Hallmarks

Definition of Sustainability

According to UH Executive Sustainability Policy EP 4.202, sustainability is defined as "serving the needs of the present without jeopardizing the needs of the future."

Purpose of S(ustainability) designation

The goal of the S (Sustainability)-designation is to ensure that higher education remains relevant in the context of an increasingly complex, rapidly changing world. There is an increased need to understand and convey in our courses the impacts we have on the environment, climate change, and resilience and to come up with ways to repair, restore, and regenerate the biological systems that human activity has compromised. 

The incorporation of sustainability into curricula across disciplines will provide knowledge and skills that will be needed in an uncertain future. This aligns with Leeward’s mission:  “We foster students to become responsible global citizens locally, nationally, and internationally.”  Furthermore, S-designation courses count towards a Sustainability Certificate (ASC).

UH Sustainability Education is a strategy to implement UH Executive Sustainability Policy EP 4.202 . All campuses in the UH system are in the process of adopting or implementing this strategy.

Sustainability-Focused (SF) Designation Hallmarks

Hallmark 1

Sustainability content will be presented and studied in a manner that is integrated into the main course content.

Hallmark 2

Sustainability related material will represent a substantial portion of the course (approximately 30 percent), addressing concepts of sustainability in social or environmental dimensions, or examining an issue or topic through a sustainability lens.

Hallmark 3

At least one Sustainability-Focused Course Outcome (SFCO) will be added to the syllabus of an SF-designated course (this is separate from the course Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) and will not be evaluated the same way. Please see the information below regarding SFCOs.

• Define sustainability on local, national, and international levels.

• Identify personal values and attitudes that can facilitate sustainable living.

• Describe how the individual relates to the wider issues of sustainability.

• Measure one's impact on the triple bottom line: people, planet, profit.

• Identify the sociocultural values and attitudes that facilitate sustainable living at the local, regional, and global levels.

• Apply concepts of sustainability to local, regional, and/or global challenges.

• Demonstrate how concepts of sustainability are connected to local, regional, and global issues.

• Describe how traditional and indigenous perspectives inform sustainable practices.

• Other: