Journal of Cleaner Production 48 (2013) 65e73

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Journal of Cleaner Production

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The integration of competences for sustainable development in

higher education: an analysis of bachelor programs in management
Wim Lambrechts a, *, Ingrid Mulà b, Kim Ceulemans a, Ingrid Molderez a,
Veerle Gaeremynck c
a
Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel, Warmoesberg 26, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium
b
RCE Severn, University of Gloucestershire, Oxstalls Campus, GL50 2RH, Gloucester, GL2 9HW, United Kingdom
c
Leuven University College, Abdij van Park 9, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Over the past years, many universities have integrated sustainability into their education, research,
Received 15 March 2011 outreach, and operations. Within education, competences regarding sustainable development (SD) have
Received in revised form been defined, courses on sustainability have been developed, and manuals and methods for teaching SD
27 December 2011
have been developed and integrated in curricula. The integration of competences for SD in higher
Accepted 28 December 2011
Available online 3 January 2012
education programs can be seen as an important step in achieving sustainability in higher education.
Although these competences are defined and described in different models and settings, little infor-
mation is available on the actual status of the integration of competences for SD in different study
Keywords:
Sustainability in higher education
programs. In order to find out how and to what extent these competences are already present, the
Competences existing competence schemes of study programs within two Belgian universities were analyzed in the
Education for sustainable development fields of business management, office management, and applied information technology. Results of the
Sustainability integration assessment analysis show that competences for SD related to responsibility and emotional intelligence are widely
integrated, while competences for SD dealing with system orientation, future orientation, personal
commitment, and action taking are virtually absent. The analysis also shows that many competences for
SD could be discovered within the selected study programs, though in an implicit and fragmented way,
thus not covering all necessary fields of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. This calls for an adjustment of
the study programs to clearly and explicitly integrate competences for SD, especially those related to
system orientation, future orientation, personal involvement, and action taking.
Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction for universities e as will be further addressed in Section 2 And 3 e

they also seem to guide higher education in opposite directions.
The call for education to contribute to a sustainable society is an This is due to the fact that integrating competences seems to
important new challenge and characteristic for twenty-first transform the education programs radically, in order to be able to
century higher education. The UN Decade of Education for assess and “measure” each (sub-)competence, thereby negatively
Sustainable Development (DESD), in its last phase (2005e2014), affecting the values that were (are) inherent to education, exactly
calls for a thorough integration of sustainability issues at all because values are very hard to measure (Cheetham and Chivers,
levels of education via a holistic, inter- and transdisciplinary 1996; Hermans, 2007). Education for sustainable development
approach and with a clear focus on values (UNESCO, 2009). Another (ESD) tries to incorporate competences for sustainable develop-
emerging field of interest within higher education, often leading to ment (SD), linked with responsibility, emotional intelligence,
extended debate, is competence-based education. Competences system orientation, future orientation, personal involvement, and
integrate knowledge, skills, values and attitudes (Baethge et al., action taking (De Haan, 2006; Roorda, 2010; Sleurs, 2008). As these
2006; Rychen and Salganik, 2003). Competence-based education competences for SD are fundamentally based on values and ethics
is a type of education that focuses on the clear definition of (UNESCO, 2009), their integration into higher education seems to
competences to be achieved and assessed during the education be contradictory with competence-based education programs.
program. Although both educational innovations have their merits This article focuses on how these two, seemingly opposing,
educational innovations can be combined to strengthen the inte-
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ32 (0) 475709743. gration of SD in higher education. Throughout the years, different
E-mail address: [email protected] (W. Lambrechts). competences for SD were defined in different settings (De Haan,

0959-6526/$ e see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2011.12.034
66 W. Lambrechts et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 48 (2013) 65e73

2006; Roorda, 2010; Sleurs, 2008), offering a complete set of Moving toward SD requires new mental models which can
knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes necessary to ensure today’s transform the way we interpret and respond to our existing world
students and future leaders are ready to deal with complex issues (Tilbury and Mulà, 2011). The UN DESD points to education and
regarding sustainability, and achieve a sustainable future (Cortese, learning as core activities to facilitate critical processes which can
2003; Lambrechts et al., 2009). Although these sets of competences challenge mindsets and actions in the area of sustainability.
for SD e addressed in Section 3, Tables 1 and 2 eare highly valuable, UNESCO, the official international lead agency for the DESD,
information about the current status of the integration of these encourages stakeholders, policy-makers, major groups, and insti-
competences for SD in different study programs is required in order tutions to embed SD into all learning spheres (UNESCO, 2005).
to introduce new competences into study programs or reorient Higher education institutions are key players in this critical process
existing competences within the framework of sustainability. as they prepare the future generations of decision-makers, policy-
In order to find out how and to what extent sustainability- makers, and business leaders (Cortese, 2003).
related competences are already integrated in the existing The involvement of higher education institutions in embedding
competence schemes of different study programs, the competences sustainability is reflected in the numerous charters and declarations
within two Belgian universities were analyzed in the fields of signed by university leaders, such as the Talloires Declaration (1990),
business management, office management, and applied informa- the Halifax Declaration (1992), the Swansea Declaration (1993),
tion technology. This approach gives a concrete starting point to Copernicus Charter (1994), the Declaration of Thessaloniki (1997),
further integrate competences for SD into study programs, reorient and the Lüneburg Declaration (2001). Through all these declarations,
existing competences toward sustainability, and to a wider extent, universities around the globe have committed to redefine and reor-
rebuild the curriculum toward SD. ient their teaching and learning, research activities, and manage-
This article describes the integration of competences for SD in the ment. In other words, they have committed to become real catalysts
competence schemes of bachelor programs, based on a thorough for change toward sustainability (Lozano et al., 2010; Wright, 2004).
analysis of these competence schemes. The results give an overview Over the past years, in order to accomplish this commitment,
of the competences a university wishes to cover in the curriculum, much has been achieved in education, research, outreach, opera-
and their intentions with this study programs. The actual integration tions, and reporting at the university level (Cortese, 2003; Lozano,
of these competences, the way these intentions are put into practice, 2006b). Many universities have implemented innovative campus
the way the competences are trained and assessed, and the role of management projects which are intended to reduce their ecological
individual teachers in this process, are beyond the scope of this footprint (e.g. Barnes and Jerman, 2002; Müller, 2005; Savely et al.,
article. Based on the results of the analysis of competences for SD, 2007; Shriberg, 2002a; Viebahn, 2002). Research at the university
further research is needed, looking at the actual learning process and level has contributed to the advancement of knowledge in the areas
learning outcomes of the students and the role of individual teachers, of sustainability and environmental systems, such as climate
thus going beyond the intentions of a certain study program. change (e.g. Calder and Clugston, 2003; Fien, 2002). Regarding
learning and teaching, specialist courses and minors in SD or
2. Higher education and sustainability interdisciplinary courses have been created and integrated in the
curriculum (e.g. Junyent and Geli, 2007; Sleurs, 2008), new peda-
The opportunities and challenges inherent to SD have been gogical and methodological approaches have been tested and
outlined in numerous international declarations. In 1992, the Rio described (e.g. Ceulemans and De Prins, 2010; Lidgren et al., 2005;
Summit (UNCED 1992) played a key role in creating momentum Scoullos and Malotidi, 2004; Steiner and Posch, 2006; Sterling,
and global engagement to the sustainability agenda. It recognized 2004), and competences have been defined and interpreted
the needs for enhancing quality of life across the globe through within the framework of sustainability (Barth et al., 2007; De Haan,
social justice, responsible economic development, and environ- 2006; Roorda, 2010; Sleurs, 2008). In order to assess and report
mental protection. Ten years later, at the last UN World Summit on their efforts, indicators and assessment tools were designed and
Sustainable Development (UN 2002) in Johannesburg 2002, world tested (e.g. Behrens and Müller-Christ, 2005; Lozano, 2006a;
leaders acknowledged the urgency with which they must address Lozano and Peattie, 2011; Roorda, 2002; Shriberg, 2002b).
this challenge, as no country was close to achieving sustainability. Despite all these advances, higher education institutions are far
Looking toward the next Earth Summit which will be held in Rio de from reorienting themselves toward sustainability (Sterling, 2004;
Janeiro (June 4e6, 2012), the pathways toward SD are still unclear Sterling and Scott, 2008; Wals and Jickling, 2002). If we look care-
and yet to be agreed upon. fully at the core business and activity of a higher education

Table 1
Competences of education for sustainable development.

