About the Book
As we increase our awareness of the planetary challenges and how they intersect with the discipline or profession we choose to focus on, we have put our attention on the external forces and impacts. What remains untouched however is the set of beliefs, values, assumptions, mental processes, and paradigms that we hold and share: our mindset. But how do we change a mindset?
This book is the first to introduce the 12 Principles for a Sustainability Mindset, presenting educators with a framework that makes it easy to include them into teaching plans and lessons of any discipline. Written in a very clear and practical way, the book provides examples, checklists, tips, and tools for professionals and educators. It transforms the development of a much-needed mindset for sustainability into an accessible, fun and intuitive task.
The book is written with educators from a variety of disciplines in mind, including but not limited to management educators, coaches, and trainers. No other book comes close to providing such a well-organized and solid way of starting to shift our mindsets in the direction of sustainability.
Table of Contents:
PART 1. INTRODUCTION 1. What is a Sustainability Mindset? PART 2. ECOLOGICAL WORLDVIEW 2. Principle # 1: ECOLITERACY 3. Principle # 2: MY CONTRIBUTION PART 3. SYSTEMS THINKING 4. Principle # 3: LONG TERM THINKING 5. Principle # 4: BOTH/AND 6. Principle # 5: FLOW IN CYCLES 7. Principle # 6: INTERCONNECTEDNESS PART 4. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE 8. Principle # 7: CREATIVE INNOVATION 9. Principle # 8: REFLECTION 10. Principle # 9: SELF-AWARENESS 11. Principle # 10: PURPOSE PART 5. SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE 12. Principle # 11: ONENESS WITH NATURE 13. Principle # 12: MINDFULNESS PART 6. WEAVING IT ALL TOGETHER
About the Author :
Isabel Rimanoczy, author of Big Bang Being: Developing the Sustainability Mindset and Stop Teaching, has thirty years’ experience as a researcher, author, and educator. She is the Convener of the PRME Working Group on the Sustainability Mindset, an international cohort of academics from 135 universities on five continents promoting innovation and a sustainability mindset. Global Ambassador of AIM2Flourish and Fellow of the Schumacher Institute.
Review :
"If we reach a sustainable future, it will be because visionary teachers call a new generation of citizens and leaders to the journey. Educators will find in this book a sophisticated conceptual framework and pedagogic toolkit for awakening students to the urgent challenge of sustainability and sparking their engagement as agents of transition." - Paul D. Raskin, President, Tellus Institute, author Journey to Earthland: The Great Transition to Planetary Civilization
"Isabel Rimanoczy's The sustainability mindset principles, is a well research and practical approach to developing sustainability mindsets. Her book captures the complexity of mindsets that help us make sense of our world. Sustainability will not happen without sustainable mindsets. Believers and non believers alike should read this book". - Paul Shrivastava, Ph.D, Chief Sustainability Officer, Director, Sustainability Institute, Professor of Management, The Pennsylvania State University
"This is an essential reading for anyone teaching sustainability. Isabel shares simple and powerful tools that you can immediately use to make the learning experience with your students truly transformative. Your students will love these activities. The impact they make is a shifted mindset that prepares students to serve as responsible business leaders for a better world!" - Dr. Ekaterina Ivanova, National Research University "Higher School of Economics" Moscow
"In the current world situation, especially after the pandemic caused by COVID-19, this book is not only timely but necessary. In order to make this world a better place to live and work in, and not to limit ourselves merely to not impoverishing it, we need a new mindset that can be applied to all disciplines and jobs. Dr. Rimanoczy offers us 12 Sustainability Principles, which are sufficiently broad and practical to generate this mindset and to share it with others. Thanks to her extensive experience teaching students and practitioners, she brings together theory and practice in an extraordinary fashion, providing us with a guide to effectively create a positive impact on society." - Ignacio Ferrero, Dean, School of Economics & Business, Universidad de Navarra
