The Rise and Fall of Education For Sustainability

Working paper
Under review 1
RESEARCH ARTICLE
The Rise and Fall of Education for

Sustainability in New Zealands Tertiary
Education Strategies: An Orchestrated
Conspiracy of Ignorance? [Extended version]
PETER J. MELLALIEU1
Department of Management and Marketing, Unitec Institute of Technology, Auckland, New
Zealand
Correspondence address
Email: pmellalieu@unitec.ac.nz
Peter J. Mellalieu, Department of Management and Marketing, Faculty of Creative Industries
and Business, Unitec Institute of Technology, Private Bag 92025, Auckland, New Zealand.
Abstract
New Zealand enacted pioneering legislation embracing the notion of sustainable development
through its Resource Management Act (1991). Through its Tertiary Education Strategy (TES)
2007-2012 the Labour government signalled its desire that the countrys higher education
sector should support its ambitious environmental vision and goals.
A strategic audit of the environmental performance of a publicly-funded New Zealand
tertiary educational organisation examined the extent to which the institution achieved the
environmental goals espoused in its government-approved charter. For several reasons, the
institution had retreated substantially from its earlier pioneering commitments to
environmental initiatives, initiated from the late 1990s. Specifically, the governments
environmental policy aims were not translated into an explicit investment funding priority for
the tertiary education sector nor into an appropriate system of monitoring and control.
The most recent National government tertiary education strategy, TES 2010-2015,
retreats further, condemning the nations future professional leadership - and tertiary
graduates in general - to a deep ignorance about the requirements, risks, and opportunities for
sustainable development.
Keywords
(1) education for sustainability; EfS; environmental education; environmental
awareness;
(2) strategic audit; strategic management; environmental audit;
(3) higher education policy; tertiary education policy; public policy;
(4) professional leadership; citizenship; sustainable development;
1
This document is under review for publication, submitted 4 March 2011. Please cite as: Mellalieu, P. J. (2011).
The Rise and Fall of Education for Sustainability in New Zealands Tertiary Education Strategies: An
Orchestrated Conspiracy of Ignorance? [Extended version - Under review]. Department of Management &
Marketing Working Papers. Auckland, NZ: Unitec Institute of Technology.
Working paper
Under review 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.Introduction: The natural environment is under threat from humanity's actions .................. 3
New Zealand: 100% Pure
Education for sustainability (EfS)
Motivation for the research
Overview of the paper
4
5
5
6
2.Research methodology .......................................................................................................... 6

Research approach
Research design: Program Evaluation as a basis for understanding and improvement
Definition of terms
6
7
7
3.Unitec and the New Zealand higher education sector........................................................... 8

Unitecs charter and environmental sustainability
4.Results of the Unitec strategic audit: seven strategic issues ..................................................9

Reaction from the chief financial officer
11
5.The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) and the Tertiary Education Strategy (TES)... 12
Government's sustainability goals for NZ
Challenges and opportunities for tertiary education
Governments priority outcomes for tertiary education
Absence of measures for success
Strategic issue: No explicit priority by TEC for investing in sustainable development
A letter to the minister
13
13
14
15
15
16
6.Unitec undergoes financial and managerial restructuring....................................................17

7.Environmental education policy under a new government ................................................. 19
The National government Tertiary Education Strategy 2010-2015
Unitecs response: Investment Plan 2011-2013
21
22
8.Summary: An orchestrated conspiracy of ignorance?......................................................... 22

9.What influences government policy to be ineffective on sustainability issues?..................24
10.Should TEOs develop independent, explicit, and effective strategies for sustainability?. 26
11.Aftermath........................................................................................................................... 27
12.Future projects ................................................................................................................... 28
13.Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... 29
14.References ......................................................................................................................... 29
15.Summary ........................................................................................................................... 34
16.The author.......................................................................................................................... 35
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1.Introduction: The natural environment is under threat from humanity's actions

The incidence of extreme weather events - such as cyclones, drought, floods, and firestorms is increasing. The impact of these events is increasingly costly, as demonstrated by the loss of
life, property, vegetation, and topsoil. Insurance pay-outs caused by extreme weather events
are forecast to double every ten years. These increasingly frequent - and/or more severe weather events are resulting directly from the steady - but persistent - increase in average
global temperature. The rise in average global temperature is directly attributed by the
majority of scientists to the rise in atmospheric 'greenhouse gasses', such as carbon dioxide,
methane, and nitrous oxide (Royal Society of New Zealand, 2008; Gugenheim, 2006; Gore,
2006, 2011).
At least one-half of the increase in greenhouse gasses is attributed directly to human
factors: burning fossil fuels, some agricultural practices, decomposition of waste materials,
and deforestation. Although the annual increase in average global temperature is small, the
average trend persists upward. Moreover, the growth pattern is strikingly different from any
pattern observed over the previous 2000 years ... and earlier times. For example, see Global
Warming Art - Temperature Gallery. Furthermore, the incidence and cost of extreme climate
events is increasing at a rate disproportionally higher than the rise in average global
temperature: the consequences of extreme climate events are getting worse faster than
straight line proportional relationships would suggest. The higher costs have resulted partly
from insurers and local governments failing to incentivise businesses and homebuilders from
locating themselves in risk-prone areas (Bawden, 2010). The author himself witnessed
directly the extraordinarily disruptive impacts of hurricanes Katrina and Wilma whilst on
sabbatical in south-west Florida in 2005 (Mellalieu, 2006).
Customers, voters, and lawmakers are recognising that climate change is one important
issue that requires significant change in the way that business, governments, and homedwellers operate. However, responding to the issues of climate change is but one of several
threats to the natural environment presented by humanity's actions. Other threats include
toxic and hazardous pollutants that threaten human health and natural ecosystems; loss of
biodiversity; land contamination; waste disposal; marine and freshwater eutrophication;
inefficient resource use and resource depletion; groundwater overuse; disturbance by noise,
odour and litter; ozone depletion; and acidification of soil, water, and buildings (Rowledge,
Barton and Brady, 1999, Case 14, Box 2, p. 262).
Since the 1980s, the increasing urgency for action on environmental themes has driven
large corporations - such as Volvo and Sony - to incorporate principles of eco-sustainable
practice throughout the product life-cycle of their products: design, development, raw
material purchase, manufacturing, waste disposal, and final disposal of the product. These
companies have given notice to their suppliers that they, too, are required to adopt ecosustainable practices (Rowledge, Barton & Brady, 1999). Policy-makers at city, regional, and
national level are implementing increasingly stringent regulations. However, some argue that
the regulations are insufficient to deal with the challenges that are emerging. In contrast,
skeptical environmentalists agree that whilst mankind is affecting negatively the natural
environment, there are other economic policies that would give rise to relatively superior
world economic well-being than policies devoted to sustainable development. For example,
improving the availability of freshwater to the poor in less developed nations (Lomborg 2001;
2004; 2006).
2 Orchestrated conspiracy of ignorance
MELLALIEU
New Zealand: 100% Pure

