Teaching Sustainability and Social Justice: A Resource for High School Teachers (Poster)

1. Teaching and Preaching Sustainability and Social Justice:
A Resource for Catholic High School Teachers
By: John W. Eppensteiner III
University of Pennsylvania
Master of Environmental Studies, Spring 2015
Primary Reader:
James R. Hagan, Ph.D., P.E.
Advisor & Lecturer, Master of Environmental Studies
Secondary Reader:
Dan Misleh
Executive Director, Catholic Climate Covenant
Thematic Areas Sample Lesson PlanOverview
Lesson 10: Corporate Responsibility
Grade Level: 11-12 Class Size: Approx. 20 students
Time: 50 minutes Setting: Classroom
Background Information:
• Business and industry have a significant impact on sustainability and we as consumers of their products and services are
indirectly responsible for these impacts. However, we as consumers and investors can demand that companies improve
their sustainability performance. By becoming more transparent, setting ambitious goals, and incorporating sustainability
concepts into their operations, businesses can help develop a more sustainable and socially just world.
Guiding Questions:
• How can business and industry help create a more sustainable world?
Learning Objectives: As a result of this lesson, students will be able to...
• Describe the three components of Triple Bottom Line accounting.
• Describe three examples of negative environmental impacts and two examples of social impacts by business and industry.
• Describe why companies should factor sustainability into their business (i.e., the risk/opportunity lens).
• Describe two examples of commitments that companies have made to being more sustainable.
• Describe two concepts companies can implement to become more sustainable.
Vocabulary:
• Triple Bottom Line
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Industrial Ecology
• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
• Design for Environment and Sustainability (DfES)
Personal Exploration Questions:
• Am I supporting any companies through my patronage that are not operating sustainably?
Suggested Assignments
Activity / Homework
• Identify products and/or services that you use on a daily basis that you feel you “could not live without.” Investigate the
sustainability record of these companies. Do they produce an annual sustainability report? Do they report their
performance to any third-party sustainability evaluators? What opportunities exist for these companies to improve their
sustainability performance?
Capstone
• Investigate a business and report on their sustainability performance. Benchmark their sustainability performance
compared to top performers in their industry. Identify opportunities for them to incorporate concepts like industrial ecology
and design for environment and sustainability into their operations. If a business or industry does not report their
sustainability performance discuss why not, and develop a business case as to why they should.
Lesson 7: Consumption & Waste
• Conduct a waste audit of your school for one month. What
percentage of the materials are recycled, composted, or landfilled?
Develop a plan to reduce the percentage of waste that is landfilled.
How can you make your plan permanent?
Lesson 9: Ecosystem Services
• Identify an ecosystem in your area and develop a plan to quantify the
services that ecosystem provides. Consider the four core services as
part of your evaluation: supporting; regulating; supporting; and
cultural services. What risks does this ecosystem face, now and into
the future? What could be done to invest in the protection of this
ecosystem?
• At his inauguration mass on March 19, 2013, Pope Francis
made this request during his homily: “Please, I would like
to ask all those who have positions of responsibility in
economic, political and social life, and all men and women
of goodwill: let us be “protectors” of creation, protectors of
God’s plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another
and of the environment.”
• This resource will provide a framework for Catholic high
school teachers to educate their students on the concept
of sustainability, emphasizing the moral imperative to act.
It is designed to impart an understanding of current and
future environmental issues and the implications those
issues have on human health and well-being.
• As of 2014, there were an estimated 76.7 million self-
identified Catholics in the United States and 2.8 million
students enrolled in Catholic elementary schools,
secondary schools, and college/universities. These
numbers present a sizable opportunity to motivate a
generation of young people to work toward a more
sustainable future.
Lesson 8 – Biodiversity
Lesson 9 – Ecological Economics
Lesson 10 – Corporate Responsibility
Lesson 11 – Professional Speaker
Lesson 12 – Taking Action
Lesson 13 – Effective Communications
Lesson 14 – Innovations &
Future Considerations
Lesson 15 – Capstone Presentations
Lesson 1 – Course Introduction
Lesson 2 – Global Changes
Lesson 3 – Catholicism &
Sustainability
Lesson 4 – Water
Lesson 5 – Food Systems
Lesson 6 – Energy Systems
Lesson 7 – Consumption & Waste
Sample Presentation
Future ConsiderationsSuggested Capstone Projects
• The resource we be made available to
the public through the website of the
Catholic Climate Covenant
(http://catholicclimatecovenant.org/)
• The author hopes to deliver the course
as designed to Catholic high schools in
the Philadelphia area on a voluntary
basis – just in time for Pope Francis’
encyclical on the environment and his
visit to Philadelphia in September 2015.
The Approach
• The resource is comprised of a syllabus – detailing course
objectives, readings, and assignments – as well as weekly lesson
plans and PowerPoint slides. There are 15 lessons in total.
• Each lesson includes a lesson plan – which provides an overview
of the topic, guiding questions, measurable learning objectives,
suggested assignments, and resources – and PowerPoint slides –
which allows the presenter to cover the selected thematic area
in a 50 minute class period. The class is designed to be taught
one day per week over the period of one semester, with the
primary audience being high school juniors or seniors.
• The resource also suggests projects that students can undertake
to support their learning of the subject matter. The project,
referred to as a Capstone, is a way for students to demonstrate
their passions and professional promise, while having a concrete
impact on the advancement of sustainability. The Capstone
incorporates many of the skills students will need to be
successful in college and in their post-collegiate careers.
Pope Francis on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine.
Stefano Spaziani. February 13, 2014