With six weeks to go until COP26, the delayed 2020 UN climate change conference in Glasgow, many people are considering how their personal and professional behaviour can help tackle the climate crisis. This includes rethinking the extent to which we are defined by our consumption or our citizenship. Academics recognise the widespread consensus, demonstrated through a global […] … learn more→
Tag Archives: sustainability

Sustainability must start with universities if the fashion industry is to change

University: how to introduce sustainable development into training?
At the instigation of Delphine Batho, Cédric Villani and Matthieu Orphelin, 80 deputies have tabled a bill on the teaching of climate issues. Without waiting for this legislative initiative, it appears that many actions have already been launched in universities to integrate this dimension of “sustainability” into training. Through this article, I want to draw some conclusions from […] … learn more→

Universities must act now on sustainability goals
In an unpredictable and insecure global political scene, the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are intended to tackle pressing global challenges. Agreed on by all participating countries, including Australia, the SDGs set 17 goals and 169 targets to promote economic prosperity, social inclusion and environmental sustainability. The goals cover a wide range of complex […] … learn more→
Bitter-sweet Easter: how our demand is melting sustainable cocoa farming
Chocolate – from the humble confectionery bar to single-origin gourmet dark chocolate – is enjoyed by most Australians as a readily available treat. However, chocolate manufacturers are worried that cocoa production may not be able to meet the rapidly increasing demand for chocolate in the developing economies of China, India and Brazil. A major international […] … learn more→
Sustainable food and farming courses online
The UMass Stockbridge School of Agriculture was established in 1918 to provide practical science-based education – and the tradition continues today … learn more→
How much will it cost to save our economy’s foundation?
During the past two summers, Pakistan was hit with catastrophic floods. The record flooding in the late summer of 2010 was the most devastating natural disaster in Pakistan’s history. The media coverage reported torrential rains as the cause, but there is much more to the story. When Pakistan was created in 1947, some 30 percent […] … learn more→
Sloan PhD student walks the walk in sustainability
Growing up in the late 1980s, doctoral candidate Kate Parrot SM ’07, favored the big-hair look that was popular at the time. “It was fashionable to have 4-inch bangs,” she says, laughing at the memory. But, probably unlike most of her peers, Parrot was worried about the growing hole in the Ozone layer — she […] … learn more→
UMass Permaculture invited to the White House!
Thanks to everyone who voted to put UMass in FIRST PLACE in the White House Campus Champions of Change Challenge! … learn more→
Society: Step to to save the planet
Scientific knowledge alone isn’t enough to save the planet – we must also act on that knowledge and radically change our behaviour, according to the authors of an international study. The study, carried out by researchers from The Australian National University and colleagues in Germany, the UK and the USA, suggests that the greatest barrier […] … learn more→
UN sustainability panel says put a price on the environment
A recent cartoon (below) extrapolates the use of the word “sustainable”. It predicts that in 50 years each sentence will on average contain the word at least once. The cartoon is clever, and “sustainable” is indeed overused. But there is a good reason why we hear about sustainability so much these days. It is important. […] … learn more→