through its Resource Management Act (1991) and was an early signatory to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992). The countrys gross contribution
of 77.9 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent (2006) greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) is very
small (0.44 per cent of the global total) and the effect on normal human life imperceptible.
(UNFCC National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Data, cited in Bertram & Terry, 2010, Table
2.3). There are several reasons. The population is small - around 4.5 million - on an island
area slightly larger than the isles of Japan or the United Kingdom. The abundance of brisk
Pacific winds and rainfall dilutes some wastes so that they are not readily perceived. A large
proportion of the countrys electricity is gained from renewable resources: hydro, geothermal,
and wind. Furthermore, recreationally-attractive lakes, coastlines, mountainous landscapes, or
indigenous subtropical forests lie within two hours drive from most locations. Consequently,
since 2000 New Zealands businesses have promoted world-wide their tourist destinations and
export products with variants of the marketing slogan 100% Pure developed by Tourism
New Zealand, a government-funded industry development agency.
However, New Zealand is one of the most highly ranked countries for per capita
emission of greenhouse gasses. Similarly, the country produces the second highest emission
of greenhouse gasses per unit of GDP creation, and ranks highly in per capita material and
energy consumption (Skilling & Boven, 2007). Furthermore, since mass European
colonisation began from the 1840s, by the 1950s the country had completed extensive
deforestation of much of the indigenous sub-tropical rain-forest replacing it with pastoral
agriculture, plantation forests, and - to a lesser extent - population centres. Accordingly, New
Zealand's unfavourable ranking attracts the spotlight of other countries to focus on the
countrys industries, exports, tourist destinations, waste production, GHG profile, and food
miles. The marketing slogan is not quite 100 per cent true! (Cumming, 2010).
For instance, Rod Oram, a former editor of the UK Financial Times, has presented
several public addresses on critical strategic issues facing economic development in New
Zealand. Several presentations have expressed detailed concern that New Zealand's claim to
be a clean, green, 100 per cent pure nation is not supported appropriately by current
practices, policies, and legislation. In his book Reinventing paradise: How New Zealand is
starting to earn a bigger, sustainable living in the world economy (2007) he concludes:
[New Zealands] lip service to date has given us air, land and water which are unconscionably
polluted for a country so thinly populated. It is scandalous, for example, that we are the only
OECD country lacking fuel emissions and efficiency standards for vehicles, or that intensive
farming practices are still damaging waterways. Our clean green image is a myth waiting to be
exposed. If it is, our international reputation - and thus our earnings potential - will be seriously
damaged, perhaps irreparably. (Oram, 2007, p. 293).
How does New Zealand compare on a world basis? The 2010 Environmental
Performance Index (EPI) ranks 163 countries on 25 performance indicators tracked across ten
policy categories covering both environmental public health and ecosystem vitality. New
Zealands EPI score (73.4) ranks the country comparable to Chile (73.3) and the United
Kingdom (74.2), slightly superior to Mexico (67.3), The Philippines (65.7), Australia (65.7),
and the United States (63.5), and inferior to the top-ranked countries of Iceland (93.5),
Switzerland (89.1), Costa Rica (86.4), and Sweden (86.0) (Yale Center for Environmental
Law & Policy, n.d.).
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The Environmental Vulnerability Index (EVI) rates the relative resilience and
vulnerability of a country's physical environment to future shocks, risks and hazards and
thereby the proneness of the countrys environment to damage and degradation. New
Zealands score of 292 (Vulnerable) rates similar to Chile (287, Vulnerable), Brazil (284,
Vulnerable), United States (300, Vulnerable), and Mexico (302, Vulnerable). This compares to
more vulnerable ratings assessed for the United Kingdoms EVI of 373 (Extremely
vulnerable) and The Philippines (402, Extremely Vulnerable), and more favourable ratings of
Australia (238, at risk) and Canada (251, At risk) (South Pacific Applied Geoscience
Commission, n.d.).
Education for sustainability (EfS)
Given the foregoing situation one might expect higher educational organisations in New
Zealand to be at the forefront for educating students, conducting research, and advocating
appropriate policy initiatives in support of sustainable development. We might also expect
them to operate using sustainable practices. However, this expectation is not being achieved.
For instance, in 2004 New Zealand's Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (PCE)
recommended that ALL graduates leaving tertiary educational organisations - and schools should possess "a core understanding of ... environmental sustainability as a result of
institutes encouraging Education for Sustainability (EfS) throughout their
organisations" (PCE, 2007, p. 8).
A more recent study of New Zealand's tertiary educational sector conducted by the PCE
found that its 2004 recommendation had been accepted and implemented in "an ad hoc,
isolated, and uncoordinated manner both within and across institutions" (p. 20). For instance,
"While environment-specific courses are available, with some [institutions] offering good
opportunities for skills and knowledge in sustainability, learning about sustainability is not a
core (or even a fringe) component in most mainstream courses." Furthermore, "University
students' understanding of sustainable development has not changed dramatically since
2002" (PCE, 2007, p. 20; Stone & Baldoni, 2006). These findings are reinforced by Williams
doctoral thesis that presented a comprehensive assessment of sustainable development
activities in New Zealand tertiary institutions. Williams found that campus sustainable
development activities relied too much on lone ranger champions, and failed to get adequate
support from senior institutional leadership (Williams, 2008).
The 1990 Talloires Declaration (TD) is a ten-point action plan initiated by university
administrators for incorporating sustainability and environmental literacy in teaching,
research, operations and outreach at colleges and universities. It is noteworthy that no New
Zealand university has become a signatory to the Talloires Declaration (Association of
university leaders for a sustainable future). In contrast, twenty Australian universities are
signatories, eleven in the United Kingdom, and 166 in the United States. One institution in the
New Zealand polytechnic sector, Otago Polytechnic, has orchestrated its commitment to
sustainable development pioneered through its Chief Executives membership of The Natural
Step (Otago Polytechnic).
Motivation for the research
The foregoing observations by the Parliamentary Commissioner inspired me to explore the
state of sustainable development and Education for Sustainability in my educational
institution, Unitec New Zealand, an institute of technology. Specifically, I sought to explore
MELLALIEU
how I could contribute appropriate improvements in my role as a professor of strategy,

innovation, and entrepreneurship.
I soon gained support from my colleagues and several senior managers to pursue my
line of enquiry. Consequently, I determined to conduct a strategic audit of the state of
sustainability for presentation to coincide with the anticipated arrival of a newly-appointed
Chief Executive Officer.
Overview of the paper
The paper continues by outlining the investigation process through which the strategic audit
commenced. The initial set of strategic issues identified by the audit are presented. Following
discussion of a draft audit with the institutions Chief Financial Officer, a new issue was
identified that led to the principal focus for this paper: the influence of national educational
policy on the Unitecs corporate strategy and sustainable development. Subsequent
correspondence between the author and government ministers is revealed that illustrates the
dissonance between the policies for institutional academic autonomy, national environmental
policy, and the subtle practicalities of negotiating financial investment within the educational
sector. The paper concludes with implications for environmental politics and leadership at the
institutional and national level, particularly regarding higher education.
2.Research methodology
This section details the research questions, the purpose of and audience for the initial enquiry,
and the research approach.
Two research questions emerged early in the outset of my inquiry:
(1) What is the state of sustainable development and Education for Sustainability in a
case example of a New Zealand Tertiary Educational Organisation (TEO)
(2) To what extent does the New Zealand government's tertiary education strategy
support or hinder New Zealand TEOs' pursuit of an agenda for Education for
Sustainability and sustainable development?
As a professional strategist, my initial focus was to identify strategic issues - especially
as they pertain to sustainability - for the attention of the TEO's top management team, and
particularly the imminent arrival of a new Chief Executive Officer. A strategic issue is defined
as a challenge, threat, weakness, or opportunity that demands top management attention. A
strategic issue is framed in such a manner that the problem or challenge is expressed
succinctly, that there are several strategic choices available for its resolution, but solutions are
not explicitly recommended. Strategic choice, action, and control comes later in the strategic
development process.
Research approach
The information and insights presented in this article result from an overall approach to
enquiry that Robson (1993, 2002) defines as Real World Enquiry (RWE). Real World Enquiry
is conducted on and with people outside the safe confines of the laboratory. It is 'human'
research "not only in the sense of covering studies about people, but also in trying to take
account of the advantages accruing from the enquirers themselves being people" (p. xv). RWE
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is conducted when "one wants to say something sensible about complex, messy, poorly
controlled organisational settings" (xvi). RWE contrasts with the traditional - or formal
academic - research approach in that RWE focusses on solving problems rather than just
gaining knowledge (Robson, Box 1.1). Furthermore, RWE tends to:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
Look for robust results that will lead to achieving large effects
Identify actionable factors - where changes are feasible
Require generalist researchers who have a familiarity with a range of methods
Employ multiple methods
Require well-developed social skills in the researcher
Report to a client in priority to academic peers.
Although RWE is regarded as of dubious merit by some academics, RWE is conducted

