An Academic Foundation for Sustainability Studies Krista Bailey, MLS Mike F. Keen, Ph.D, LEED-AP IU South Bend Center for a Sustainable Future

Arctic sea ice drops to its lowest level since modern recording began Scientists call event “tipping point" in global warming. - National Sea Ice and Data Center (09/16/12) The Greatest Challenge Our Greatest Challenge Is Also Our Greatest Opportunity!!! PressTV 2010 Sustainability Studies: Beyond Gloom and Doom 101

What is Sustainability? Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs -United Nations World Commission on Development and Environment (1987)

Triple Bottom Line Systems Sustainability brings three systems into harmony:

The Academic Mission Teaching and Learning Research and Creative Activity Service and Civic Engagement

Our Challenge and Opportunity Teaching and Learning Research and Creative Activity Service and Civic Engagement Sustainability Academic Mission

We need a Framework Complexity Uncertainty

Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) Initially developed by The Natural Step (NGO) and an international group of natural and social scientists as a result of the desire to help identify a set of scientifically based principles that could guide human action toward a more sustainable path regardless of the starting point. Provides a comprehensive definition of an environmentally sustainable society that is easily understood and grounded in natural science, social science, and systems theory. Offers a flexible framework for individuals, families, businesses, and communities to create and implement their own plans which will enable them to become more sustainable one step at a time.

Scientific Foundations Basic Laws of Physics 1 st and 2 nd Laws of Thermodynamics Law of Conservation of Matter

Scientific Foundations Evolution Evolutionary Biology 4.5 billion years – Swirling stew 3.5 billion years – First plant cell 1.5 billion years – First green plants billion – First animal cells 2 million years – Human ancestors

Scientific Foundations Planetary Cycles Water Carbon (CO 2 ) Nitrogen National Center for Atmospheric Research

What all scientists agree upon Slow geological cycles (volcano eruptions and weathering) Slow geological cycles (sedimentation and mineralization) Closed system with respect to matter 1) Nothing disappears 2) Everything disperses Open system with respect to energy « Photosynthesis pays the bill » Sustainability is about the ability of our own human society to continue indefinitely within these natural cycles

How we influence the system Relatively large flows of materials from the Earth’s crust Introduce persistent compounds foreign to nature Physically inhibit nature’s ability to run cycles Barriers to people meeting their basic needs worldwide

4 System Conditions of a Sustainable Society...concentrations of substances extracted from the Earth’s crust,...concentrations of substances produced by society,...degradation by physical means,...people are not subject to conditions that systematically undermine their capacity to meet their needs. In a sustainable society, nature is not subject to systematically increasing... and, in that society...

Operating Manual for the Planet Reduce and eventually eliminate our contributions to the systematic accumulation of materials taken from the earth’s crust. Reduce and eventually eliminate our contribution to the systematic accumulation of substances produced by society. Reduce and eventually eliminate our contributions to the ongoing physical degradation of nature. Reduce and eventually eliminate our contributions to conditions that systematically undermine people’s abilities to meet their own needs. In a sustainable society, we strive to...

Strategies for Putting Theory into Practice Systems Thinking Learning Organization

Backcasting 1. Begin with the end in mind 2. Move backwards from the vision to the present 3. Move step by step towards the vision Present Future Visioning

Hot Lips Pizza Portland company – 6 stores Started with low hanging fruit: cut electric bill by 50% Changed buying model: local, seasonal, partnerships with local farmers and producers Results: Thriving company, good brand Benefits: financial, employees, customers Marketing: Articles in Wall Street Journal, Fortune Magazine

FSSD Potential for the Academy Peer-reviewed platform for mission activities Collaboration across boundaries/Silo buster – teaching/research/service – disciplines – grants/development – academic/non-academic – campus/community – education/business/gov’t/not-for-profit/civil Gets the system in the room

FSSD offers a scientific systems based platform Teaching and Learning Research and Creative Activity Service and Civic Engagement Sustainability Academic Mission

FSSD offers a scientific systems based platform Teaching and Learning Research and Creative Activity Service and Civic Engagement Sustainability Academic Mission

Center for a Sustainable Future sustainthefuture.iusb.edu facebook.com/sustainthefuture youtube.com/SustainTheFuture

Center for a Sustainable Future sustainthefuture.iusb.edu