ESD Working Group in Schools

ESD Report: "Education for Sustainable Development in Erlangen Schools"

Education for Sustainable Development has been an important topic in the German educational landscape long before the UNESCO “ESD 2030” program. The model resolution “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Shaping Sustainability at the Local Level,” which was adopted as early as 2019, demonstrates that this topic is of particular importance to Erlangen.

The great importance of ESD in schools is reaffirmed by the LehrplanPLUS for Bavaria. In the LehrplanPLUS, Education for Sustainable Development is established as an interdisciplinary educational goal for all types of schools.

Until now, there has been no systematic overview of the implementation of ESD in Erlangen’s schools. However, such an overview is necessary to better assess the needs of the schools and to provide more tailored ESD programs. To assess the current status of ESD integration in Erlangen’s schools, the Office for Environmental Protection and Energy Issues and the Education Office developed a survey for all schools in Erlangen. The Department of Statistics and Urban Research supported the survey.

The survey was distributed in 2024 to all 38 schools in the Erlangen metropolitan area (elementary, middle, secondary, and special education schools; high schools; vocational schools; and private schools). 31 of the 38 schools—or 81.6%—participated in the survey.

The ESD report “Education for Sustainable Development in Erlangen Schools” can be requested as a PDF from the Environmental Office, Environmental Education/ESD Division.

“ESD in Schools” Working Group

Since 2026, the Environmental Office and the Education Office of the City of Erlangen have been working together with Erlangen’s schools to address the needs and measures identified in the 2024 ESD surveys and the 2025 ESD reports. The goal is for the city to support schools in the structural implementation of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in educational institutions.

Session 1: Developing the expert group’s topics

Session 2: Collaborations with Extracurricular ESD Stakeholders

• Quick introductions by the ESD stakeholders in attendance: “Getting to Know ESD Learning Spaces”
• Speed dating: “Extracurricular ESD stakeholders as potential partners”
• Exchange at the “Market of Opportunities”
• Input and best practice examples: School partnerships

Session 3: Structural Implementation and Whole School Approach

• Introduction to School Development and the Whole School Approach
• Best practice examples in the areas of organizational development and mission statements, participation, and resource management
• Best practice examples in the area of instructional development
• Insights into staff development and professional development
• Support Systems for Implementing ESD

The following holistic best practice examples were presented:

• FREI DAY learning format
• Climate School and Sustainable Mobility
• Building Values Through Participation and Taking Responsibility
• InnoLab-N: Violence Prevention & Sustainability Workshop: Design Thinking
• “ESD” Subjects and Sustainable Management
• Environmental Council
• FutureLabs, Brain-Based Learning, and Entrepreneurship in Schools
• Backpack School
• Learning Through Engagement (Service-Learning)
• From the E-Wast Race Project to the Student-Run Repair Shop
• ESD and Digital Learning with Media
• More Independent Activity, Less Lecture—Ideas for a New Learning Culture
• ESD Training Sessions

Session 4: Best Practice Examples of ESD Projects in Schools

Session 5: Participation and New Ways of Learning

Interested schools and teachers in Erlangen are always welcome!