in a systematic manner and underpinned by pragmatic 'critical realism': an approach that is a
synthesis of features drawn from realism, post-positivism, constructionism, pragmatism, and
the ideals of emancipatory research. "Critical realism criticises the social practices that it
studies.... If false understandings - and actions based on them - can be identified, this provides
an impetus for change" (Bhaskar, 1986, cited in Robson, p 41).
Research design: Program Evaluation as a basis for understanding and improvement
A key constraint in the design of the project was the aim of completing a preliminary
exploration by late February 2008, due to the imminent arrival of a new Chief Executive
Officer for the institution in June. Given this time constraint and the exploratory focus
dictated by the first of the research questions, a multi-method Program Evaluation design was
adopted informed by my experience as a consulting strategist. The purpose of Program
Evaluation is to "assess the effects and effectiveness of something, typically some innovation,
intervention, policy, practice or service" often with the intention of providing a basis for
change and improvement. For instance, "to improve the program, to assess the outcomes of
the program; to find out how the program is operating; to assess the efficiency of a program;
or to understand why a program works (or does not work)" (Robson, p. 202 and Box 7.12).
In this enquiry, the Program Evaluation began with the intention of focussing on
understanding the strategies, policies and practices of the TEO that impact on its sustainable
development practice and education for sustainability thereby providing a basis for
appropriate improvement. Specifically, I began the Program Evaluation informed by the
principles of strategic audit (Mellalieu, 1992). Consequently, the principal methods used for
this research were interviews, document content analysis, discussion of findings with key
stake-holders, and subsequent reflection on action. The principal client was the senior
Executive Team of Unitec Institute of Technology.
Definition of terms
For this paper, the following definitions are used for sustainability and Education for
Sustainability. They are the definitions used by the New Zealand Parliamentary
Commissioner for the Environment (PCE):
Sustainability is the goal of sustainable development an unending quest to improve the quality of
peoples lives and surroundings, and to prosper without destroying the life-supporting systems that
current and future generations of humans (and all other species on Earth) depend on. Like other
MELLALIEU
important concepts such as equity and justice, sustainability can be thought of as both a destination
(something worth aiming for) and a journey (that has no pre-ordained route).
Environmental sustainability aims to enhance and maintain: (a) The life-supporting processes
(ecological systems) that provide people with good quality air, water, soil and marine life, and a
viable climate. This is essential for sustaining a world that humans and other species can survive
and flourish in. (b) Other environmental factors that contribute to peoples quality of life. What
people value about the environment is always changing, but most people in New Zealand today
enjoy living in a good quality environment. Environmental sustainability cannot be maintained
without resolving the social, cultural and economic reasons behind unsustainable practices and
inequalities that contribute to exploitation of the environment in unsustainable ways. It is therefore
essential to look at these issues as well.
Education for sustainability (EfS) examines how people and groups in society can learn to live in
sustainable ways. It is not simply education about sustainability. Education for sustainability has
a strong purpose. It aims to empower people of all ages and different backgrounds to contribute to
a better future. It encourages people to ask many questions, challenge underlying assumptions, and
to think for themselves. It looks at individual and systemic changes that are needed to resolve
unsustainable practices. Education for sustainability will require people and organisations to see
that changes for the better can be made, and that there will need to be a transformation (a redesign
of many systems and established ways of doing things) to achieve a good quality of life for people
far into the future (PCE, 2004).
In this paper I sometimes use the terms eco-sustainability and sustainability as

abbreviations for environmental sustainability and sustainable development.
3.Unitec and the New Zealand higher education sector
Unitec New Zealand is one of several dozen New Zealand Tertiary Educational
Organisations 2 (TEOs), founded in 1976. Located initially in Mount Albert, Auckland, as a
Carrington Technical Institute, it later became known as Carrington Polytechnic. In the 1990s,
the newly-renamed Unitec Institute of Technology pursued an ambition to be accredited as a
university. Extending on its technical and trades training, Unitec launched several universitylevel applied bachelors, masters, and doctoral qualifications, certified by national
qualifications accreditation and quality assurance processes 3, and gained membership of the
International Association of Universities. In 2010, over 23,000 students from more than 80
countries studied at Unitec's three campuses (Unitec - History, 2011).
Unitec is a not-for-loss state-sector organisation funded approximately half from
national government funds and half from fees charged students. However, since the
government provides loans to assist students in their fees, effectively almost of the cash
flow into Unitec is sourced directly or indirectly from government funds.
In the 1990s, a laissez-faire approach by the then right-of-centre National government
(1990-1999) led to widespread expansion of higher educational programmes, institutions, and
student participation, combined with a reduction in central planning for the education sector.
In 2000, the newly-elected left-of-centre Labour government became alarmed at what it
perceived as the proliferation of tertiary programmes, particularly degree-granting nonuniversity institutions. Specifically, by mid-2000, Unitec had agreed voluntarily to a request
by the government to suspend its application for designation as a university following a
review of the entire tertiary education sector.
Higher education in New Zealand is termed tertiary education. The sector includes universities, polytechnics
(formerly technical institutes), and Wananga.
3 Achieved
through the NZQA, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority
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Following the sector reviews (for example, Tertiary Advisory Monitoring Unit, 2002a,
b), the Education (Tertiary Reform) Amendment Act 2002 combined the responsibilities and
activities of Skill New Zealand, Tertiary Resourcing from the Ministry of Education, and a
transitional agency into the New Zealand Tertiary Educational Commission (TEC). In January
2003 the newly-established TEC initiated new activities to refine and implement the tertiary
reforms later outlined in the Labour governments Tertiary Education Strategy. By 2006-7
these reforms were elaborated into a series of detailed policies for tertiary sector funding,
investment negotiation, quality assurance, and rationalisation of programme overlap (TEC,
2009). We will return to the influence of the TEC on Education for Sustainability later.
Education consumes the third-largest share of the New Zealands government budgetary
expenditure. Of that share, tertiary education consumes one third, a share that has been
growing at four per cent per annum in real terms since 2003. Furthermore, most higher
education provision is provided by state sector organisations: the seven universities and the 20
polytechnics. As mentioned earlier, almost of a typical state sector TEO is funded directly
or indirectly by the government. Through its investment policies in TEOs, the government
potentially has a strong set of strings it can pull to influence the behaviour of TEOs
(Ministry of Education, 2008; Tolley, 2008, 2009a).
Unitecs charter and environmental sustainability
In 2006, Unitec publicised its charter, a document then required as a basis for negotiating
funding with the Tertiary Education Commission. It summarises Unitec's mission, distinctive
characteristics, and commitments to several key areas identified by the TEC.
The Charter states that Unitecs mission is "to inspire people to discover and apply their
intellectual and creative potential and to contribute responsibly to their societies and cultures."
Accordingly, Unitec is guided by several values including integrity, innovation, relevance,
care, and fairness ... "reflected through the sustainable management of resources, now and in
the future...." (Unitec New Zealand, 2006, p. 2).
Elaborating on its values, the Charter states that Unitec is:
Committed to sustainable development. [We] seek to apply the principles of sustainability in our
teaching and research, and in developing an eco-campus environment that will enhance the
learning experience for staff and students alike. We will address the issues of:
investing in sustainability (for example, by our teaching and research in business and
professional management),
designing for sustainability (for example, by our teaching and research in architecture, landscape
architecture, construction, design, engineering, and the health and natural sciences) and
advancing sustainable practice (in all disciplines, including trades and technical education).
In planning and operating our campuses, and delivering our programmes, we will adopt models of
natural and physical resource use that are ecologically responsible and economically
sustainable. (Unitec, 2006, p. 5)
4.Results of the Unitec strategic audit: seven strategic issues

The early 2008 draft of the strategic audit revealed seven inextricably interrelated issues
(Figure 1) that contributed towards a foundering of Unitecs earlier initiatives in support of
environmental sustainability:
ISSUE 1: Sustainability/green issues are rising in importance for Unitecs stakeholders - students, employers, suppliers, and clients. FURTHERMORE
MELLALIEU
ISSUE 2: The government has pronounced an ambitious vision, aims and goals for the
New Zealands sustainable development. HOWEVER
ISSUE 3: Unitec fails to seek systematic signals from its stake-holders about their needs
for education, training, and research for sustainable development. FURTHERMORE
ISSUE 4: Unitec is undertaking a period of financial and organisational restructuring to
recover from recent financial losses, and projections of future increasing financial
deficits. CONSEQUENTLY
ISSUE 5: Unitecs sustainability initiatives - established from the late 1990s through to
2004 - are foundering. FURTHERMORE ...
ISSUE 6: Unitecs implementation of practical steps that demonstrate a commitment to
sustainability is ad hoc, isolated, and uncoordinated. There is no strategy, policy, nor
organisational culture for sustainability. FORTUNATELY, HOWEVER ...
ISSUE 7: There is diffuse but motivated support amongst several dozen staff, students
and senior Unitec leadership for a more systematic, orchestrated, and substantive policy
for sustainability in terms of teaching, research, advocacy, and campus operational
practice. (Mellalieu, 2008b).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Figure 1: The vicious circles of environmental sustainability-related strategic issues facing
Unitec in 2008 [PLACE NEAR HERE]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Figure 1 is a Causal Loop Diagram (CLD) (Maani & Cavana, 2007) illustrating that
Unitec was embraced in several vicious circles reducing its capability for creating and
delivering sustainable development initiatives.
To illustrate ISSUE 3: a survey conducted by Unitec of the education and training needs
of the Rosebank Business District included one question about sustainability issues. The
survey found that 22 per cent of respondents sought advice on Greening the Business - a
level comparable to businesses seeking advice on the categories of accounting/finance/law/
economics, communication and media, and research and development, and just a little
lower than those businesses requiring advice about marketing and management (Frederick &
Chittock, 2008; Mellalieu 2008b). It is noteworthy that whilst Unitec employs about 35 staff
teaching the foregoing subjects, none are designated to teach greening the business.
As examples of reduced institutional capability, academic programmes in environmental
engineering had been terminated, and a programme in horticultural studies, informed by the
principles of permaculture and organic practice, was under threat of closure [and later
terminated]. Furthermore, the main body of Unitec's Strategic and Investment Plans included
one single statement pertaining to environmental sustainability: "[Unitec] will focus on
applied research serving educational, social, economic and environmental goals, regionally,
nationally and internationally." (Unitec 2007a, b, cited in Mellalieu, 2008b).
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Figure 1: The vicious circles of environmental sustainability-related strategic issues facing

