Comenius Project

Green Skills for Global Change

The sustainability
Game
EU Comenius Project
Green Skills for Global Change
IES Santa Clara. Spain students team, Santander Meeting

2015 April 16th

International Conference on Sustainability and Development
Authors: Manuel Gmez, Alejandro Cuesta, Pilar Cifrin

The goal:
The goal of the game is to become
sustainable.

What is Sustainable/Sustainability?
Theres no exactly definition.
What does it really mean?

Bruntlands Definition
The most simple one and easier to
comunicate:

Sustainable development is development

that meets the needs of the Presentt without
compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs

Karl-Henrick Robrts
Definition:
It was proposed in 1989 by Karl-Henrick
and group of Scientifics
It is based on the Natural Cycles in the
Biosphere and the Lithosphere and the
Thermodynamics laws.

Biosphere: Layer of the earth where life is possible

Cycles are fast and well balanced
Cycles are open with respect to energy and closed
with respect to matter.
Lithosphere: Layer of the earth where the matter
comes from
Geological Cycles are slow and interact with the
biological cycles, acting as a base for life.

Sustainability is the capacity of our human society

to continue indefinitely within these natural cycles

Sustainable development is the development

towards that sustainability state

Root causes of
unsustainability
1- Relatively large flows of materials from the
earths crust that are being extracted
2- Accumulation of substances created by
society
3- Physically inhibit natures ability run cycles
4- We are creating barriers to people meeting
their basic needs

The principles to win

the game
The conditions of success (the only way to
become sustainable)
These keys have no priority, they are enough
and they are necessesary.

1- Nature is not subject to systematically increasing

concentrations of substances extracted from the
earths crust.
2- Nature is not subject to systematically increasing
concentrations of substances produces by society
3- Nature is not subject to systematically increasing
degradation by physical means
4- People are not subjects that systematically
undermine their capacity to meet their needs.

How to do that?
1- Correct managing of the natural resources
Using resources more efficiently
Reducing unnecessary resource use
Switching to consuming renewable resources
2- Social Change
Reducing our ecological footprint
3- GLOBAL agreement

Once we have accomplished these principles, we

would have win the game. Now we are sustainable.
Congratulations!