Overview

Welcome to the Introduction to Sustainability open educational resource (OER). This resource has been developed to be an introduction to sustainability from an interdisciplinary perspective. The book begins with an introduction to sustainability, examining different models and definitions and looking at the field’s recent history.

Next, the book introduces systems thinking. Systems thinking is commonly identified as a key competency of sustainability and is fundamental to understanding the complexity of sustainability challenges and opportunities.

The book’s third section explores the domains of sustainability — economics, environment, social, and cultural — as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This section highlights how all domains are interconnected and are required in some form to achieve sustainability.

Finally, the learnings from the earlier sections in the book are applied to specific sustainability challenges and opportunities, such as climate change and food. This section creates an opportunity to learn more about sustainability within a particular topic.

Throughout the book, there are a number of additional resources to contribute and support learning, including embedded media created specifically for the OER, activity descriptions and reflection questions, and links to external sources. The links to external sources have been specifically chosen to introduce diverse perspectives and expertise, as diversity is key to achieving sustainability.

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge the Sustainability 201: Introduction to Sustainability students at MacEwan University who have completed the course. Your feedback and perspectives have been reflected in the course’s development and, ultimately, in this resource. I would like to specifically thank the students in the Fall 2022, Winter 2023, and Spring 2023 semesters and Kalen Pilkington, who instructed these courses, for testing the OER out and providing invaluable feedback.

Several chapters have been co-written by students with the guidance of a mentor from the field. Thank you to the mentors Shawna McKinley, Kalen Pilkington, Dr. Danielle Dubien, and Dr. Brendan Boyd. And to the students Aloy Mendoza, Amal Ali, Andrea Molina, Carmen Chau, Cheska Cabrera, Darla Daniva, Dilraj Grewal, Jason Roberts, Jennifer Atkins, Julia Hebert, Kaelyn Stabel, Kassem Homssy, Katie Walker, Lauren Ascasibar, Leon Woo, Madylin Gillett, Oteiana De Azevedo, Owen Lafreniere, Preeya Lall, Princira Peprah, Spencer Elliot, Sydney Krischke, Talya Ahmed, Tanjot Sohal, and Wessam Monzer, thank you to the commitment and dedication you showed to your topic and to supporting the future learning of sustainability students like you.

Thank you also to Chad Raphael, Ph.D., who saw the book as an appropriate venue for his own work on sustainability communication.

I would also like to thank the scholars who reviewed the book and provided feedback: Dr. Kaitlin Mattos, Jennifer McCord, Dr. Kimberly Post, Dr. Matthew Shockey, Dr. Kristine Wray, Kayla Ermantrout, and Laura Seddon. Without question, your insights have made the book stronger.