Unitec in 2008
Reaction from the chief financial officer

Unitecs Chief Financial Officer (CFO) accepted my identification of the forgoing issues. He
added his emphasis to the statement of ISSUE 4 (Financial restructuring) and ISSUE 6: Ad
hoc institutional policy for sustainability. Significantly, the CFO raised the potential
importance of an additional issue: the absence of an explicit government funding priority for
the tertiary education sector regarding sustainable development. This remark triggered in me a
sense of surprise, given ISSUE 2: the governments stated high ambitions for sustainable
development.
In accepting the validity of the strategic issues, the CFO invited me to present my
findings to the acting Chief Executive. The acting Chief Executive requested I proceed to the
next stage of decision-making: the presentation of a set of recommendations to the senior
executive team, under the organisational sponsorship of the CFO. Consequently, two
documents were produced to aid the CFOs presentation:
MELLALIEU
(1) A summarising Executive Memo for Unitecs senior executive team, following the
format recommended by the CFO (Mellalieu, 2008a)
(2) An updated version of the strategic audit augmented with (a) an institutional vision
for sustainability and (b) a set of strategic initiatives cross-referenced against each
of the identified strategic issues (Mellalieu, 2008b)
Concurrent with the foregoing activity, I pursued the CFOs advice to follow the
money through examining the Tertiary Education Commissions Statement of Tertiary
Education Priorities for 2008 2010 (TES/STEP) (Office of the Minister for Tertiary
Education, 2007). The CFO explained the TES/STEP was a crucial document for guiding
Unitecs financial strategy and investment plan. This is understandable given the dominant
source of Unitecs funding from government sources, and its state-sector ownership.
The next section presents the results of my subsequent examination of the role and
impact of the TEC, particularly regarding its support for sustainable development in tertiary
educational institutions. Later, I return to discuss the response of Unitecs senior leadership to
the sustainability audit.
5.The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) and the Tertiary Education Strategy
(TES)
Since the change in government from National to Labour following the 1999 election, the
criteria through which government funds were to be allocated to tertiary institutions
underwent radical reform away from what had been termed the 'bums on seats' competitive
funding model4. Accordingly, this section describes more completely the tertiary education
funding system signalled for implementation by 2008. In particular, I present analysis of key
documents examining the place of sustainability in the government's goals, aims, planning,
and investment intentions.
The Tertiary Education Commission, established formally in 2003, is an agency of the
Ministry of Education. TEC is responsible for investment decisions that support the
government's strategic direction. According to TEC:
New Zealand has an explicit, connected, future-focused Tertiary Education Strategy that directly
contributes to broad national, economic and social goals. The Tertiary Education Strategy 2007
2012 is a five-year blueprint for a collaborative and co-operative tertiary system that contributes to
New Zealand's national goals... (Office of the Minister for Tertiary Education, 2007).
The TES document also incorporated a Statement of Tertiary Education Priorities for
2008 2010 (TES/STEP). TES/STEP is the key document that guides TEOs in the
development of their own institutional Investment Plans and Strategic Plans.
The new tertiary education planning system is described as follows:
The ... system is designed to support improved responsiveness to government and stake-holder
priorities. Under the TEC's Investing in a Plan system, TEOs are required to develop Investment
Plans that outline how they will respond to government direction as outlined in the Tertiary
Education Strategy 200712 (TES) and to the needs of their own stake-holders - students,
employers, and communities - on a regional and national basis. Investment Plans will be
developed in consultation with the TEC (TES/STEP, 2007).
whereby an institution received funding from the government directly proportional to the number of
equivalent full-time students (EFTS) enrolled at the university.
Working paper
Under review 11
According to the then Labour Minister of Education, Michael Cullen, "The feedback on
a draft version of the TES [circulated August 2006] confirmed that New Zealanders value our
tradition of a broad and inclusive tertiary education system that makes a significant
contribution to the economic, social, cultural, and the environmentally sustainable
development of our nation" (TES/STEP, 2007, p. 2). From this statement, one anticipates
goals for sustainability to be included in the government's agenda for education.
Government's sustainability goals for NZ
The Labour government had three goals for New Zealand that were intended to achieve its
overall vision of "a high-income, knowledge-based economy which is both innovative and
creative, and provides a unique quality of life to all New Zealanders" (TES/STEP, p. 8) These
goals are further elaborated with specific aims. For instance, under the goal of Economic
transformation there is the aim (out of six aims) to:
Balance [economic] progress with environmental sustainability by providing New Zealanders with
the knowledge and skills to understand and work within environmental constraints (TES/STEP, p.
8-9).
Under the goal of National Identity there are two aims (out of five) to:
Build understanding and connections with each other, with our natural environment, and with the
wider world.
Help preserve our natural environment by promoting understanding and skills in conservation and
eco-restoration. (TES/STEP, p. 8-9)
In summary, three of the government's thirteen national policy aims pertain to

environmental sustainability, that is, almost one-quarter of the total number of aims. This
notable proportion of aims is a positive signal that sustainability was recognised as important
by the government.
Challenges and opportunities for tertiary education
In pursuing the foregoing national goals and aims, the TES document identified several longterm challenges and opportunities that tertiary institutions were anticipated to face, the
consequences of which are New Zealand's need to:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
Build global awareness;

