to adopt sustainable packaging, thereby contributing to social change. Originality/value This study is among the first to examine the possible effect of a study programme on the SDGs at different societal levels by taking the perspectives of multiple stakeholders into account and combining the theory of higher education with sustainability and social marketing.

Sustainable Shift from Centralized to Participatory Higher Education in Post-Soviet Countries: A Systematic Literature Review

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, higher education (HE) in post-Soviet reality continues to face complex challenges, including hierarchical structures, antiquated teaching methods, and lack of international standards. In the meantime, in the US and in Europe, HE has recently focused on participatory curriculum development (PCD) and programs that seek to directly connect student learning to “real-world” problems, accelerating positive change in curricula and through their contributions to regional communities. Accepted into the Bologna Process—the standardization of European HE—Armenian HE institutions struggle to satisfy requirements and related sustainable development goals with centralized standards, inhibiting them from being internationally competitive and regional sustainability change agents. In this article, we examine post-Soviet HE development since 1991 and challenges, with a particular focus on Armenia; what participatory curriculum building may offer; and how it contributes to HE and regional sustainability transitions. A systematic literature review was applied, using specific combinations of important terms restricting the search with criteria such as language, year of publication, and descriptive or critical in nature. The results illustrate the status quo of post-Soviet HE, synthesize current barriers of HE as potential change agents, and highlight PCD as a way to overcome these barriers.

A Value-Based Framework Connecting Environmental Citizenship and Change Agents for Sustainability—Implications for Education for Environmental Citizenship

Civic agency is acknowledged as a key driver/catalyst for social transformation toward sustainability. Recent environmental citizenship education (EEC) models advocate a transformative approach for addressing environmental unsustainability (addressing underlying structural causes) and the identification of the development of change agents, as both the means for deep social transformation toward sustainability and the outcome of EEC. Given the paucity of studies looking into the psychological attributes of sustainability change agents, this work aims to deepen the theoretical understanding of the motivations that drive individuals to act as change agents and the type and extent of the change that they aspire to effect, with a view to developing competent environmental citizens. To this end, this conceptual work applies Schwartz’s theory of universal values to construct a three-level framework of environmental citizenship (EC) (individual-level, community-level, and socially-transformative-level). Each level reflects an increasing level of change agency that is driven by distinct motivational values and competences. The framework shares affinities with qualitative change agency typologies in the literature but claims that these different qualitative types reflect expanding ‘levels-of-concern’ and an increasing extent of change, as expressed in the EC framework. The paper then discusses curricular implications for the design of meaningful EEC deriving from the framework: Effective EEC entails developing change agency by adapting learning to the EC-level of the learners and the educational organization. The proposed EC/change agency framework provides a scaffold for such curricular adaptation.

Wanted: Heroic leaders to drive the transition to “business beyond usual”

Business-as-usual is likely to drive us to an unsustainable world. To solve the problems human industrial activity has created, such as climate change, species extinction, and biodiversity loss, business leaders (CEOs, top managers, and boards of directors) must be central to the solution for corporate sustainability. In particular, “heroic” leaders are needed to transform their companies into business beyond usual. In this essay, we briefly outline what researchers already know about microfoundational or socio-cognitive and motivational underpinnings of leaders that affect corporate sustainability. However, gaps remain in our understanding of affective drivers and values of leaders. We question whether microfoundations research has the potential to understand true business transformation for positive deviance and suggest that positive organizational scholarship and research on sustainability change agents can provide insights. We next highlight how empirical and research design shortcomings might be addressed. Finally, we discuss how to identify, develop, and empower leaders with transformational potential so that we can proactively create heroic leaders rather than wait for them to magically appear.

