Statements on Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Anti-Racism and the Biosphere:
Our work is guided by the knowledge that:
- Our world is threatened by systemic and institutional racism, sexism, ableism, inequitable opportunities and disparities of wealth; these are part of the problems of climate change, resource exploitation, and biodiversity extinctions. Principles of Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Anti-Racism are integrated into the Key Competencies as transformational themes to change the culture of higher education.
- The true metric at the center of Sustainability Education is the thriving of Earth’s life-support systems – water, air, and soil quality, and the health and wellbeing of complex ecosystems including all animals, birds, fish, insects, mammals, and human communities as part of nature.
We emphasize an approach that will be inclusive and collaborative, which incorporates justice, equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility both in the design process and in the end result: an accreditation that increases and diversifies student enrollment and completion of certificate and degree programs at all levels of higher education (2-year, 4-year, Master’s, Doctoral) and different types of colleges (Research 1, Community College, Tribal Colleges, Indigenous-Serving, HBCUs, and HSIs) as well as accounting for regional, place-based emphasis.
Return to the Sustainability in Higher Education initiative page here.