Sustainability in Study Abroad Resources

Here are some of the best sustainability in study abroad resources I’ve collected while working in this nexus between international education and sustainability for over 25 years. It was last revised on May 8, 2017. Please suggest new resources in the comments so I can keep the list up-to-date. Thanks!

Articles

Being a Good Neighbor by Terra Dotta (2018)
Green Study Abroad Made Easy by Daniel Greenberg (2016)
A Necessary Partnership: Sustainability and Study Abroad by Andrea Dvorak et al. (2015)
How to Volunteer Abroad Sustainably by Laura Jelich (2015)
Leaving Light Footprints by Karen Leggett (2012)
Sustainable Travel and Study Abroad by Astrid Jirka (2006)

Groups

EcoAbroad (Facebook Page)
- Started in 2012 as a general forum on this topic. It’s not active, but perhaps you can change that!
Green Passport (Facebook Page)
- Started in 2007 to support students taking an eco-pledge while studying abroad.
NAFSA’s Sustainability SIG (Special Interest Group)
- Started in 2009. We have meetings at NAFSA’s Annual Conference and Expo.
Sustainability in Study Abroad (LinkedIn Group)
- Started in 2011, re-energized in 2017.

Guides and Tips

Costa Rican Trails Environmental and Security Tips
- General advice around responsible travel.
How to Create a Sustainable Study Abroad Program (2006)
- A 20-min video funded by a NAFSA grant.
Sustainability in International Education (2008)
- Recommendations prepared by a NAFSA Task Force I chaired in 2008.
Transitions Abroad Responsible Travel Handbook (2006)
- A 93-page PDF on responsible tourism with articles from dozens of contributors.

Organizations

CAPE – Custom Academic Programs in Ecovillages
- Develops custom faculty-led and other programs based in sustainable communities.
Earth Deeds
- Offers online tools for groups to meaningfully account for their unavoidable travel emissions.
Ethical Traveler
- Nonprofit educating travelers about their social and environmental impacts.
Planeta.com
- Geared towards conscious travelers. Maintains a World Travel Directory.
Sustainable Travel International
- General support for sustainable tourism
The International Ecotourism Society
- A consortium of over 750 organizations and 14,000 individuals promoting ecotourism
Tourism Concern
- A UK charity exposing tourism’s worst human rights abuses and campaigning against them.

Providers

Abroad101’s Directory of Sustainability Studies Study Abroad Programs
GoAbroad’s List of Sustainable Development Study Abroad Programs
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Academic Experiences Abroad (95 Countries)
CELL – Center for Ecological Living and Learning (multiple destinations
Earth Education International (Costa Rica)
EARTH University (Costa Rica)
Ecosa Institute (Arizona)
El Nomad (Ecuador)
Expedition Education Institute (North America)
The GREEN Program (multiple destinations)
Intercultural Outreach Initiative (Cuba, Galapagos)
ISDSI (Thailand)
School for Field Studies (multiple destinations)
SIT Study Abroad (multiple destinations)
Walking Tree Travel & Smithsonian Student Adventures (mult. dest. for HS students)
Where There Be Dragons (multiple destinations)

By Daniel Greenberg| April 27th, 2017|14 Comments

About the Author: Daniel Greenberg

Daniel ran study abroad programs in ecovillages from '99-'12 and now directs Earth Deeds, which supports local solutions to global warming and CAPE, which develops custom academic programs in ecovillages. He also served as President of the Global Ecovillage Network from 2015-2019.

14 Comments

jonathan t scott April 28, 2017 at 7:38 pm

You should add ‘The Sustainable Business’ to your list. Written with the input of sustainability’s leading pioneers, it is available for free in 5 languages with two more on the way (Spanish and French).

LinkedIn access page to the free downloads: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/elimination-waste-reductions-resource-use-long-term-wealth-scott

Access direct from the publisher/distributer: https://www.efmd.org/research/the-sustainable-business
Daniel Greenberg April 30, 2017 at 2:31 pm

Thanks Jonathan. It looks like a good resource and I’ll leave it here for others to see, but since it doesn’t directly address study abroad I won’t put it in the list. Take care and I look forward to our next opportunity to connect.
Andrea Dvorak May 1, 2017 at 2:22 pm

Although it may seem like a shameless plug, let me suggest another addition to your list – the article I co-wrote with faculty colleagues called “A Necessary Partnership: Sustainability and Study Abroad” — it’s available online here:

http://frontiersjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/DVORAK-CHRISTIANSEN-FISCHER-UNDERHILL-FrontiersXXI-ANecessaryPartnership.pdf
Daniel Greenberg May 1, 2017 at 9:47 pm

Thanks Andrea! It’s a great article and I’m happy to include it in the resource list!
Robert Chappell May 2, 2017 at 1:31 am

Hi Daniel. Thank you for including EcoAbroad. It has been inactive since I refocused my attention on working fulltime with Sustainable Travel International. That said, I agree it’s time to get things moving again. Lets connect soon.
Daniel Greenberg May 2, 2017 at 1:15 pm

That’s great Bobby! I’m feeling some new energy re: the topic and appreciate your interest in re-energizing the EcoAbroad page on Facebook. If you’re going to NAFSA, please come to the Sustainability SIG meeting and let’s reconnect over coffee or a meal!
Pip Denne May 5, 2017 at 8:24 pm

Hi Daniel,

This looks like a great initiative and comprehensive list that you’ve put together. I’d definitely recommend popping El Nomad on the list. We do sustainable and community-driven study abroad programs in Ecuador and other parts of South America. We’re locally-owned and we have a very “mom and pop” feel to our experiences. We also have some fantastic non-for-profit initiatives happening that are heavily focused in conservation, preservation, biodiversity and sustainable farming!

Cheers,
Pip
Daniel Greenberg May 8, 2017 at 6:55 pm

Thanks Pip. I am happy to include El Nomad in the Providers list and wish you well with your important work!
Mark Shay May 8, 2017 at 9:46 pm

Hi Daniel,

I hope you’ll include Abroad101’s directory of Sustainability Studies Study Abroad Programs in your index. These are programs, identified by their provider, that offer sustainability as a taught subject or a central theme. The directory can be found here: https://www.studyabroad101.com/subjects/sustainability-studies As with all programs on Abroad101, students, parents and advisors can read in-depth reviews of these programs. The Abroad101 review contains 38 questions that, in many cases provide some great insight as to a program and location.
Ailsa Lamont May 10, 2017 at 5:12 am

Thanks Daniel, this is a very helpful resource. A colleague of mine did some research last year on the carbon footprint from air travel of international students coming to university in Australia and calculated that they emitted 1,444,451 CO₂e tonnes a year . Planting enough trees to offset this would fill a space the size of Sydney Harbour. Another way of putting it is each student would have to plant 24 trees just to offset their air travel. I’m developing a carbon footprint innovation challenge for international students in response.

I’m really looking forward to coming to the sustainability meeting to learn more about what you’re all doing – I agree, it is starting to gain momentum and it’s time institutions took a greater role.
Daniel Greenberg May 18, 2017 at 6:23 pm

Thanks Mark! I’ve included the link in the resources.
Daniel Greenberg May 18, 2017 at 6:24 pm

Thanks Alisa. I imagine the University of Australia would have one of the largest carbon footprint per international student given how far most need to travel to get there. I’m curious to learn more about your carbon footprint innovation challenge. If you’re interested in providing opportunities for international students to contribute money or time to a local sustainability project, I encourage you to check out Earth Deeds (www.earthdeeds.org) to see if there is any potential for collaboration. I look forward to seeing you at the SIG meeting. If you’d like to find another time to talk further, you can schedule a meeting with me at https://danielgreenberg.youcanbook.me.
Morrison Mast May 19, 2017 at 8:08 pm

Hi Daniel:

Great list of resources here, thank you for compiling this! I’m the Director of Conservation Programs for an organization that tries to embody a lot of these same values and guidelines when traveling with students. We operate in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institute and offer students the opportunity to participate in a suite of international programs designed to inspire them to pursue studies in the natural sciences. Students learn about what it means to be a responsible traveler (per our partnership with Sustainable Travel International), and spend the bulk of their time abroad volunteering alongside scientists on field-research programs that expose them to the critical conservation issues of our day.

Although you may be working more this college students, I hope you’ll consider including us as a resource for high school students or teachers that want to travel in a socially and environmentally responsible manner: https://walkingtree.org // https://smithsonianstudentadventures.com
Daniel Greenberg May 19, 2017 at 9:17 pm

Thanks for suggesting these resources Morrison. I’ve added them to the list and mentioned they are primarily for high school students. Best of luck with your adventures and I hope to meet you someday.