Pre-service Technology Teachers' Experiences of Project Based Learning as Pedagogy for Education for Sustainable Development

This paper reports on a qualitative study, which embraced the interpretative paradigm. The study explored Pre–Service Technology Teachers' (PSTTs) experiences of Project–based learning (PBL) as pedagogy while learning about Education for Sustainable development (ESD) at a university in South Africa. The paper advances the rationale that adopting a pedagogy that contextualised PBL has allowed for transformation in the perception and behaviour of PSTTs about sustainability issues, critical citizenship as well as their role as future teachers. Furthermore, it improved the capacity of people to address environmental and developmental issues. Mezirow, theory on transformative learning guided the study theoretically. Fifty-four PSTTs, who were enrolled for the processing module in technology education in 2016, were purposively selected to participate in the study. Participants were assured of confidentiality and anonymity. Data was generated in three stages. This paper reports on stage two and three of data generation, which required PSTTs to participate in focus group interviews and maintain a reflective diary of their experiences of PBL and ESD. Data was subjected to thematic analysis. The findings revealed that PBL increased application of content to solve sustainability problems. Furthermore, the findings bring to the fore new dimensions to the learning that PSTTs experienced when they engaged in PBL, such as overcoming prejudices, team work, awareness of their social responsibilities to the community and the development of skills for sustainability change agents. These finding have implication for pedagogy used to infuse ESD within the curriculum and overcome social cultural stereotypes.

Sustainability change agents: leveraging political skill and reputation

PurposeSustainability initiatives are important considerations for twenty-first century institutions. Employees, customers and other stakeholders expect responsible business practices that focus on people, profit and planet in unison. Sustainability efforts require a strong advocate who can champion relevant business practices and embed new practices within the culture and across the entire organization. The purpose of this paper is to explain the tangible actions described as necessary by change agents in order to move sustainability initiatives forward in their organizations. This research employs the narrative provided by these agents in interviews – to inform the activities outlined in an established model of political skill and reputation building. This analysis enables the model to illustrate the sequential patterns and process of events, i.e. antecedents and consequences that are simply assumed in the existing variance models.Design/methodology/approachThis research is based on in-depth qualitative interviews with the sustainability managers from a variety of organization and industry contexts (e.g. building products, hospitals, banking, energy, environmental and manufacturing).FindingsThe exploration of sustainability initiatives reveals the importance of the change agent’s reputation for building trust in their organizations. Reputation is fostered through political skill and persuasion, while leveraging social capital.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is rich in the depth of individual-level phenomena, thereby highlighting the skills necessary to enact change within a variety of industries. However, given the limited sample size, macro-level issues cannot be addressed.Practical implicationsPolitical skill is a teachable skill that is enhanced through mentoring and coaching. Sustainability initiatives and their organizations can benefit from leveraging persons with strong reputations to facilitate change. When lacking, persons with content knowledge can be groomed to grow their reputation, network, persuasion and political skills.Social implicationsSustainability is vital to the future of our earth and humanity. Business and society would benefit from the growth of this phenomenon.Originality/valueThe authors aim to help change agents achieve their objectives through consideration of not just the goals, but the process as well.

Think outside the European box: Identifying sustainability competencies for a base of the pyramid context

The complex and global nature of unsustainability requires concerted efforts of sustainability change agents from developed and developing countries all over the world. Various attempts have been made to define competencies needed for change agents to effectively contribute to sustainable development. However, most of the studies on sustainability competencies are Eurocentric in focus. Therefore, it is unclear if a base of the pyramid context would require a different set of competencies. This context is characterized by low per capita income, limited infrastructure, and rural population. To fill this gap, we conducted a Delphi study in two rounds in Ethiopia, as a country at the base of the pyramid. Experts (n = 33) from academia and the industry rated and confirmed seven competencies from the literature as being generally important for sustainable development. Additionally, they identified eight sustainability y competencies specifically important for the Ethiopian context, and thus potentially for other countries with the features of base of the pyramid context. Systems thinking and transdisciplinary competence gained the highest ratings. A subsequent specific literature search revealed that previous studies in contexts other than the base of the pyramid context also identified some of the eight additional sustainability competencies. This is important for future studies regarding the universal nature of certain sustainability competencies. The study brought together three fields of research: sustainability, competence, and base of the pyramid context. Our findings contribute to the theory of professional competence by showing that certain sustainability competencies can be of generic nature, independent of socioeconomic context, whereas others are context-specific. In addition, the sustainability competencies may serve as intended learning outcomes of education and training and development programs for sustainability.

Investigating personal carbon emissions of employees of higher education institutions: Insights from Mauritius

Whilst higher education institutions are often being referred as sustainability change agents, employees of such organizations have an essential role towards promoting low-carbon practices amongst students, who are also influenced by the attitudes and behaviours of teachers. For this, employees of higher education institutions need to properly understand their personal carbon emissions along with reduction mechanisms, in order to instil such knowledge and skills to students. However, previous studies focused principally on estimating carbon emissions of higher education institutions to set reduction targets, rather than emphasizing on the human factor related to reduction of greenhouse gases. Furthermore, limited studies have been undertaken to estimate the carbon footprint of employees of higher education institutions. Taking cognizance of these gaps, this paper investigates the perceptions and behaviour pertaining to personal carbon emissions of employees of higher education institutions through answering different research questions, in order to conceptualize a carbon management framework. To achieve this purpose, a survey was conducted in different higher education institutions in Mauritius and involved 440 employees. Results revealed that carbon emissions of this target group are influenced by demographic factors and nature of activities. In addition, the average carbon footprint of participating employees was found to be approximately two times higher than the per-capita carbon footprint of the inhabitants of the island. These findings also mean that more efforts are needed at different levels in order to better engage employees of higher education institutions to reduce their personal carbon footprints. For this, a carbon management framework has been proposed in this study.

On corporate sustainability integration research: Analysing corporate leaders' experiences and academic learnings from an organisational culture perspective

Addressing corporate impacts on the sustainability of society entails a dynamic capability and management of organisational change. Although the integration of Corporate Sustainability into the corporate culture involves both the physical and social dynamics of business activities, scientific research has been mostly focusing on interventions in the physical dynamics. This article focuses on interventions in the social dynamics, by analysing literature from environmental sciences on optimising social interventions aiming for the integration of Corporate Sustainability into the corporate culture on the one hand and literature written by successful Corporate Sustainability change agents from industry on the other hand. We use the three perspectives of organisational culture change by Martin (1992) to compare the analysis of scientific and practical literature. By reflecting upon practical and theoretical advances, this research identified practical grounded learnings on Corporate Sustainability integration contributing to both society and science that give input for improvements of research on the integration of Corporate Sustainability. We conclude that where Corporate Sustainability scholars tend to focus on one specific Corporate Sustainability integration approach, the change agents intuitively apply what is best in their specific situations, resulting in a mix of approaches. Consequently, the combative attitude of scholars is not very fruitful. Moreover, all three perspectives on changing organisational culture could be seen in both scientific as well as practical literature as developmental stages of the transformation process. Consequently, including the time dimension in Corporate Sustainability integration research enables a longitudinal analysis to capture social interventions. We, therefore, stress the need for more longitudinal transdisciplinary research approaches aimed at enhanced understanding of how culture at different organisational levels may affect the success of the integration of Corporate Sustainability into the corporate culture.

Disasters as opportunities for sustainability: the case of Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand

Disasters can catalyze change in different ways, among others: they allow reinforcing pre-disaster exploitation and inequities, enhancing disaster risk reduction policies, or introducing alternative pathways guided by sustainability. Only few studies have investigated the latter: how people were able to leverage disasters for change towards sustainability. This study deals with such people who were able to see, seize, and sustain opportunities for sustainability following a disaster. The study generated data through semi-structured interviews with sustainability change agents in Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand, active during and after the major earthquakes period 2010–2012. The study finds that progress towards sustainability to date is mixed. While Christchurch was less successful in leveraging the immediate opportunities for sweeping change towards sustainability, the sustainability change agents continued to see, seize, and sustain post-disaster opportunities to move sustainability forward. The study derives advice on how to best leverage disasters for sustainability.

An exploration of sustainability change agents as facilitators of nonformal learning: mapping a moving and intertwined landscape

Van Poeck, K., J. Læssøe, and T. Block. 2017. An exploration of sustainability change agents as facilitators of nonformal learning: mapping a moving and intertwined landscape. Ecology and Society 22(2):33. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09308-220233

The greening of organizational culture: revisited fifteen years later

PurposeOrganizations have viewed sustainability as a societal problem and unrelated to business. To recognize sustainability as an organizational issue requires companies to deal with the challenge of transforming into environmentally sustainable enterprises. This requires institutions to align mission statements with values. The purpose of this paper is to replicate previous research in sustainability and the cultural facets which impact the process.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative case study method was used to analyze 25 organizations within the US Midwest with various contexts to determine how their respective cultures impacted their change initiatives. Specifically, the authors spoke to sustainability change agents with regard to their leadership and culture, and the factors that are conducive to (or barriers to) implementing sustainability initiatives.FindingsThe original study demonstrated the presence of seven contextual conditions which are important in the process of imbedding sustainability within the institution. This research found the same dimensions to be present; however, they manifested differently 15 years later.Practical implicationsThe original research offered a somewhat dark picture of the sustainability change initiatives within organizations. The current study however; offers a much more positive perspective which demonstrates organizations appear to have progressed with regard to sustainability.Originality/valueThis is a replication study whereby we discovered similar themes as to the nature of contextual factors that can hinder or advance sustainability initiatives; however, the findings 15 years later show a marked difference in the current state of affairs and the ability to implement sustainability initiatives.

Educating sustainability change agents: the importance of practical skills and experience

Sustainability professionals are agents for change towards sustainable development. Such professionals require knowledge from a variety of disciplines, but also competencies to accomplish real-word change. This article evaluates an innovative course, Strategic Environmental Development, which immerses students in a real-life solution-oriented consultancy project in order to develop critical sustainability change agent skills and confidence in using them. Since 1996, students have worked in 127 projects in 28 countries. The evaluation builds on a post-graduation survey and personal interviews with graduates. Our findings indicate that the course, which is conducted as teamwork and often overseas, helps to prepare students for their challenges at work. It does so by requiring them to work with interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary situations, and to find, translate and combine information outside their own area of expertise, including knowledge from the field. We also argue that working in real-life contexts helps to build up the confidence and leadership that practicing sustainability professionals direly need. A real-life consultancy course helps students become professionals by helping them experience that they are able to access the necessary knowledge for problem-solving quickly and decisively. Moreover, students develop a sense of agency through the experience of being capable to accomplish change. Our findings contribute to a small but growing body of knowledge on the value of using real-world learning experiences in the education of sustainability professionals.

Teaching organisational change management for sustainability: designing and delivering a course at the University of Leeds to better prepare future sustainability change agents

A number of universities worldwide have created new courses and degrees or modified existing ones, as a response to the increasing interest by companies to hire sustainability literate graduates. However, many of such courses have been developed with a focus on ‘hard’ technocentric or managerial issues. The examples that have been published in academic journal have tended to be descriptive, and in only a limited number of cases have they been based on theories of teaching and learning. This paper presents the process of designing and delivering a new course on organisational change management for sustainability for the BA Environment and Business degree at the University of Leeds. The course was developed based on holism and a constructivist position to help deal with the complexities of sustainability and organisational change management. The course objective was to educate students as sustainability change agents by dealing with the complexities of sustainability and ‘soft’ issues in organisational change management. The process had three key elements: (1) the learning outcomes; (2) the course delivery; and (3) the course assessment (including feedback). During the process a number of challenges had to be overcome. The paper provides a more complete, systematic, robust, and focused approach to education for sustainable development, specifically on course design and delivery, by using theories of teaching and learning and linking the course aims, delivery, and assessment. The paper integrates education for sustainability development and corporate sustainability into a relatively new discipline, organisational change management for sustainability.

Corporate Sustainability and the Individual: Understanding What Drives Sustainability Professionals as Change Agents

This paper looks at what motivates sustainability managers to devote their time and energies to addressing social, environmental and ethical issues. It is rooted in the literature on the role of individuals as change agents for corporate sustainability, in particular in their capacity as environmental or social ‘champions’. The paper presents in-depth research among sustainability managers, providing a rich, nuanced understanding of different types of sustainability change agents. It identifies four such types ‐ Experts, Facilitators, Catalysts and Activists ‐ and uncovers the pivotal role of values, inspiration, expertise, empowerment, strategic thinking and social contribution as sources of meaning for these purpose-inspired managers. The findings deepen our understanding of the psychological dimensions of corporate sustainability management, and provide a useful tool for improving individual and team performance, enhancing recruitment and retention of sustainability talent, and developing more effective organisational leadership for sustainability.