More and more young people, education professionals, employers and policymakers are seeing the importance of sustainable education. Schools are taking steps in the curriculum, pedagogical-didactic approach, professionalization of teachers, cooperation with the environment as well as in operational management. At the same time, many sustainability initiatives are still fragile. Now is the time to take action and structurally embed sustainability in education. 

What does the report show?
The State of Sustainable Education provides a clear overview of how educational institutions are working on sustainability and where there are opportunities for further embedding. Key findings: 

Curriculum: In primary education, various surveys show that approximately 20-25% of schools integrate sustainability knowledge and competencies into the curriculum. In secondary and higher education there is also a focus on this, both in the core curriculum and in elective courses and minors. 

Pedagogy/didactics: In primary education, 74% of teachers adopt the pedagogical-didactic approach of teaching outside, although this only concerns 1.2% of total teaching time. In secondary school, SustainaBul participants' focus on sustainable pedagogy and didactics increased by 11 percentage points, to 49%. 

Professionalization: In primary education, there are many initiatives to strengthen (initial) teacher education and in-service training on sustainability. In secondary and higher education, we see an increasing commitment among SustainaBul participants to increase the sustainability knowledge and skills of their teaching staff. 

Collaboration with the environment: Schools are actively seeking cooperation with the world around them, with sustainability playing an increasingly important role. In junior and senior secondary vocational education (v)mbo, collaboration takes shape mainly through internships, and in higher education through research assignments. The extent to which sustainability plays a role in this increased among SustainaBul participants: by 6 percentage points in secondary vocational education and by 21 percentage points in higher education. 

Building and operations: In primary education, more than half of schools are taking energy-saving measures for heating and lighting. SustainaBul participants in mbo earn an average of 63% of total points on the theme of sustainable business; in higher education it is as high as 70%.

Growth is needed
Sustainability initiatives in schools do find often ad hoc place; either as a loose project or thanks to enthusiastic individuals. A clear vision based on sustainability is no commonplace, and often there is little capacity to implement a vision. Compared to other European countries, the Netherlands captures sustainability relatively little in (legal) frameworks, guidelines, policies or systems.

This is the time to make strides
Current developments such as the actualization of core objectives and final examinations, the growing supply of sustainable teaching materials and further training opportunities, as well as the support structure for schools that the government is working on, offer momentum and support to put sustainability more explicitly on the map and better anchored in education. This way we strengthen the movement towards future-proof education.