Roorda (2010) Responsibility Emotional System Future Personal Action

intelligence orientation orientation involvement skills

De Haan (2006) Competence in foresighted thinking; U

Competence in interdisciplinary work; U
Competence in cosmopolitan perception, transcultural U
understanding and cooperation;
Learning participatory skills; U
Competence in planning and implementation skills; U
The capacity for empathy, compassion and solidarity; U
Competence in self-motivation and motivating others; U U
Competence in distanced reflection on individual and U U
cultural models.
Sleurs (2008) Values and ethics; U
Emotions; U
System thinking; U
Knowledge; U U
Action. U
 W. Lambrechts et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 48 (2013) 65e73 67

Table 2
Integration strategies for competences for sustainable development (Lambrechts et al., 2010).

Strategy Description Strength Weakness Applied in

Vertical Elements of Sustainable SD is explicitly mentioned in the SD is considered an “extra” topic, Economical bachelor programs
Integration Development (SD) are mentioned competence matrix, thus added to the matrix and clearly (finance, accounting, marketing),
in one competence which is encouraging integration in the separated from other competences. office management.
explicitly focused on sustainability. curriculum.
Horizontal Elements of SD are integrated SD is included in all competences Implicit integration of SD can Teacher training, nursing.
Integration implicitly in all competences. and can be seen as a larger make it into an “optional” element;
framework for the competence integration in the curriculum is not
matrix. guaranteed.
Combined Implicit integration of SD in all Horizontal (implicit) and vertical Risk of “overkill”. Midwifery, Applied Information
Integration competences and an explicit focus (explicit) integration assure a Technology.
on one (or more) competence(s) framework to formulate
for SD. competences for SD.

