Sustainable development and the professions

Abstract

Professional bodies are beginning to recognise that sustainable development is a key issue for professional practice and the wider role of professionals in society. Since many professional bodies also define the curricula of degree programmes which provide the educational route to membership of the professions, this significant change in emphasis has far reaching implications for degree programmes in HE institutions. As part of this change process, 14 professional bodies have developed a common framework for sustainability to enable them to develop their thinking and practice. They have also developed a generic course on sustainable development for the professions, based on systems thinking.