Lift productivity and innovation
Respond to the changing demographic face of New Zealand
Respond to Maori living as Maori in both Te Ao Maori5 and in wider society
Develop sustainable use of natural resources.
At this point in the document, sustainability remains significantly on the agenda. For
instance, as part of the need to Build global awareness the TES document states that the
New Zealand tertiary education system needs to respond and
5 A Maori
world view. Te Ao Mori includes Te Reo (the language and dialects), Tikanga (the processes and
practices), Marae (the community focal point), Waahi Tapu (sites of importance) and access to whnau, hap
and iwi (family, sub-tribes, and tribes).
MELLALIEU
provide education with an increased international dimension that supports New Zealand and
New Zealanders to compete internationally and supports New Zealands contribution to
international economic and social development, and environmental sustainability, especially in the
Pacific. (p. 9).
Furthermore, to Develop sustainable use of natural resources, TES states that the New
Zealand tertiary education system needs to:
Provide knowledge to meet the challenges and opportunities of a changing world and to
understand and work within environmental limits.
Help New Zealanders understand and protect our environment because key industries rely on the
quality of our natural resources.
Add value to primary production, help manage increased pressure on national resources, help
manage and restore our indigenous ecosystems and biodiversity through teaching and learning,
research, knowledge transfer and innovation (TES/STEP, p. 10).
The foregoing material in the TES has elaborated on the government's national goals
and aims, and indicated in broad terms the context for how it believes the tertiary education
system should contribute. At this point in the document, one continues to expect that
sustainable development would present subsequently as an important component in the TES
areas of focus and priorities.
Governments priority outcomes for tertiary education
The subsequent sections of the TES detailed the new tertiary education system, the
contribution that is expected from the tertiary system, and the priority outcomes sought from
the tertiary sector. In contrast to the earlier statements of goals, aims, and challenges
pertaining to environmental issues in these latter parts of the document, sustainability is
reduced to an inconsequential component.
The TES defines what it expects the tertiary sector to contribute towards the
government's overall goals for New Zealand within three Areas of Focus. One area of focus is
Connections to support social and cultural outcomes. This is detailed to include support for
the development of knowledge and skills needed to manage and protect the natural
environment." This particular item comes at the very end of this six-page section in the TES
document. This is the sole item pertaining to environmental sustainability in the TES/
STEP Areas of Focus.
The section Tertiary Education: Priority Outcomes states the four priority outcomes that
will be used to guide the government's investment discussions between the TEOs and TEC.
Each priority outcome is defined and justified concerning its inclusion. Again, it is
noteworthy that none of the priority outcomes relates directly to sustainability. The priority
outcomes are:
(1) Increasing educational success for young New Zealanders more achieving
qualifications at level four and above by age 25
(2) Increasing literacy and numeracy levels for the workforce
(3) Increasing the achievement of advanced trade, technical and professional
qualifications to meet regional and industry needs
(4) Improving research connections and linkages to create economic opportunities.
Working paper
Under review 13
As the list of priority outcomes shows, the focus in this crucial section of the TES
lapsed into driving economic growth without the balancing of [economic] progress with the
three environmental sustainability aims outlined earlier as part of the government's thirteen
aims for the country as a whole. Consequently, Unitecs Chief Financial Officer had no
explicit support from the TES documents for designating funding initiatives towards
environmental sustainability.
Absence of measures for success
A key element of strategic change is the implementation of a system of strategic indicators
and control. The TES document reflects this practice by outlining measures of success and
annual monitoring reports "intended to measure indicators of progress concentrating on the
Areas of Focus detailed earlier (TES, p. 40). However, as we saw, the Areas of Focus make
no reference to sustainability and care for the natural environment.
However, "A key element of the new tertiary system is that investments in tertiary
education organisations are intended to support and reward quality and require tertiary
education organisations to demonstrate that their education and research is contributing to
economic, social, cultural and environmental outcomes for New Zealand and New
Zealanders" (TES, p. 13). In conclusion, though the term environment does appear in the
early pre-ambling parts of the TES it does not translate into the Measuring success section
of the TES. As most executives know, if the outcomes of a task are not measured, then the
task will not get accomplished. The signal to TEO decision-makers to invest in - and measure
- their institutions sustainability is absent.
Strategic issue: No explicit priority by TEC for investing in sustainable development
The foregoing analysis lead to my inclusion of an additional, eighth strategic issue into the
audit of Unitecs position on sustainability:
ISSUE 8: The government's Tertiary Education Strategy (TES) places no priority for investment in
sustainable development or Education for Sustainability within Tertiary Educational
Organisations. The government does espouse an aim to balance economic progress with care for
the natural environment. The TES also affirms that the New Zealand tertiary education system
needs to assist with New Zealand's need to develop sustainable use of natural resources. However,
these aims are not translated into an explicit investment funding priority for the tertiary education
sector, nor are institutions achievements against sustainability criteria monitored and evaluated.
The foregoing strategic issue helps explain why the sustainability initiatives within
Unitec were danger of foundering. Unitecs chief financial officer, fulfilling his requirement
to prepare investment plans for negotiation with the TEC, saw no explicit signal to include
investment proposals for environmental sustainability. The absence of counter-proposals
within the TEC-approved Investment Plan suggests that neither did officials of the TEC.
This outcome was presaged in a 2004 report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the
Environment (PCE, 2004). The report noted that the TEC strategy then formulated failed to
elaborate on specific targets for sustainability that TEOs should be required to achieve
(Ministry of Education, 2002). In its 2007 outcome evaluation of its earlier research, the PCE
believed that in the 2006 round of TEC planning this defect been remedied (PCE, 2007).
Certainly, the PCE was correct in noting the commitments to sustainability expressed in the
goals and aims section of the TES. However, perhaps the PCEs office failed to note the devil
in the detail: the absence of investment priorities and outcome measures for sustainability as
detailed in the later section of the TES under the headings Priority Outcomes and
MELLALIEU
Measuring success. One might conclude the PCE had been hoodwinked by green-wash! I
could not possibly comment.
A letter to the minister
In mid-2008 I prepared to present my findings thus far to the annual conference of the Higher
Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA) in Rotorua, New
Zealand. In anticipation of the conference, I sought an official government view that could
accompany my presentation and paper (Mellalieu, 2008c). Having met the Labour Prime
Minister, Helen Clark, on two occasions and knowing her well-publicised engagement in
support for sustainable development, I felt confident in expressing my concerns directly to her
office. From my decades experience as a policy analyst in New Zealands central
government, I knew that eventually my letter would percolate to appropriate points within the
machinery of government. As additional assurance, copies of the letter were also despatched
to the PCE, the Minister for the Environment, the Minister for Education, and a former
academic colleague, the Hon. Steve Maharey, then minister for social development.
The letter to the Prime Minister began:
In several public statements you have stated governments commitment to establishing New
Zealand as a truly sustainable nation. Accordingly, I express my strong concern regarding the
absolute lack of commitment by the government - through the Tertiary Education Commission
(TEC) - to establish an investment priority for sustainable development and education for
sustainability. I seek an explanation for this weakness in the governments investment priority
regarding education for sustainability. Furthermore, I urge an appropriate correction to the
Tertiary Education Strategy and Statement of Tertiary Education Priorities (MOE, 2007) to
remedy what I regard as a serious defect in policy activation. (Letter to Prime Minister Helen
Clark from Mellalieu, 2008 March 7).
The letter proceeded to summarise the analysis presented in the HERDSA conference
paper, and offered my recommendations on how the TES-STEP should be revised in future
editions.
A reply was received from Hon. Pete Hodgson, MP for Dunedin North, Minister for
Economic Development, Minister for Tertiary Education, and Minister of Research, Science
and Technology. In summary, the Minister confirmed that the government was committed to
making considerable strides in addressing the sustainability challenges ahead of the nation.
As an example he cited the establishment of a $2 billion Fast Forward fund focussed on
making New Zealands pastoral and food industries environmentally and economically
sustainable. He pointed out that there were examples of tertiary courses in environmental
management and science throughout the country, and that some campuses had adopted
sustainable practices across their campuses. He highlighted the example of Otago Polytechnic
which embeds education for sustainability in all its courses.
Turning to the crucial issue of the Tertiary Education Priorities, he argued that they had
been identified and strongly supported by the majority of stake-holders responding to
consultation in 2006, thereby giving the government confidence that the priorities were
where the most urgent attention for change should be focussed over the next three to five
years [2007-2012].
Regarding the TES/STEP areas of focus for supporting social, cultural, and
environmental outcomes, he emphasised the governments desire to achieve strong
connections between TEOs and the communities they serve. He noted the TECs Investment
Working paper
Under review 15
Guidance document outlined the engagement process between TEOs and the TEC required
for developing TEOs Investment Plans. Specifically, the process requires TEOs to actively
engage with their communities in order to contribute to wider social and economic outcomes.
I understand that sustainability has been raised in plan discussions as a result of this action.
The Minister concluded by remarking that the government is not in a position to set
curriculum for the tertiary sector, as sections 160 and 161 of the Education Act provide
legislative protection for the academic freedom and institutional autonomy of tertiary
institutions.
In essence, the Minister indicated the opportunity for TEOs to bring EfS into their
curricula through gaining support from their communities and stake-holders. As the audit of
sustainability at Unitec identified, there had been no explicit, systematic approach for
identifying opportunities for EfS through consultation with its communities.
Figure 2 adapts Figure 1 to illustrate the actual situation facing Unitecs senior
leadership in 2008.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Figure 2: The influence of the absence of government investment priorities and controls on
environmental sustainability-related strategic issues facing Unitec in 2008 [PLACE NEAR
HERE]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6.Unitec undergoes financial and managerial restructuring
In mid-2008 Unitecs new chief executive took office. His first - unenviable - task was to
commence implementation of a restructuring plan previously commissioned from an external
management consultancy. This restructuring included closing down several academic
programmes and facilities. In addition, about one half of the senior and upper management
left the organisation with approximately 50 people being made redundant.
A key short term aim was to replace a convoluted matrix-like organisational structure
with a leaner structure with more clearly defined command-and-control managerial
responsibilities. An equally important aim was to avert the forecast increase in financial losses
that had begun to develop since 2005. These losses were attributable to three factors that had
reduced the previous high growth in student enrolment numbers:
(1) a booming economy (in which potential students preferred to work rather than
study)
(2) a raised exchange rate due to strong demand for NZs agricultural exports (the high
rate reduced the attractiveness of NZ as a study destination for international
students, especially from China), and
(3) the highly publicised failure of the institution to gain accreditation as a full
university under new national interest criteria established by the Labour
government. This factor also reduced the attractiveness of Unitec to local and
international students.
In conducting staff consultation for a new corporate mission, goals, and structure, a
circulated draft suggested the establishment of an institutional Community of Practice for
Sustainability justified on the basis of encouraging inter-disciplinary collaboration. With
several colleagues, I expressed to the CEO our considerable surprise at what we regarded as
MELLALIEU
an insufficient response to the recommendations arising from the strategic audit of