institution e i.e., learning and teaching e we observe that sustain- based upon values, attitudes, and ethics (Muijen, 2004). One may
ability has been integrated into the curriculum in peace-meal, rather conclude that, if not approached carefully, the introduction of
than holistic approaches. Different barriers for this paradigm competences could be contradictory with values and, to a wider
shift can be defined at different levels (Ceulemans et al., 2011; extent, the concept of SD.
Lambrechts et al., 2009; Lozano, 2006b, 2010; Velázquez et al., Introducing key competences for SD can be seen as an important
2006), but when it comes to education, the rigid disciplinary step in the integration of sustainability in higher education. Several
structures of universities and content-based learning are acknowl- authors report on these competences, using different settings and
edged to be key barriers in embedding sustainability in an integra- models (e.g. De Haan, 2006; Roorda, 2010; Sleurs, 2008), however
tive way (Wals, 2010). The formal curriculum is more centered in the with similar characteristics: responsibility (values, ethics, reflec-
transmission of knowledge, rather than in the facilitation of critical, tion), emotional intelligence (transcultural understanding,
innovative, and creative learning spaces where students can chal- empathy, solidarity, compassion), system orientation (interdisci-
lenge their own models of thinking and practice, develop their own plinary), future orientation, personal involvement (self-motivation,
innovative and creative projects, or explore alternative ideas and motivating others, learning), and the ability to take action (partic-
choices (Corcoran and Wals, 2004). In other words, until now, ipatory skills). Table 1 gives an overview of the competences for SD,
teaching and learning in higher education has provided few as defined by De Haan (2006) and Sleurs (2008), and illustrates the
opportunities for students to develop their own values, skills, and way in which those competences match with the competences
attitudes to become change agents in the area of sustainability. defined by Roorda (2010). A detailed overview of the competences
as defined by Roorda (2010) is given in Table 3.
3. Competences for sustainable development Research in different bachelor programs in the fields of business
management, teacher training, social work, health care, and tech-
Different definitions and interpretations of competences or nology point out that study programs have different approaches for
competence-based education can be found in the literature. Many integrating competences of SD: horizontal, vertical, or combined
times, the use of competences has been misunderstood or inter- (Lambrechts et al., 2010). Table 2 gives a detailed overview of these
changed by knowledge, skills, values, or attitudes (Baethge et al., integration strategies, including their strengths and weaknesses.
2006). It is acknowledged that competences embrace much more These different integration strategies for competences are in line
than knowledge and skills. Rychen and Salganik (2003, p. 43) define with integration strategies for sustainability in the curriculum of
competences as, “the ability to successfully meet complex demands higher education, going from the integration of one specific course
in a particular context through the mobilization of psychological on SD (vertical integration), to an interwoven (horizontal) approach
prerequisites (including both cognitive and non-cognitive aspects).” (e.g. Lozano, 2008; Wals and Jickling, 2002). Although it could be
Furthermore, the term “key competence” refers to those competences assumed that a horizontal integration in the competences would
relevant and useful for everybody and in different contexts. Key lead to a horizontal integration within the curriculum, further
competences can be seen as relevant competences used to deal with research is needed to find out if the integration in the competences
the multiple challenges with which modern societies are now facing, will have the desired effect in the curriculum.
such as globalization, modernization, social cohesion, or sustainable McKeown, (2002) stresses that reorienting education requires
development (Barth et al., 2007; Rychen and Salganik, 2003). teaching and learning in those domains that will guide people to
Competence-based higher education enables students to gain pursue sustainable livelihoods, to participate in a democratic
important knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes, which they will society and to live in a sustainable manner. The use of competence-
require in their future professional and personal lives. Rychen based education offers a great opportunity to re-examine and
(2002) affirms that the use of competences contributes to reorient educational policy and systems toward sustainability, as
improving the process of assessing students, regarding the abilities more emphasis can be put on developing knowledge, skills,
they acquire to face life’s challenges, but also to setting key perspectives, and values related to sustainability (UNESCO, 2005).
educational goals which improve education systems and lifelong SD should be considered as a normative starting point for selecting
learning processes. Although the advantages are clear, the concept the competences (Barth et al., 2007), but if the competences
and process of defining competences has to be perceived with identified are not accompanied by changes in the education system
caution. Several authors point out that, within the context of and a reorientation of current curricula, “the acquisition of certain
professional bachelor programs, the conversion to competence- ones [competences for SD] will remain an ‘accidental’ side product
based education seems to cause a suppression of values that were of the educational system” (Sleurs, 2008, p. 36).
(are) inherent to education (Cheetham and Chivers, 1996; Hermans, Competences for SD indicate what needs to be trained and
2007). This has problematic consequences for the integration of studied. With the effective integration of competences for SD in the
(education for) sustainable development, since this concept is competence schemes of a study program, it is possible to realize
68 W. Lambrechts et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 48 (2013) 65e73

