This Innovation Report is the second annual review of significant developments in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Higher Education (HE), as part of the University Educators for Sustainable Development (UE4SD) project. The UE4SD initiative seeks to reorient the HE curriculum for sustainability by improving support and professional development in ESD for university educators.

Full text of the report in pdf format.

The project has published a leading practice publication on ESD professional development in HE and is currently developing an online platform of resources and piloting an ESD training academy for university teams. The Innovation Reports aim to situate this European project within the changing global landscape of HE, ESD and professional development and to ensure that the core thinking and outcomes of the project are informed by an up-to-date and international perspective.

This second report spans important international developments during 2015 and the landscape for ESD professional development across the world. Specifically, it identifies:

• significant global dialogues, initiatives and platforms on education, sustainable development and higher education following the close of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) and the launch of the UNESCO Global Action Programme (GAP) on ESD; development of a ministerial statement and new implementation framework through UNECE to support ESD in education across Europe; elaboration of an Action Plan for the implementation of the Mediterranean Strategy on ESD; and creation of new ESD partnerships in sustainability science; and, national responses to the GAP on ESD;
• continued signs of the growth of demand for skills development and university action on ESD among higher education student populations;
• emerging dialogue on the competences and capabilities relevant to sustainability, both from employers and agencies that are looking for these attributes in higher education graduates, and from educators seeking to support the professional development of university educators.