Espoo SDGs & Sustainable development as part of teaching material

This article series presents cases of innovations built here in Espoo that strive for a better tomorrow for all.

Although sustainability is an integral part of the national teaching curriculum,  it is often perceived as a complex subject. We launched a project to enhance competence within sustainability education, develop teaching materials that support instruction, and cultivate learning environments conducive to sustainability. All while integrating the local perspective of Espoo to sustainability education.

Espoo City’s Centre of excellence for sustainable development created SDG cards as part of their evaluation process. These cards asses the current state of each of the 17 SDG goals in Espoo and help teachers and students perceive sustainability as a social, cultural, economic, and ecological system. Initially designed for high school students, the visualization and local perspective of the cards proved compelling for us to use the cards with younger students as well. The teaching material included a quiz, discussion exercises and games among other resources.