264
sustainability assessment • Life cycle sustainability management • Sustainability •
Sustainable Lifestyles and Education Program • UNEP/SETAC life cycle initiative
1 Introduction
Access to (elementary) education is a human right and technical and professional
education shall be made generally available and equally accessible to all according
to article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN 1948 ). Education is
also a fundamental determinant not only of health, demographic trends and individual
income, but also of a country’s aggregate level of economic growth (IIASA 2008 )
and thus provides the most promising route toward sustainable development.
Furthermore, the authors consider that education at all levels – from primary
school via university to lifelong learning – is crucial to improving the understanding
and minimization of environmental and socio-economic impacts. Thus, further
promotion of life cycle sustainability management (LCSM) – which follows a holistic
approach for better informed decisions – is paramount.
LCSM is a powerful approach that has been recognized by multinational companies for the last decade. It helps to structure decision-making processes to follow a
life cycle perspective in business and industry across an ever-increasing number of
organisations in industrialized countries.
In response to the need for improved understanding and technical skills on
LCSM, a number of life cycle-focused initiatives worldwide have incorporated
capacity-building in their missions.
1 To illustrate this development, it is worth
highlighting the work of the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative. It establishes the
strengthening of LCSM/LCA capacities worldwide. Since its creation in 2002,
more than 30 training events in about 18 developing countries (Sonnemann et al.
2015 ) have been organized, not to forget the support of the life cycle management
(LCM) capability maturity model (CMM) implementation in developing countries
between 2012 and 2013 (Swarr et al. 2015a , b ).
In 2014, important developments at the international level include the launch of
two global programmes under the 10-Year Framework of Programs (10YFP), which
cover consumer information, education and awareness-raising on life cycle-based
approaches
2 (10YFP 2015 ):
• The 10YFP Consumer Information Program (CIP) is defi ned as a range of tools
and systems that seek to encourage consumers for more sustainable choices
about goods and services, including their use and end-of-life phases (CIP 2015 ).
• The Sustainable Lifestyles and Education Program (SLE) seeks
1 The term “capabilities” is used for individuals and “capacities” for organizations as it is more
institutional.
2 In the context of the 10YFP, life cycle approaches also include life cycle management.
S. Valdivia et al.
sustainability assessment • Life cycle sustainability management • Sustainability •
Sustainable Lifestyles and Education Program • UNEP/SETAC life cycle initiative
1 Introduction
Access to (elementary) education is a human right and technical and professional
education shall be made generally available and equally accessible to all according
to article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN 1948 ). Education is
also a fundamental determinant not only of health, demographic trends and individual
income, but also of a country’s aggregate level of economic growth (IIASA 2008 )
and thus provides the most promising route toward sustainable development.
Furthermore, the authors consider that education at all levels – from primary
school via university to lifelong learning – is crucial to improving the understanding
and minimization of environmental and socio-economic impacts. Thus, further
promotion of life cycle sustainability management (LCSM) – which follows a holistic
approach for better informed decisions – is paramount.
LCSM is a powerful approach that has been recognized by multinational companies for the last decade. It helps to structure decision-making processes to follow a
life cycle perspective in business and industry across an ever-increasing number of
organisations in industrialized countries.
In response to the need for improved understanding and technical skills on
LCSM, a number of life cycle-focused initiatives worldwide have incorporated
capacity-building in their missions.
1 To illustrate this development, it is worth
highlighting the work of the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative. It establishes the
strengthening of LCSM/LCA capacities worldwide. Since its creation in 2002,
more than 30 training events in about 18 developing countries (Sonnemann et al.
2015 ) have been organized, not to forget the support of the life cycle management
(LCM) capability maturity model (CMM) implementation in developing countries
between 2012 and 2013 (Swarr et al. 2015a , b ).
In 2014, important developments at the international level include the launch of
two global programmes under the 10-Year Framework of Programs (10YFP), which
cover consumer information, education and awareness-raising on life cycle-based
approaches
2 (10YFP 2015 ):
• The 10YFP Consumer Information Program (CIP) is defi ned as a range of tools
and systems that seek to encourage consumers for more sustainable choices
about goods and services, including their use and end-of-life phases (CIP 2015 ).
• The Sustainable Lifestyles and Education Program (SLE) seeks
1 The term “capabilities” is used for individuals and “capacities” for organizations as it is more
institutional.
2 In the context of the 10YFP, life cycle approaches also include life cycle management.
S. Valdivia et al.