Table 3 - action oriented methods: learning through internships, solving

Competences for sustainable development used for the analysis (Roorda, 2010). real community problems, outdoor education, etc., and;
1. Responsibility: A sustainable professional takes responsibility for - research methods: bibliographic research, problem analysis,
the own work i.e.: The sustainable professional can: value clarification, case studies, concept mapping, etc.
1.1. Make a stakeholder analysis;
1.2. Take personal responsibility;
1.3. Render personal account to society;
These methods and techniques can be used and combined to
1.4. Critically evaluate own actions. embed sustainability in the entire curriculum, thus filling the gap
2. Emotional intelligence: A sustainable professional projects between theory and practice. They may even be used to assess
him/herself on the values and emotions of other people and cultures the competences. Sluijsmans (2008) states that self-evaluation,
i.e.: the sustainable professional can:
reflection, and peer assessment can be used to make the evalu-
2.1. Recognize and respect values of him/herself and of other people and
cultures; ation process more sustainable. After all, assessment is too often
2.2. Recognize and respect action perspectives of him/herself and of other only based on the knowledge component, which is problematic
people and cultures; because acquiring competences can by no means be compared to
2.3. Listen to opinions and emotions of others; pure knowledge acquisition (Sleurs, 2008). Rychen and Salganik
2.4. Distinguish between facts, presumptions and opinions.
3. System orientation: A sustainable professional thinks and works
(2003) state that competences cannot be assessed by non-
from a systems vision i.e.: the sustainable professional can: current and isolated achievements. It is, as an educator, very
3.1. Cooperate in an inter- and transdisciplinary way; important to guide students in their learning process, this can be
3.2. Think in systems, zoom in and out, i.e. alternately think analytically and done using three steps in the evaluation process (Sluijsmans,
holistically;
2008):
3.3. Think function oriented, innovative, creative, out of the box;
3.4. Think chain oriented.
4. Future orientation: A sustainable professional thinks and works from - feed-up: give examples of what is expected during the evalu-
a future oriented perspective i.e.: the sustainable professional can: ation, make evaluation criteria explicit for the students, be
4.1. Recognize and understand non-linear processes; transparent about the assessment;
4.2. Think in varying timescales; distinguish between short term and long
term approach;
- feed back: give sufficient feedback to the students, allowing
4.3. Estimate consequence reach and consequence period of decisions; them to learn from their evaluation as much as possible, and;
4.4. Think future oriented, anticipate. - feed-forward: give the students input on how to go further in
5. Personal involvement: A sustainable professional dedicates their learning process.
him/herself personally for sustainable development i.e.: the
sustainable professional can:
5.1. Consistently involve sustainable development in the own work as a It is clear that, regarding ESD, much work has been done
professional (sustainable attitude); during the past years, covering the complete educational process:
5.2. Keep own knowledge and expertise up-to-date, even outside of the defining competences, describing integration strategies, and
own discipline; creating courses, modules, handbooks, and methodologies to
5.3. Work with passion on dreams and ideals;
achieve and assess these competences. However, little informa-
5.4. Apply the own conscience as the standard.
6. Action skills: A sustainable professional acts decisively and tion is available on the actual current status of the integration of
competently i.e.: the sustainable professional can: competences for SD in existing study programs. Nonetheless, this
6.1. Weigh unweighable aspects and make choices; kind of information can be crucial in order to integrate new
6.2. Act when the time is ripe, not against the flow: “do without doing”;
competences, or reorient existing competences toward SD. The
6.3. Deal with uncertainties;
6.4. Take decisions.
research described in this article focuses on this lack of infor-
mation, and looks at the current position of competences for SD
in the study programs.
a structural integration in the curriculum. At this point, it is
important to think about how the competences would need to be 4. Research questions, scope, and methodology
trained, acquired, and assessed. After all, educators should guar-
antee that these competences are likely to be achieved by the 4.1. Research questions
students. Weinert (2001) states that the question is whether
competences can be acquired through planned instructional The integration of competences for SD can be seen as an
programs. Students should receive a wide range of resources to important step in the integration of sustainability in higher
internalize the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes desired, and education. Although competences for SD are defined and described
to acquire all those competences that have been designed and in different models and settings, little information is available on
selected for them. De Haan (2006), when defining the Gestal- the actual status of the integration of these competences in
tungskompetenz (shaping competence), states that acquiring different study programs. Exploring this deficit, could provide
competences represents a multifaceted teaching task e teaching all answers to the following questions, thus accelerating the integra-
subjects and learning through project work and opportunities for tion of sustainability in higher education:
action on the part of students, both inside and outside the classroom.
Based on existing handbooks and articles (e.g. Ceulemans and 1. To what extent is/are (elements of) sustainable development
De Prins, 2010; Junyent and Geli, 2007; Lambrechts et al., 2009; already integrated in the competences of different education
McKeown, 2002; Scoullos and Malotidi, 2004; Steiner and Posch, programs?
2006), it is possible to further define methods and techniques to 2. How can this information be used to further integrate
teach and assess competences for SD. Analysis of these methods competences for sustainable development in the curriculum?
showed that there are three main characteristics of teaching and
learning methods for competences for SD (Lambrechts et al., 2009):
4.2. Scope of the research
- interactive and participative methods: Socrates method, group
discussion, role play, group or personal diary, brainstorming, In order to perform this research, the competences of several
peer assessment, etc.; bachelor programs were selected, based on following criteria:
 W. Lambrechts et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 48 (2013) 65e73 69

