Abstract
Almost 30 years ago, the United Nations issued “Our Common Future” in search of a sustainable development path; however, little has changed in our society since then. The question is: have we gone too far away from nature? Have we undermined that we are part of nature? The present chapter will discuss that sustainability is not a trade, but a philosophy of life where spirituality plays an important role. Organizations and academia have utilized the triple bottom line as part of a sustainability balanced scorecard; however, sustainable development is predicted by interconnectedness and a worldview requiring a spiritually evolving experience that appreciates nature for its intrinsic value where humans are part of nature. The triple bottom line is expanded into a quadruple bottom line to integrate the spiritual realm as part of an effort to develop quality education for sustainability.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
Aggarwal, P. (2012). Commentary: Differential human life value perception, Guatemala experiment and bioethics. Online Journal of Health Ethics, 8(1).
Allevato, E. (2017). PhD thesis. Attitudes of green organizations’ personnel towards genuine sustainable development.
Antunes, A., & Gadotti, M. (2005). A thematic essay which speaks to principle 14 on incorporating the values of the Earth Charter into education Eco-pedagogy as the Appropriate Pedagogy to the Earth Charter Process, The Earth Charter in Action, Part IV: Democracy, Nonviolence, and Peace. http://www.earthcharterinaction.com/invent/images/uploads/ENG-Antunes.pdf
Bostrom, N. (2009). The future of humanity. In J.-K. B. Olsen, E. Selinger, & S. Riis (Eds.), New waves in philosophy of technology. New York: Palgrave McMillan. http://www.nickbostrom.com/papers/future.pdf.
Brown, R. L., Lenssen, N., & Kane, H. (1995). Vital signs: The trends that are shaping our future 1995–1996. London: Earthscan Publications. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265361134_The_Trends_That_Are_Shaping_Our_Future.
Brundtland, G. H. (1987). United Nations, report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our common future, Oslo, 20 Mar 1987. http://www.un-documents.net/our-common-future.pdf
Catton, W. R., Jr., & Dunlap, R. E. (1978). Environmental sociology: A new paradigm. The American Sociologist, 13, 41–49.
Cohen, J. E. 1995. How many people can the earth support? W. W. Norton & Company, New York. 532 p.
Cohen, J. & Malin, M.B., (2010), International perspectives on Goals of Universal Basic and Secondary Education, Routhledge Research in Education, Volume 22.
Czujko-Moszyk, E. (2014). John Dewey’s community of inquiry. Lingua AC Communitas, ISSS 1230-3143, 24, 129–141. http://www.lingua.amu.edu.pl/Lingua_24/10_Ewelina%20Czujko-Moszyk.pdf
Demirel, D., & Oner, M. (2015). Revisiting Schein (1965) study on the managerial values and attitudes of MBA students. International Review of Management and Marketing, 5(2), 73–84.
Desjardins, J. (2007). Sustainability: Business’s new environmental obligation, portions of essay previously published in Business, Ethics and the Environment: Imagining a Sustainable Future. https://philosophia.uncg.edu/media/phi361-metivier/readings/DesJardins-Sustainability.pdf
Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of education. http://www.johndeweyphilosophy.com/books/democracy_and_education/Thinking_in_Education.html
Dobson, A., & Bell, D. (2006). Environmental citizenship (p. 258). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Elkington, J. (1994). Enter the triple bottom line. http://www.johnelkington.com/archive/TBL-elkington-chapter.pdf
Erkins, P., & Jacob, M. (1995). Environmental sustainability and the growth of GDP conditions for compatibility. In V. Baskar & A. Glyn (Eds.), The north, the south and sustainable development. Tokyo: United Nations University Press. http://archive.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/80901e/80901E06.htm.
Escrigas, C. (2008). “Putting the role of higher education on the agenda”, Extracted from: The Global University Network for Innovation (GUNi) is an international network created in 1999 and supported by three partner institutions: UNESCO, the United Nations University (UNU) and the Catalan Association of Public Universities (ACUP). http://www.guninetwork.org/about-guni#sthash.ih4FuEjw.dpuf
Eugene A, Joan M, (2011) “Systemic thinking from a scientific and spiritual perspective: Toward a new paradigm and eco world order”, Journal of Global Responsibility, 2(1), pp. 23–45, https://doi.org/10.1108/20412561111128500.
Freire, P. (1981). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum.
Freire, P. (1998), “Cultural Action for Freedom, Harvard Educational Review” 68, N.4 Dec 1998.
Freire, P., & Norton, M. (1990). We make the road by walking: Conversations on education and social change. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. https://codkashacabka.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/we-make-the-road-by-walking-myles-and-paolo-freie-book.pdf.
Gadotti, M. (2010). Reorienting education practices towards sustainability. Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 4(2), 203–211.
Gottlieb, R. S. (Ed.). (1996). This sacred earth: Religion, nature, environment. New York: Routledge.
Harris Interactive Inc. (2007). International survey highlights business attitudes towards sustainability. https://www.dowcorning.com/content/about/aboutmedia/SustainDoc.pdf
Hedman, M. (2007). Meteorites and the age of the solar system. In The age of everything (pp. 142–162). University of Chicago Press.