sustainability submitted earlier to Unitecs senior executive. Nevertheless, we gave our
support to the notion of a COP and indicated the resources necessary for success (Mellalieu,
2008d). Ultimately, the final corporate strategy withdrew the proposal for establishing a
Community of Practice, and signalled that environmental sustainability was one of twenty
goals that Unitec intended to pursue.
Figure 2: The influence of the absence of government investment priorities and controls on
environmental sustainability-related strategic issues facing Unitec in 2008
Despite this setback, by early 2009 a small handful of professors had formed themselves
into an informal cross-disciplinary discussion group to share their interests in sustainable
development. Later that year, a broader church emerged which achieved two significant
achievements. First, at Unitecs annual internal teaching, learning, and research symposium
approximately two dozen staff presented poster displays of their research and teaching for
sustainability. Finally, before the long summer vacation in December, a one-day grass roots
hui (workshop) involving some forty staff developed a set of sustainability proposals for
Unitecs new senior leadership. I introduced the hui with a presentation summarising the
results of the earlier strategic audit combined with a history of the rise-and-fall of
sustainability at the institution (Mellalieu, 2009c; 2010b, c).
Working paper
Under review 17
In early 2010, the senior leadership appointed the new Dean of Unitecs Faculty of
Creative Industries and Business to establish a project team to draw from the ideas of the hui
a specific funding and investment plan for integrating sustainability into Unitecs teaching,
research, advisory services, and campus operations. By December 2010, the strategy, project
plan and budget had gained senior executive provisional funding approval to a level of $NZ
500,000 for the first financial year of implementation commencing 2011 (Unitec, 2010b;
Clarke, Preston, Phillips & Fourie, 2010; Mellalieu, 2010b, c).
7.Environmental education policy under a new government
In New Zealands late-2008 election, a right-of-centre National government gained a large
majority share of the votes cast. Nevertheless, given New Zealands mixed-member
proportional representation election system (MMP), National required to form a coalition
agreement with several smaller parties to govern with a practicable parliamentary majority.
Upon taking office, the new National-led government faced the challenge of the global
financial crisis. The government announced forecasts of increasing deficits as the significance
of the Global Financial Crisis began to impact. The countrys sole economic saviour was the
continuing boom in dairy product export volumes and prices as the economies of China and
India continued to grow through the recession. Ironically, the dairy industry is a principal
contributor to New Zealands greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, the industry has led wellorchestrated activities resulting in attenuated policies for both sustainable development and
greenhouse gas emissions reduction (Bertram and Terry, 2010, ch. 8).
Several immediate behaviours of the new government characterised a quick retreat from
Labours earlier policy commitments to sustainable development. For instance, Nationals
Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading) Amendment Act 2008 reduced further the
onus on heavy emitters in industry and agriculture to pay for their carbon emissions. Bertram
and Terry calculate that under the National government's changes to the earlier Labour capand-trade based Emissions Trading Scheme, New Zealands gross emissions will be reduced
by about 0.6% compared with Business as Usual (Bertram and Terry, 2010, p. 17)6 .
Furthermore, Figure 2 illustrates how the cost burden of paying for NZs excess carbon
emissions above its Kyoto Protocol obligations would fall primarily to future taxpayers,
households, and small road users (22 per cent of CP17 emissions; of ETS cost burden)
rather than the high emitting large industrials (15 per cent of CP1 emissions; 2 per cent of
ETS cost burden) and agriculture (48 per cent of CP1 emissions; 4 per cent of ETS cost
burden)8. In summary, the New Zealand ETS scheme allocates about six per cent of the ETS
6
The Labour government introduced the ETS in the last months of its eight-year reign. Bertram & Terry (2010,
p. 17) estimated the Labour scheme would have reduced gross emissions by 1.7 per cent or less. The National
governments amendments to the scheme merely made an ineffective scheme more ineffective.
7
CP1: Kyoto Protocol Commitment period 1, from 2008 - 2012. During CP1, each country must brings its GHG
emissions below a pre-set target level, or pay for some other country to reduce emissions so that the country (e.g.
New Zealand) makes its pre-specified contribution to emissions reductions. For instance, NZs gross emissions
in 2006 (77.9 MT GHG equivalent) exceeded the countrys annual average Kyoto Assigned Amount (61.9 Mt)
by 16 Mt. At an estimated cost of $NZ30/t, the cost to be born by NZ taxpayers for NZ excess emissions is 16
Mt x $30/t = $NZ 480 million for 2006. These figures pertain to gross emissions, and exclude forestry credits
which have short term credits, but long term debits once the forests are harvested. Its complicated! (Based on
Bertram & Terry,(2010) Table 2.4 and Ch. 2.
8
New Zealands gross emissions had grown 25.7 per cent from 1990 to 2006 resulting in the country having
excess gross emissions 25.8 per cent above its Kyoto Target Assigned Amount (Bertram and Terry, 2010, Tables
2.3 and 2.4)
MELLALIEU
cost burden to the agricultural sector and large industrial emitters that collectively contribute
almost of CP1 GHG emissions. The opportunity to use a polluter pays market mechanism
to achieve effective reduction in New Zealands GHG emissions was lost.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Figure 3: Share of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and NZ Emissions Trading Scheme
(ETS) cost burden allocation during CP1 (2008-2012) for National government 2009 scheme
[PLACE NEAR HERE]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Figure 3: Share of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) and NZ Emissions Trading Scheme
(ETS) cost burden allocation during CP1 (2008-2012) by industry sector, for National
government 2009 scheme
Source: Figure 6.1 (b) from data in Table 6.5 (Bertram & Terry, 2010).
In the educational sphere, government funding for the (non-tertiary) EnviroSchools
programme was eliminated early in the new governments term of office (Crosbie, 2009).
However, the Waitakere eco-city local government responded immediately by providing
funding for the scheme in its region. This policy was adopted by the Auckland Super City
Working paper
Under review 19
that resulted from the subsequent amalgamation of several metropolitan areas including
Waitakere city.
These early actions illustrated the low standing of the National partys environmental
policies in a pre-election assessment conducted by Vote for the Environment. Nationals rating
of 27 per cent across 25 policies compared with 44 per cent for Labours policies, and 87 and
97 per cent for the much smaller (by vote) Maori and Green parties respectively (Vote for the
Environment).
The National government Tertiary Education Strategy 2010-2015
Upon taking office, Ministers of the Crown are furnished with Briefings to the Incoming
Minister (BIMs) from various government departments and agencies. Since Labours election
in 1984, it has become a convention of transparency in New Zealands government that BIMs
are made public. In particular, the BIM from the Ministry of Education anticipated the need
for a reduction and/or re-prioritisation of funding for the entire education budget (tertiary,
secondary, and primary) with a special focus on improving educational participation and
outcomes for disadvantages groups, notably the growing population of young indigenous
Maori and migrant Pasifika peoples. Mention of Education for Sustainability is totally absent:
Between 2000 and 2008, education expenditure increased by 4 percent per annum, in real terms.
Education is the third-largest area of government spending, with forecast spending in 2008/09 of
$10.7 billion. To lift system performance, the government will need to prioritise expenditure and
direct effort towards those areas and activities that will make the greatest difference to learner
engagement, participation and achievement in education. The highest priority remains improving
the performance of the education system for those learners who are not currently well-served.
(Ministry of Education, 2008, p. 1)
By late 2009, following a process of consultation, the new National government

released the Tertiary Education Strategy 2010-2015 (TES 2010). This document revoked the
Labour administrations TES 2007-2012, and guides the TECs investment decisions in
tertiary education from 2011 (Office of the Minister for Tertiary Education, 2009).
The new TES 2010 Introduction headlines that: High quality tertiary education is
central to helping New Zealand achieve its economic, social, cultural, and environmental
goals (TES 2010, p. 3). One of the elements of the vision for the tertiary education system
is that it should produce high-quality research to build on New Zealands knowledge base,
respond to the need of the economy, and address environmental and social challenges (p. 6).
This element of the vision is later defined in TES 2010 as being one of the core roles of NZ
universities, and Wnanga9 - but not the polytechnic sector in which Unitec is located (p. 18).
The term environment is used once more - almost as a footnote - in an appendix to the TES
outlining the trends and context for the chosen strategy:
Tertiary education plays a vital role in democracy by promoting freedom of thought and
expression. New Zealands culture is enriched through tertiary educations role in theatre, dance,
music, literature and art. Tertiary education helps to transmit the wider culture, including
huatanga Mori and tikanga Mori, within society and between generations. It can serve to
raise the consciousness of the population about the environment (TES 2010, p. 24, authors
emphasis).
Te Whare Wnanga (houses of learning) is the term for Mori universities. In the context of the TES, Wnanga
are publicly-owned tertiary institution that provide education in a Mori cultural context under the accreditation
and governance of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) and the TEC.
MELLALIEU
Unitecs response: Investment Plan 2011-2013