1. possibility to compare the programs e in order to achieve integration, (2) minimal integration, (3) moderate integration, (4)
relevant results, bachelor programs in the following fields of good integration.
management were chosen: business management, office
management, and applied information technology; 4.4. Limitations of the research
2. profile of the universities: both Hogeschool-Universiteit Brus-
sel (HUB) and Leuven University College (KHLeuven) have The main limitations of the research can be attributed to the
taken considerable steps in the integration of sustainability in nature of competences. A competency scheme gives a clear and
their policy, research, education and operations. These efforts comprehensive overview of all the competences a university
are rewarded with the two-star certificate of sustainability, wishes to cover in the curriculum. Nevertheless, they do not give
measured by the Auditing Instrument for Sustainability in any information about: the actual integration of these compe-
Higher Education (AISHE). tences; the way they are trained and assessed within the curric-
ulum; and the important role of individual teachers in the selection,
The study includes an analysis of general and disciplinary integration, and assessment of competences. In other words, the
competences of the management bachelor programs of HUBrussel competence schemes give valuable information about the inten-
and KHLeuven. Both universities defined general key competences, tions of a study program, but they do not give information about
which also include SD. These general key competences are appli- the practical integration in the curriculum. Moreover, instead of
cable for all the study programs. Each study program can slightly measuring the adoption of competences for SD, it would be inter-
adapt these competences in order to align them with their own esting to measure the learning process and learning outcomes of
profile. Both universities also defined disciplinary competences, the students regarding SD. Although student learning on SD (or the
which are related to the specific characteristics of the study actual output) remains the final goal of ESD e as opposed to the
program itself. After composing this list of general and disciplinary input (in this case the competences), these outputs still remain very
competences per study program e i.e. the competence scheme e hard to measure (Ceulemans et al., 2011).
every teacher is responsible for selecting the competences which
adequately fit their course. The head of the department is respon- 5. Results and discussion
sible for composing an overview of all competences of (all courses
of) a study program: which course complies with which compe- 5.1. Research question 1
tence(s) and to which degree. Finally, after this selection process,
the competences are translated into concrete and measurable goals, This research firstly sought to explore which, and to what
which are used as indicators for the evaluation of students on their extent, competences for SD were already integrated in the study
exams. A teacher must be able to show that his exam is a good programs. As both universities defined general key competences
instrument to trace whether a student has achieved the goals and (not specifically related to SD), these were analyzed first. Table 4
thus the competences. presents the results of this analysis.
The analysis points out that the competences for SD related to
4.3. Analysis of the competence schemes responsibility and emotional intelligence, are widely integrated
within the key competences of both universities. It seems that
A framework of analysis was developed using the key compe- these value-based competences are widely accepted within all
tences for SD defined by De Haan (2006), Sleurs (2008), and education programs. The competences related to system orienta-
Roorda (2010). Although defined in different contexts and settings, tion, future orientation, and action taking can be found within the
there are a lot of similarities between each sets of competences, key competences, but this relationship is not very pronounced.
shown in Table 1. As the set of competences described by Roorda Competences related to personal commitment are virtually absent.
(2010) turns out to be the most comprehensive, it is used for the Overall, most of the competences for SD are covered in a certain
analysis framework. Each competence is divided into four sub- way within the key competences, thus providing a lot of opportu-
competences, giving a detailed description of what is expected nities to further integrate sustainability within the curriculum.
of the student. Table 3 gives an overview of the competences and The individual competence schemes, containing the disciplinary
their sub-competences. competences for each bachelor program, were analyzed in the
This research uses competence schemes as the basis for analysis. same way. The bachelor programs in business management inte-
The competence scheme is the best data source, as it provides grate competences for SD and corporate social responsibility (CSR)
information about all the competences the university wishes to as one focused, explicit competence. Furthermore, elements of
train and assess in the curriculum. Three researchers analyzed the sustainability are also present in the competences e for example
education programs separately, and afterward, they discussed the linked with business ethics and responsibility. The competence
results of their findings, and came to a consensus. schemes of the bachelor programs in office management contain
The analysis of competence schemes was done in two steps: elements of SD in an implicit and fragmented way. Finally, the
competence scheme of the Bachelor program in Applied Informa-
1. analysis of the key competences of both universities: these key tion Technology of Leuven University College contains several
competences are used in every study program, although not explicit competences for SD.
always to the same extent, and; All competence schemes contain elements of SD in a fragmented
2. analysis of the disciplinary competences: these competences way. This means that there are few competences which focus on the
differ between the study programs. concept of SD, but a lot of competences include partial elements of
SD e such as ‘cooperating in an interdisciplinary way’. Competences
The researchers interpreted each competence in the compe- for SD are often more closely linked with ethical and moral attitudes,
tence scheme, and selected those that are related to the compe- and less so with system orientation, future orientation, and action
tences for SD as described by Roorda (2010). The results of the taking. Elements of sustainability are frequently implicitly present
empirical analysis were first counted as a percentage and then in the competence schemes. This implies that competences for SD
encoded in a four-level scale to express the integration of are passed onto the students in an “unconscious” or “unofficial” way,
competences for SD within the study program: (1) little or no because they are not explicitly positioned within the context of SD.
70 W. Lambrechts et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 48 (2013) 65e73

