Question

From the point of view of sustainability, what is wrong with the itemizing approach to environmental values?​

Answer 1

Environmental Values

The environmental values of any organization must support a lifelong approach to learning aimed at helping people to understand and appreciate their connection to, and impact upon the natural environment.

It should not be an itemizing approach to environmental values:

Global biodiversity is declining. Whether it is doing so at an alarming rate, a rate similar to past mass-extinction events, is a matter of debate, yet it is clear that it is declining at a pace faster than the natural background level (Costello et al., 2013; Sarkar, 2005). What is also clear, is that humans are largely to blame for this rise in extinction levels. In response to heightened levels of extinction, ever more conservation and preservation agencies devote their attention to the preservation of biodiversity. Biodiversity preservation has also become one of the key subjects in environmental policymaking, from the local all the way up to the global level. But what’s so important about biodiversity? Why should we choose to preserve biodiversity over other policy goals? In order to deal with this challenge, one of the main arguments employed in the current debate on nature conservation stresses the objective and economic importance of biodiversity, namely its contribution to ecosystem services. We have to examine whether this argument can successfully realize its own goal, namely the protection of biodiversity. Or in other words, should biodiversity be useful? Of course, the discussion whether nature is important because of its usefulness is not a new one, certainly not within environmental philosophy.

Many organizations and communities believe everyone should have the opportunity to benefit from a quality approach to environmental values, not itemizing approach to environmental values to them; here, they have to learn the values, behaviour and lifestyles required for a sustainable future.

A sustainable society is based on a set of values, including:

• Respect, care and compassion for ourselves, others and our environment
• Responsibility for our actions
• Acknowledgment of the importance of all life on earth
• Understanding and inclusion of all peoples and perspectives.

Our organizations approach to sustainability is through:

• Governance that supports sustainability policies, procedures and programs
• Curriculum that is developed and delivered on the principles of environmental education for sustainability
• Responsive resource management and innovation, including utilities, facilities and the creation of natural environments within the school
• Partnerships, alliances and networks with government, communities and business
• Implementation and evaluation of strategies and actions to reduce the school’s ecological footprint

Brunswick North West Primary School has adopted a whole-school approach to developing a sustainable lifestyle and policy development which reflects our environmental values.

This includes making decisions based on sustainable practices with regard to purchasing, energy consumption, water usage, recycling and waste disposal.

We believe that students should have an active voice in the decision making process regarding care for our school environment and the sustainable processes adopted by the school in its every day operation.