How did Unitec present to the Tertiary Education Commission its justification for its proposed
$500,000 expenditure on environmental strategy? Unitecs draft Investment Plan 2011-2013
made one reference to meeting the new governments policy aim To improve the
environment and community well-being (Unitec, 2010a, p. 5). This is one of six outcomes
targeted for learners and Unitecs community.
Specifically, the TECs new Sector Planning and Accountability Framework identified
several national level outcomes and indicators. Environmental Management is one outcome
component. However, the actual indicators supplied by the Ministry of Education intended for
use as accountability measurement are limited to economic and social indicators: earnings
gained by new graduates; life satisfaction; standard of living; tolerance; social connection;
mental and physical health; and social & community (Unitec, 2010a, p. 38).
Finally, Unitecs financial plan presents a table of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to
be reported in an institutional Statement of Service Performance. The sole reference to
environmental sustainability is presented under the component Impacts as Progressive
improvement in resource consumption off 2010 base as per Unitec Environmental Strategy
2010 - 2015 (Unitec, 2010a, p. 39). Improving resource consumption is a rather narrow
interpretation of what an environmental strategy might seek to achieve. That thrust to improve
resource consumption reflects what any enterprise - for profit or not-for-loss - would seek to
pursue in the normal pursuit of its activities. In practice, the main budget line items were
identified as energy management monitoring and control systems for several campus
buildings, the employment of an environmental management officer, and a $100,000 fund to
seed pilot initiatives by staff, students, and suppliers (Unitec 2010b).
8.Summary: An orchestrated conspiracy of ignorance?
This inquiry developed from the research questions:
(1) What is the state of sustainable development and Education for Sustainability in a
case example of a New Zealand Tertiary Educational Organisation (TEO)
(2) To what extent does the New Zealand government's tertiary education strategy
support or hinder New Zealand TEOs' pursuit of an agenda for Education for
Sustainability and sustainable development?
First, we saw that the that the tertiary education strategy under the previous Labour
government (1999 - 2008) was - at best - ineffective in its support for TEOs to pursue an
agenda for EfS and sustainable development. The government at that time had espoused
vigourously an aim to balance economic progress with care for the natural environment. The
governments Tertiary Education Strategy 2007-2012 affirmed that the New Zealand tertiary
education system needed to assist the countrys need to develop sustainable use of natural
resources for several reasons. However, the vision, aims, and goals of the strategy were not
translated into an explicit investment funding priority for the tertiary education sector.
Furthermore, there were no criteria against which an institutions achievements against
sustainability were to be monitored and evaluated.
In essence, the Labour government's Tertiary Education Strategy placed no priority for
investment in sustainable development or Education for Sustainability within Tertiary
Educational Organisations. Consequently, the senior leadership of a typical tertiary
educational organisation, Unitec, saw no need for investing in a goal for sustainable
Working paper
Under review 21
development in its strategy. In Unitecs defence, the institution was faced with the need for
financial and organisational restructuring - as did many other organisations when the global
financial crisis later appeared.
In response to my raising this issue with the then Minister for Tertiary Education, he
remarked that it was the responsibility of TEOs to consult with their communities to develop
the teaching and research portfolios that met communities needs. He suggested that
sustainable development and EfS would be a topic of consideration in this consultation. He
noted the exemplary achievements of Otago Polytechnic. Despite the Ministers hint, Unitec
had not undertaken systematic and proactive consultation with its stake-holders on the topic
of sustainable development apart from one question included in one survey of the training
needs of one business district.
The new National governments Minister for Tertiary Education was presented with an
official Briefing from the Ministry for Education that made absolutely no reference to EfS and
sustainable development as a priority or concern. This significant de-emphasis was reflected
subsequently in the Tertiary Educational Strategy 2010-2015 that removed the aims for and
rationale for EfS in the tertiary sector that had claimed a high - but effectively green-wash profile in the previous Labour administrations TES 2007-2012.
In contrast to the retreat in governments policy vision for EfS in the tertiary sector,
Unitecs senior leadership over the same period responded positively to the increasingly
orchestrated action by about 40 staff. Ultimately, a Faculty Dean was commissioned as part of
Unitecs senior executive to lead a project to construct a comprehensive strategy for
environmental sustainability. A key outcome was the formulation of a strategic plan integrated
into the institutions investment planning cycle with $500,000 committed for the 2011
financial year. Nevertheless, the principal justification for the strategy was narrowly stated
stated in the institutions draft Investment Plan for negotiation with the Tertiary Education
Commission as a strategy for improving resource consumption [sic].
This case illustrates how the 1999 - 2008 New Zealand Labour governments vision,
aims, and goals for sustainable development were not connected to practical investment,
measurement, and control policies in the tertiary education sector. Whilst some tertiary
educational organisations offered courses and research programs on topics related to
sustainable development, the extent comes nowhere near the recommendation by New
Zealand's Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment that "all tertiary graduates
leaving TEOs should possess a core understanding of ... environmental sustainability as a
result of institutes encouraging Education for Sustainability throughout their organisations".
The failure to build connection between strategic vision, aims, goals, investments,
performance measurement, and controls is a fundamental flaw in any strategic management or
policy making process.
The case of New Zealand reflects the results of a recent OECD review of Education for
Sustainable Development. The review found several recurring barriers to greater adoption of
EfS, including the inflexibility of education systems, and problems in promoting
interdisciplinary approaches (OECD, 2008).
The flaws exemplified in this case are symptomatic of the wider malaise in policy
development for sustainable development in New Zealand. As a parallel illustration, I
presented brief extracts from the forensic critique of the countrys recently-enacted and
amended Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading) Act. The analysis calculated New
Zealands emissions trading scheme would - at best - reduce gross emissions by no more than
0.6 per cent compared with Business as Usual.
MELLALIEU
In both cases - education for sustainability, and greenhouse gas emissions reduction policies and strategies were presented by the government claiming aspirations, visions, and
aims for elements of sustainable development that were not translated transparently into
goals, investment commitments, and mechanisms for effective measurement and control.
The rise and fall of government policy for Education for Sustainability in New
Zealand condemns graduates of Tertiary Educational Organisations to the consequences of
what appears to be a conspiracy of ignorance orchestrated by administrators in the Ministry
of Education, the Tertiary Education Commission, and the senior leadership of some tertiary
educational organisations10. Why?
9.What influences government policy to be ineffective on sustainability issues?
Given the increasing scientific and economic evidence - and public acceptance - that the
natural environment requires humanity to take an alternative approach to its care, whose
responsibility is it to act? What actions should they take? Will the 'invisible hand' of the free
market act in sufficient time to respond appropriately to the need to 'save the planet'? Will
sovereign governments enact appropriate legislation and fund effective policies? What are the
appropriates roles for TEOs?
This section lays the ground work for arguing that TEOs - independent of government
tertiary investment priorities - must consider seriously adopting a proactive role towards
adopting a policy stance along the lines proposed by New Zealands Parliamentary
Commissioner for the Environment.
Boven (2000; 2003) - a former director of the Boston Consulting Group - examined
why so little effective policy action has emerged in response to calls for sustainable
development, limitations on emissions, and protection of the environment. He concluded that
the key reason we have seen ineffective action is the dominance of ideas that have hitherto
been both successful and therefore flourished and persisted. In particular, the set of dominant
economic ideas (or paradigm) that lie at the foundation of our policy prescriptions were
developed when there were huge opportunities for economic development, great benefits from
competition, and few environmental constraints.
Boven (2000, p. 3) observed that the dominant paradigm underpinning policy-making
assumes that:
(1) Individuals are rational and self-interested
(2) The role of policy is to deliver the consumption that individuals want
(3) There are 'free gifts' from the environment and 'free disposals' may be made to the
environment
(4) The economy is small relative to the potential of the environment
10
I coined this phrase to allude to Justice J. P. Mahons use of the term an orchestrated litany of lies. Mahon
used the term - now of legendary status in NZ - as part of his claim that executives and management pilots of
(then) government-owned Air New Zealand had engaged in a conspiracy to whitewash his enquiry into the crash
of the companys DC 10 passenger plane into Mount Erebus, Antarctica, in 1979. Mahon accused the executives
of covering up evidence and misleading investigators (NZhistory). New Zealand climate change skeptic
Vincent Gray (2008) reprised Mahons phrase in his critique of the statement published by the Royal Society of
New Zealand acknowledging anthropomorphic climate and indicating its probable impacts on New Zealand
(Royal Society of New Zealand, 2008). The term conspiracy of ignorance is also part of the title of a text
critiquing US primary and secondary education (Gross, 1999). I discovered Gross text having completed this
paper - Gross work has played no bearing on the writing of this paper apart from reinforcing my determination
to deploy my orchestrated variation of his phrase.
Working paper
Under review 23
(5) Business activity in competitive markets is an efficient way to deliver the goods and
services that provide utility for individuals
(6) Governments provide leadership
(7) Values and beliefs are personal issues. However, we tend to encourage the values of
individual freedom, the virtues of free market competition, and minimal roles for
government
(8) If we as individuals do become concerned about environmental degradation then
there is nothing that we can do about it
(9) Flaws in our widespread paradigm for enacting public policy
Boven's analysis finds that each of the above statements possesses a fundamental flaw
(Boven, 2003). Consequently, new elements to the paradigm must be introduced. First, we