Table 4
The integration of sustainability in the key competences.
Competences for SD

(Roorda, 2010)

Emotional Intelligence

Personal Involvement
System Orientation

Future Orientation
Responsibility

Action Skills
Key competences

Practise based 1 1 1 1 1 4

Learning and self-reflection 3 2 1 1 1 2

HUBrussel

International focus 1 4 1 1 1 1

Respect 4 4 1 1 1 1

Cooperation 1 3 2 1 1 1

Act sustainable 3 4 3 3 2 3

Learning 3 3 2 1 2 2

Commitment 3 4 3 3 4 3
KHLeuven

Initiative 1 2 2 4 1 4

Cooperation 1 4 3 1 1 2

Respect 4 4 1 1 1 1

Legend: 1 little or no integration

2 minimal integration

3 moderate integration

4 good integration

Table 5 provides an overview of the results of the analysis of the sustainability, e.g. transdisciplinary approach, respecting other
individual study programs. On the one hand, the analysis points out people’s values and perspectives. Integrating competences for SD in
that a lot of emphasis is put on competences related to responsi- a focused way means that these competences are very clear within
bility and emotional intelligence, especially in the bachelor the matrix. These findings are in line with research findings con-
programs of business management. On the other hand, compe- cerning integration strategies in the fields of teacher training,
tences related to future orientation and personal commitment are health care and technology (Lambrechts et al., 2010).
virtually absent. Action oriented competences are also underrep-
resented. Some competences related to system orientation are 5.2. Research question 2
present in the competence schemes, especially those stressing
interdisciplinary cooperation, but still the competences for system The second research question looked at the further integration of
orientation are too fragmented. competences for SD, based on the results of the analysis; the results
The analysis showed that competences for SD are already give some concrete starting points to emphasize and further inte-
present in different ways: implicitly and fragmented, or explicitly grate competences for SD. Competences related to responsibility
and focused. An implicit and fragmented integration means that and emotional intelligence frequently appear in the matrices. It is
one or more existing competences contribute to the competences clear that elements of system orientation and future orientation
for SD, although not mentioning them explicitly. A fragmented have to be stressed, as these competences are lacking in the
integration does the opposite: it interweaves the competences for competence schemes. Furthermore, each bachelor program can
SD in other competences. An explicit and focused competence, now decide which integration strategy to apply e whether to inte-
on the other hand, focuses strongly on one or more elements of grate SD implicitly, explicitly, focused, or fragmented; horizontally,
 W. Lambrechts et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 48 (2013) 65e73 71

Table 5
Analysis of the individual competence matrices.