"Dr. Rimanoczy's latest book is a very useful vehicle for shifting students’ mindsets and engaging them in actions needed to heal this broken world. I think it fits well with tool-oriented courses and programs aimed at taking appropriate and useful actions….and it recognizes that if we start with the proper mindset, everything else is natural, much easier, and much more impactful. Her book offers a useful framework for looking at who we need to become and guides us on how to get there. Dr.Rimanoczy, who may well be the leading expert on the planet on how to develop a sustainability mindset, builds effectively on more than a decade of dedicated work on discovering and describing the kind of mindset we need to move forward into the 21sr Century." - James A Stoner, Chairholder: James A.F. Stoner Chair in Global Sustainability, Gabelli School of Business, Fordham University. Co-author with Frank Werner of Financial Managing for a Sustainable World
"Rarely do educators shine equal light on the role of the ‘internal’ aspect of leading sustainability and other critical complex adaptive challenges. All change begins with self, and leaders - with or without formal authority - must first understand the impact and influence they have on people and the systems within which they work and live. This requires a good deal of reflection as well. Sustainability Mindset Principles is comprehensive in both the practical external aspects of this work as well, in very pragmatic language and examples. The author has created numerous opportunities for everyone to see themselves as part of the solution. And finally, the power of the questions we pose to ourselves and others are fundamental to beginning the process of personal transformation, and ultimately systems transformation. This is a gift to educators, and the planet." - Darcy Winslow, President / Co-Founder Academy for Systems Change
"Many of us started a journey trying to passionately make "a difference in the world", only to be left wondering after a while whether that is achievable. When we turn inwards and try to address: What purpose do I strive for and what makes me happy, we begin to find answers which go beyond oneself and are fundamentally linked to the well-being of the people who are important to us. In my view, trying to find the compass and to go on this path is the single most important step one can take, and it might even bring about big changes to the world. This book helps to shed a light how to go about it, and is an important expression of the author’s passion and work." - Jonas Haertle, Special Assistant to the Executive Director, United Nations Institute for Training and Research, (UNITAR)
"It is absolutely a pleasure to read the new book by Isabel Rimanoczy that discusses leadership, education, and changing mindsets within the context of the natural and human environment that develop recursively.
In a straight forward language with clear and up to date examples, Isabel provides the reader with a set of valuable tools to help educators develop leaders with mindsets for the sustainable future.
My advice for educators, sustainability experts and practitioners is: Read it, re-read it, live it." - Prof. Danica Purg, President of IEDC-Bled School of Management, President of CEEMAN, Acting Chair of the PRME Steering Committee
"I celebrate this new book by Isabel Rimanoczy, which underlines the Greek philosophy stating that important events take place in their kayros: the right timing. The Sustainability Mindset Principles couldn’t be more timely: when it’s urgent to change a mindset to set the foundation for a new era. Education is the central pillar of this transformation, and in this context, the contribution of Isabel Rimanoczy is not only valuable, but much needed." - Silvia Zimmermann del Castillo, Author, President of the Argentine Chapter of the Club of Rome
"Deeply insightful and grounded in the histories of meaning making across cultures, this guide for educators brings issues of sustainability to personal relevance for all students. In an engaging series of reflections, it leads them to craft their own path to ensure the well-being of the planet and all its living systems." - Mary Watson, Ph.D., Executive Dean, The New School
"Practical and thoughtful, Rimanoczy’s book invites educators to deeply reflect how to develop the sustainable mindset needed --along with the knowledge and skills-- to tackle the most pressing global issues and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through a shift in ‘knowing’ (ecoliteracy), ‘thinking’ (systemic and innovative thinking) and ‘being’ (values, purpose). This is, indeed, highly needed." - M. Florencia Librizzi, Head of Program and Partnerships, SDG Academy, UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)
"Rimanoczy writes about educating for and changing mindsets on global sustainability with the drive of an entrepreneur and the zeal of a missionary." - Tay Keong Tan, PhD, Director of International Studies and Leadership Studies, Radford University
