ORIGINAL PAPER Anto´nio A. Martins Æ Teresa M. Mata Carlos A. V. Costa Education for sustainability: challenges and trends Received: 15 October 2004 / Accepted: 14 September 2005 / Published online: 12 January 2006 Ó Springer-Verlag 2006 Abstract There has been increasing recognition of the critical role of education for sustainability (ES). This article addresses the subject of ES through all the levels of formal and non-formal education, including basic education, university, organisations (private and public) and lifelong learning. The challenges and implications of effectively incorporating sustainability concepts and principles through all the levels of the education system are presented and analysed. Examples and suggestions are presented and discussed, taking into account the interactions, needs and objectives of people and society. Introduction In the past decades it became clear that moving towards sustainability requires changes in the way of life of those living in developed countries. The present consumption and production patterns of developed countries also aspired by those in developing countries is generally recognised as unsustainable. Since the publication of the Brundtland Report Our Common Future (WCED 1987), the concept of sustain- able development came into focus and has increasingly gained attention at international, national, local, public and private levels. Since then, several organisations have been involved in research and development of measures and strategies to provide long-term ability for nature and human beings to survive and prosper together, as well as to guide planning and policy making in the transition to sustainable development. Notions of sustainable development and sustainabil- ity have been used in the growing literature and policy debate with different meanings and interpretations (Pepper 1998; Sathiendrakumar 1996). Although the conceptual and the operational content of the terms have been closely contested and redefined all definitions have to do with a set of core ideas, including: ‘‘living within the limits’’, ‘‘understanding the interconnections among environment, economy and society’’ and ‘‘equi- table distribution of resources and opportunities’’ (Me- bratu 1998; Mitchell 2000; Ferreira et al. 2003). Although sustainable development touches all aspects of human life, in this article the discussion is restricted to the questions of education for sustainability (ES). Nowadays it is recognised that ES can help change the attitudes and behaviour of people as consumers, producers and citizens to carry out their collective responsibilities and duties. In 1975, UNESCO first recognised the importance of environmental education in the Belgrade Charter. In 1997 the Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education, held in Tbilisi, defined the following general objectives for environ- mental education: raise awareness and sensitivity on environmental problems; gain knowledge and basic understanding of the environment and associated problems; change attitudes, values and motivation to actively participate in environmental protection and improvement; acquisition and development of skills to identify and solve environmental problems; participa- tion of all social groups and business players. The Rio conference in 1992 adopted sustainability as the fundamental principle to support the development of mankind at all levels. Chapter 36 of Agenda 21 (UN- CED 1992) restated the importance of ES and the need for considering all social, economic and political aspects of sustainable development. There was a change in focus from environmental education to ES. Besides the pro- tection of the natural environment, ES includes also the interrelations between the social and economic spheres. As shown in Fig. 1, the current and most consensual approach to sustainable development reflects the idea A. A. Martins (&) Æ T. M. Mata Æ C. A. V. Costa Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s/n, 4200 465 Porto, Portugal E-mail: amartins@fe.up.pt Tel.: +351-91-4784483 Fax: +351-22-5081674 Clean Techn Environ Policy (2006) 8: 31–37 DOI 10.1007/s10098-005-0026-3