Competences for SD (Roorda, 2010)

Emotional Intelligence

Personal Involvement
System Orientation

Future Orientation
Responsibility

Action Skills
Competence Matrix of
Individual Bachelor Programs

Bachelor in Business Management

KHL – Accounting – Fiscal studies 3 2 2 1 2 3
KHL – Finance & Insurance 3 3 2 1 2 3
KHL – Marketing 3 3 2 1 2 2
HUB – Business Management 2 3 1 1 1 1
Bachelor in Office Management
KHL –Office Management 2 2 2 1 1 1
HUB – Office Management 2 3 1 1 1 1
Bachelor in Applied Information Technology
KHL – Applied Information Technology 2 2 2 2 1 2
HUB – Applied Information Technology 2 3 1 1 1 1

Legend: 1 little or no integration

2 minimal integration

3 moderate integration

4 good integration

vertically, or combined. It is important to highlight that there is no 6. Conclusions

“good” or “bad” strategy, and that implications for the curriculum
shall differ for each program. Many higher education institutions have integrated SD in
Another result of the analysis is that much emphasis is put on competences and curriculum. In the two universities described in
the (general) key competences for SD, but that a translation this article, SD is a main value for policy, education, research,
toward disciplinary competences for SD is still missing. This outreach, and operations, therefore, many of their study programs
illustrates that competences for SD are only defined and inte- have integrated sustainability. The competences within these
grated in general terms. Although this approach is already valu- universities were analyzed in three professional bachelor
able, it is not enough to thoroughly reorient the study program programs: business management, office management, and applied
toward SD and prepare students for their professional and information technology. In order to find out the present status of SD
personal roles in achieving a sustainable society. In order to integration, the study programs were analyzed on two levels.
achieve sustainability in higher education, this important deficit Firstly, the general key competences of each university were
has to be tackled. analyzed; secondly, the disciplinary competences for each study
Most competences for SD are strongly linked with ethical and program were analyzed. A framework for analysis was developed,
moral elements. Other competences, related to future orientation, based on the competences for SD as described by Roorda (2010),
system orientation, personal involvement and action taking, are who defined six groups, related to: (1) responsibility, (2) emotional
virtually absent. It is interesting to see that these results within two intelligence, (3) system orientation, (4) future orientation, (5)
Belgian universities are in line with the findings of a similar personal involvement and (6) action skills. The analysis pointed out
research in Catalan universities (Cortés et al., 2010) and a compa- that, despite valuable efforts, the integration of SD in competences
rable analysis for bachelor programs in social work in Flanders, shows some deficits: it is too implicit, too fragmented, and
Belgium (Peeters and Van Poeck, 2010). The absence of some key incomplete.
competences for SD requires a reorientation of existing, or inte- Regarding the general key competences, this paper’s results
gration of new competences. show that competences related to responsibility and emotional
Finally, the research also points out that the combination of the intelligence are widely integrated in both universities. It seems that
two educational innovations e i.e. competences and ESD e does not these value-based competences are widely accepted within all
necessarily present a contradiction, viewing the fact that the education programs. Competences related to system orientation,
competences for SD are mainly represented in the curriculum via future orientation, and action skills can be found only implicitly and
ethically and morally related e or value driven - competences. incompletely within the key competences. Moreover, competences
72 W. Lambrechts et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 48 (2013) 65e73

related to personal involvement are virtually absent. Overall, most Ceulemans, K., De Prins, M., Cappuyns, V., De Coninck, W., 2011. Integration of
sustainable development in higher education’s curricula of applied economics:
of the competences for SD are covered in a certain way within the
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Corcoran, P.B., Wals, A., 2004. Higher Education and the Challenge of Sustainability.
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analyzed, showing that few competences focus on the concept of Boston/Londen.
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