Qualifications for Contributing to Sustainable Development A Survey of Environmental Sciences Graduates

Abstract

A survey of Environmental Sciences graduates from ETH Zurich was conducted to gain insights into their sustainability-oriented activities. 567 partic ipants provided 672 concrete best-practice examples of their professional contributions to sustainable development. The contributions addressed ecological, economic, and social aspects of sustainability, and 47 percent of them attempted to systematically integrate these dimensions. Responsible use of resources and the protection of the natural environment were the main foci of the examples, and many promoted health and safety of the public or enhanced the innovative power of the economy. Qualifications denoted as helpful for realizing the contributions included broad natural scientific knowledge and ecological systems understanding, as well as in-depth knowledge in specific fields or domains of application. Participants thus judged their inter disciplinary environmental science education as advantageous compared to conventional disciplinary programs. Social and communication skills, in particular for convincing communication, also proved important for realizing the examples.