Hindle, T. (2008). Guide to management ideas and gurus. The Economist. https://bordeure.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/the-economist-guide-to-management-ideas-and-gurus.pdf
Jowett, E. (1891). The dialogues of Plato (428/27–348/47 BCE) translated by Benjamin Jowett E, texts prepared for this edition by Antonio Gonzalez Fernandez. http://pendientedemigracion.ucm.es/info/diciex/gente/agf/plato/The_Dialogues_of_Plato_v0.1.pdf
Kopina, H. et al. (2015). Sustainability: New strategic thinking for business. Environment, Development and Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-015-9723-1. https://www.academia.edu/17509790/Sustainability_New_Strategic_Thinking_for_Business.
Lam, F. (2011). The socratic method as an approach to learning and its benefits. http://repository.cmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1126&context=hsshonors
LeBlanc, S. A., & Register, K. E. (2003). Constant battles: Why we fight. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
Lisa Quinn, L (2014). Social Action to Promote Clothing Sustainability: The role of transformative learning in the transition towards sustainability, (Doctoral dissertation retrieved from https://umanitoba.ca/institutes/natural_resources/Left-Hand%20Column/theses/PhD%20Thesis%20Quinn%202014.pdf
Mary, K. A., Margaret, E., & Kavitha, N. V. (2011). Empowering young minds towards sustainable development. Literacy Information and Computer Education Journal (LICEJ), 2(1.) http://infonomics-society.ie/wp-content/uploads/licej/published-papers/volume-2-2011/Empowering-Young-Minds-towards-Sustainable-Development.pdf.
Mebratu, D. (1998). Sustainability and sustainable development: Historical and conceptual review. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 18, 493–452. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.474.8171&rep=rep1&type=pdf.
Mezirow, J. (1991). Transformative Dimensions of Adult Learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Micangeli, A., Naso, V., Michelangeli, E., Matrisciano, A., Farioli, F., & Belfiore, N. (2014). Attitudes toward sustainability and green economy issues related to some students learning their characteristics: A preliminary study. Sustainability, 6, 3484–3503. https://doi.org/10.3390/su6063484.
Morel, M., & Kwakye, F. (2012). Green marketing: Consumers’ attitudes towards eco-friendly products and purchase intention in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. Master thesis. http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:553342/fulltext01
National Research Council. (1999). Our common journey: A transition toward sustainability board on sustainable development. National Research Council, Policy Division, Board on Sustainable Development.
Neef, M. M. (2010). Chilean economist Manfred Max-Neef: US is becoming an “underdeveloping nation”. http://www.democracynow.org/2010/9/22/chilean_economist_manfred_max_neef_us
Orr, D. W. (1993). The problem of disciplines/the discipline of problems. Conservation Biology, 7(1), 10–12.
Orr, D. W. (1994). Earth in mind: On education, environment, and the human prospect, Island Press, Washington.
Pratarelli, M. E. (2016). The failure to achieve sustainability may be in our genes. Global Bioethics, 27(2–4), 61–75. https://doi.org/10.1080/11287462.2016.1230989.
Scharmer, O. (2009). Theory U: Leading from the future as it emerges. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Print; ELAIS: Creating platforms for leading and innovating on the scale of the whole system, paper prepared for FOSAD workshop Mount Grace Hotel, Magaliesburg, South Africa, Nov, 25 2009. Presencing Institute. https://www.presencing.com/resources/elias-creating-platforms-leading-and-innovating-scale-whole-system; Scharmer, O. Addressing the blind spot of our time. http://www.presencing.com/sites/default/files/page-files/Theory_U_Exec_Summary.pdf
Stubbs, W., & Cocklin, C. (2007). Teaching sustainability to business students: Shifting mindsets. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 9(3), 206–221. 2008. http://pages.ramapo.edu/~vasishth/Sustainability_Education/Stubbs+Teaching_Sust+Business_Students.pdf.
UN. (2015). The United Nations in the document Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development.
United Nations. (2014). Human right to water and sanitation. http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/human_right_to_water.shtml
WCED. (1987). Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our common future. Retrieved November 5th, 2013, http://www.un-documents.net/wced-ocf.htm
Westervel, J. (1986). Westerveld coined the term “greenwash” in a 1986 essay examining practices of the hotel industry, “Beware of green marketing, warns Greenpeace exec”. ABS-CBN News. 17 Sept 2008. Retrieved November 11, 2012. In 1986.
Williams, J. (2007). Thinking as natural: Another look at human exemptionalism. Human Ecology Review, 14(2.) http://www.humanecologyreview.org/pastissues/her142/williams.pdf.
Zoeteman, K. (2012). Sustainable development: taking responsibility for the whole. In K. Zoeteman (Ed.), Sustainable development drivers: The role of leadership in government, business and NGO performance (pp. 3–13). Cheltenham/Netherlands: Edward Elgar/Tilburg University.
Zohar, D., & Marshall, I. (2000). SQ: Spiritual intelligence, the ultimate intelligence. New York: Bloomsbury Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Allevato, E. (2018). The Spirit of Sustainability. In: Marques, J. (eds) Handbook of Engaged Sustainability. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53121-2_17-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53121-2_17-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-53121-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-53121-2
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Business and ManagementReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences