Lessons from Learning Technologies Autumn Forum 2022: Sustainability in learning

Award-winning Tess Robinson and Rob Hubbard are pushing a really important agenda in L&D right now: that of sustainability being everyone’s problem. Gone are the days of printed workbooks, and we may feel virtuous about that. But what about the pressure on servers for all the digital options we are putting into play as an alternative?

Tess and Rob led us through clear evidence and encouraged table discussions for tangible suggestions on what we could do as “small actions can make a big difference”. One suggestion was to find out our own personal carbon footprint and work to reduce that. Another was to use outside space for learning to help reconnect people to their locality thus supporting a better respect for their world.

There was also a pragmatic approach offered by Tess and Rob: sustainability is good for business. It is easier to get senior buy-in if you focus on the money, as cynical as that may be.

Identifying achievable goals and being held accountable to them by a buddy offers positive social reinforcement and provides evidence for building the business case for sustainability.

What I loved about this session was how it was an exquisitely crafted piece of learning design. Tess and Rob are award-winning learning designers. This session was an example of why. They were subtle, yet clear. They were encouraging, but not forceful. They were bold and invigorated us to also be bold.

As so many of us have headed over to live online, to Zoom calls and to digital workbooks, we may think we are doing our bit. But what of the lithium batteries powering all these devices? Or we may be running live events again, but what of the transport to get there? Or the paper which is not recycled? Or the food waste at learning events? Do we push our clients/customers for their green credentials? How conscious are we as consumers and content creators? Tess and Rob are challenging the entire L&D industry to think differently and to wrestle with the hard questions by leading the way.

This was a useful thinking question for their audience: “Individually, think about what you could do personally and what small step to achieving it?”

Twitter thread live tweeted from the event

Tess and Rob’s own LAS Learning

Michelle Parry-Slater is learning and development director at Kairos Modern Learning

Note from the editor: To read more about the Learning Technologies Autumn Forum 2022, and part one of Ms Parry-Slater’s overview series, visit: Lessons from Learning Technologies Autumn Forum 2022: Curiosity, and you can find part two at: Lessons from Learning Technologies Autumn Forum 2022: Learning in a hybrid setting