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Sustainability Literacy Test

  • Published on February 28, 2015
The “Sustainability Literacy Test” is a tool for the various initiatives on sustainability led by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to assess and verify the sustainability literacy of their students when they graduate. It assesses the minimum level knowledge in economic, social and environmental responsibility for higher education students, applicable all over the world, in any kind of HEI, in any country, studying any kind of tertiary-level course (Bachelors, Masters, MBAs, PhD).
The Rio+20 Conference highlighted the role that Higher Education Institutions bear in the pursuit of sustainable development. One of the most relevant questions is now, how can universities be sure that they are producing sustainability literate graduates? At the Higher Education Sustainable Initiative (HESI), launched in Rio+20 in 2012, Chancellors, Presidents, Rectors, Deans and leaders of Higher Education Institutions and related organizations, acknowledged the responsibility that they bear in the international pursuit of sustainable development. They agreed to teach sustainable development concepts, encourage research on sustainable development issues, green their campuses, support sustainability efforts in the communities in which they reside and engage with and share results through international frameworks. The objectives of this test are to: - verify the sustainability literacy of students of HEIs when they graduate; - assess the minimum level knowledge in economic, social and environmental responsibility for higher education students, applicable all over the world, in any kind of HEI, in any country, studying any kind of tertiary-level course (Bachelors, Masters, MBAs, PhD). All of the questions in this assessment will ensure that future graduates have basic knowledge on sustainable development and both individual and Organisational sustainability and responsibility. For this purpose, the scope of this assessment covers 2 types of question: - Questions on challenges facing society and the planet i.e. general knowledge on social,environmental and economic issues, basic understanding of the earth e.g. water and carbon cycles, greenhouse effect etc. - Questions on the Organisation's responsibility in general and on corporate responsibility in particular i.e. questions on practices for integrating social responsibility throughout an Organisation and questions on the responsibility of individuals as employees and citizens. In order to be easy to use worldwide, a Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) format has been chosen. 50 MCQ's are randomly selected out of among a wide range. Of those questions, 2/3 are related to Supra/International level (global warming for instance) and 1/3 linked to national/regional level (i.e. local regulations and laws, culture and practices). The test takes 30 minutes. To take the test, students must create an account with the examination session number/code sent by their university/college. To be relevant around the world, questions are based on sources that are subject to a broad consensus in the community of researchers and practitioners: They are based on the founding principles of sustainable development including basic definitions (e.g. sustainable development, corporate social responsibility, socially responsible investment, social entrepreneurship, etc.…); trends and key figures of global issues covering environmental, social and economic dimensions. (e.g. demographic, biodiversity extinction, etc.; sources in international texts (e.g. international reports, UN conventions, etc.); and from reports and surveys from specialized national agencies. Some are structured by core subjects addressed in ISO 26000, the international standard for social responsibility of Organisations (7 core subjects and 37 core issues).

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