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EfS in Industry - Australian Perspective

Within Australia, EE in the business and industry sector tends to focus on the technical knowledge and skills required to perform certain environmental job functions and there are many examples of successful programs of this kind. Typically these programs have a limited scope and do not seek to identify alternatives to current organisational policy and practice towards sustainability. It is rare to find industry education programs that motivate or build the capacity of participants to reorient current practice. A handful of progressive companies are showing leadership by educating their own stakeholders about and for sustainability. These companies are starting to integrate education and training programs into their Corporate Social Responsibility policies and sustainability reporting initiatives. Others are utilising approaches such as Life Cycle Analysis to increase dialogue amongst and between industries and generate organisational change whilst providing further opportunities in education for sustainability and developing partnerships.

Vocational education and training and government programs in EE for industry personnel are also on offer but these mostly focus on compliance to regulations. Business Schools have begun to recognise the need to shift towards education for sustainability but often lack the skills, capacity or leadership to action change.

The compliance and performance approach promoted by much of the industry EE in Australia still has an important role to play in assisting changes to sustainability, but will not necessarily lead to deeper lasting change. For such change to occur, companies must define where they want to be and explore alternatives for getting there. This process of envisioning and futures thinking is critical for companies to align themselves with change towards sustainability and helps frame sustainability as an opportunity rather than a risk that needs to be minimised. The majority of the EE opportunities available to Australian business and industry differ from this approach, providing a one-way dissemination of information from 'experts' to companies instructing them exactly where they should go and how they should get there.

For a more in-depth review see 'A National Review of Environmental Education and its Contribution to Sustainability in Australia: Business and Industry Education' link to document Full report or Summary

Text adapted from Tilbury, D., Adams, K. and Keogh, A. (2005) A National Review of Environmental Education and its Contribution to Sustainability in Australia: Business and Industry Education. Canberra: Australian Government Department of the Environment and Water Resources and Australian Research Institute in Education for Sustainability. If you wish to cite or refer to this text in another document please acknowledge the original source.

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