must abandon the notion of sustainability as an economic goal framed in the following way:
"Let's get as much output as possible without doing too much harm to the environment".
Rather, Boven argues that we must now consider that environmental outcomes are important
potentially in their own right. This implies, for example, that the free gifts and disposals
involved in production must be accounted for, and that we must measure the environmental
stocks that are involved in production. Consequently, GDP is no longer the appropriate
scorecard for economic performance.
However, since our economy does operates by the dominant paradigm, Boven finds
that there is the distinct possibility that production output could continue above a level that
could maintain long-run output. A crisis or correction could then result that would
subsequently reduce sustainable output to below that which we could achieve sustainability at
current production output: we would be worse off - possibly permanently. For instance,
consider the difficulty of regenerating agriculturally-productive land on lands that have
converted to deserts through humanity's deforestation and overgrazing: the so-called tragedy
of the commons (Lloyd, 1833; Hardin, 1962).
Given the dominant paradigm, we cannot rely on businesses to be socially responsible,
since their purpose is to generate profits for shareholders. Boven notes that businesses trying
to serve other purposes will founder in competition, be starved of capital, or have
management replaced for breach of duty (Boven, 2000, p. 5).
Crucially, Boven notes that governments will not regulate adequately for sustainability
because governments in democracies are "followers not leaders ... Governments will
generally follow business leadership because businesses are motivated, resourced and
organised. Therefore, when a proposed environmental protection policy is counter to the
profit maximising interests of businesses that policy is not likely to be implemented" (Boven,
2000, p. 5). Bovens conclusion is well exemplified by the two cases presented in this paper.
Since we cannot rely on businesses or governments to consider adequately the
environment, that leaves the task to individuals. However, the dominant paradigm suggests
that individuals are motivated only by consumption, and that if they did care about the risk of
crisis they could not achieve anything useful.
Boven explores how changes in individuals' values could influence both their
consumption patterns - and who they vote for. Those changes could lead - perhaps - to
appropriate change. Finally, he concludes that professionals and opinion-leaders are the vital
actors for altering peoples' values, since they help establish subgroups who can lend support
to effective action by individuals. From where would appropriately informed professionals
MELLALIEU
and opinion-leaders emerge? I conclude that we should expect them to emerge from a nation's
universities and other tertiary educational organisations.
10.Should TEOs develop independent, explicit, and effective strategies for
sustainability?
I conclude from Boven's argument that it is through the development of informed
professionals and opinion leaders that customers will change their values, and thereby their
purchasing decisions to take care of the natural environment: whether in ones home, or as a
business purchasing officer. The argument extends to influencing the values of voters so that
they vote for political parties who will enact effective legislation to protect the natural
environment. The argument applies to designers, architects, engineers, business founders, and
managers who have the opportunity to influence strongly the sustainable practices of the
organisations in which they choose to be employed or the professional associations to which
they give advice. The argument applies to teachers who can influence both the curricula they
teach, and the business founders, leaders, employees, consumers, and voters of tomorrow.
The New Zealand Education Act provides legislative protection for the academic
freedom and institutional autonomy of tertiary institutions. Consequently, TEOs have the
freedom - if not the financial resources - to embark on programmes of sustainable
development and EfS. However, students invest their time and financial resources in their
higher education. Students investment in higher education is made with their expectation of
higher incomes and/or higher work-life satisfaction. To what extent can courses in sustainable
development contribute to students expectations? Should such courses be compulsory? To
what extent is knowledge of sustainable development a prerequisite to a modern graduates
ability to be a critic and conscience of society?
Despite ineffective - and subsequent withdrawal - of support for Education for
Sustainability in New Zealands Tertiary Education Strategies, my conclusion reaffirms that
of New Zealands Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment that "ALL tertiary
graduates leaving TEOs should possess a core understanding of ... environmental
sustainability as a result of institutes encouraging Education for Sustainability throughout
their organisations" (PCE, 2007, p. 8).
How should that aim be achieved? As a minimum, I advocate that all students should
study at least one course (approximately 150 hours of engagement) focussed specifically on
sustainability issues, further reinforced by elaboration specific to a students selected
discipline. New Zealand examples are presented in Bould (2007) (for design students), and
Dyer and Harnisch (2000) (for management students). Auckland University delivers a Masters
of Architecture in Sustainable Design. Since 1992, Massey University offered a Bachelor of
Technology in Environmental Technology and Sustainable Energy and a Bachelor of
Resource and Environmental Planning.
However, these curriculum examples are insufficient to make an effective widespread
impact beyond the few students who study these specialist courses. Education for
Sustainability should be mainstreamed into tertiary education as a generic academic literacy
comparable to how many students are introduced to evidence-based critical writing and
statistical reasoning. Elsewhere, I argue that engaging with EfS is a crucial trans-disciplinary
literacy that provides the basis for creating the 21st century innovation architecture
underpinning a nations strategic core competencies (Mellalieu, 2009a). These strategic core
competencies are founded on emerging green technologies such as biomimicry, industrial
ecology, green chemistry, renewable energy, green nanotechnology, radical resource
Working paper
Under review 25
productivity, whole system design, and sustainability (The Natural Edge Project, 2004). As
with the earlier establishment of strategic core competencies built on the steam and internal
combustion engines, applied chemistry, aeronautics, electronics, and information technology
green-based core competencies will take decades for a company, region, or nation to establish
and exploit competitively.
11.Aftermath
Following a deep magnitude 7.1 (Richter scale) earthquake in September 2010, a shallower,
but more surface-violent earthquake (Magnitude 6.3 R) in the New Zealand city of
Christchurch killed approximately 200 people, devastated water and sewerage utilities, and
destroyed many heritage and several modern buildings. The earlier earthquake was designated
one of the top five world-wide insurance claim earthquakes (Bloomberg, cited in New
Zealand Herald, 2010, September 16).
Energy and Environmental Management (EAEM) reported that 2010 was among the six
most loss-intensive years for the insurance industry since 1980. 90 per cent of the year's 950
natural disasters were weather-related such as storms, floods, or heat waves. The top five
'great natural catastrophes' accounted for the major share of fatalities (around 295,000 people)
and just under half the overall losses ($US 130 billion of which $US 37 billion insured)
caused by natural catastrophes (EAEM, 2011, January 11). The NZ Treasurys combined
estimate of the economic cost of $NZ 15 to 20 billion for the two Christchurch earthquakes
amounts to seven to eight per cent of New Zealands GDP (Wilson & Williams, 2011).
A comprehensive survey of business sustainability practices during the 2008-2010
recession was published by the Waikato Management School, funded in part by the UK
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). The report noted that despite the
economic downturn, there was an overall increase in seven of eleven environmental
practices between 2003, 2006, and 2010 (Collins, Lawrence, Roper & Haar, 2010). However,
deeper analysis identified the emergence of a sustainability divide. Despite the recession, the
companies most likely to have increased their environmental practices were large companies
(over 99 [sic] employees), medium-sided companies (10-99 employees), and companies
affiliated with CIMA, the NZ Sustainable Business Network (SBN), and the NZ Business
Council for Sustainable Development (NZBCSD). In contrast, small companies (0-9
employees, the majority of NZ business units) were most likely to have decreased six of their
environmental practices. This finding suggests that tertiary educational institutions who seek
to engage with their stake-holders on green issues should ensure that they undertake a
stratified survey of their communities, rather than risk being captured by the less green
interests of their smaller company stake-holders.
Collins et al. also observed that Despite the recent national and international negative
press regarding New Zealands clean green branding, the survey results showed the number
of companies marketing based on environmental claims such as clean, green New Zealand,
had grown steadily from 17% in 2003 to 30% in 2010.
Tourism New Zealand - a government-funded industry development agency - adjusted
its 100% Pure New Zealand marketing message to 100% Pure You to provide a better
platform to bring to life the diverse tourism experiences available in New Zealand (Tourism
New Zealand General Manager Marketing Communications Justin Watson, cited in Voxy,
2011, January 9).
Having passed legislation for New Zealands Emissions Trading Scheme, the
government was obliged subsequently by the Ombudsman to release a previously suppressed
MELLALIEU
report by ICF International that identified 68 GHG abatement options available to New
Zealand. The cost of several options for agriculture were the least expensive for the nation as
a whole. Several options were available that would lead to a profit for farmers. Further
options appeared financially attractive to farmers if the agricultural sector had been assessed a
carbon tax of no more than $NZ 30 per tonne GHG equivalent 11 (Bertram & Terry, 2010,
Table 8.1, calculated from ICF International, 2007 & 2008).
In contrast, addressing the UN General Assembly, Prime Minister John Key later argued
for a global agricultural research alliance for greenhouse gas reduction:
Agricultural emissions make up 14 per cent of all emissions worldwide. As demand for food
arises, so will those emissions. Yet so far the only known way to achieve emissions reductions
from agriculture is through reductions in output (Key, 2009, cited in Bertram & Terry, 2010, p.
157).
Responding to a call from several leading chief executives, the National government in
February 2011 announced the establishment of a task-force to advise on:
(1) How government agencies can help exporters extract greater value in international
markets from New Zealand's clean, green brand;
(2) The opportunities for development and adoption of new technologies, including
clean technology, as well as the smarter use of existing ones, and
(3) The options for small and medium-sized enterprises to move to a lower carbon
economy (Fallow, 2011, February).
12.Future projects
This paper illustrated several conspiracies of ignorance - or maybe just sins of omission
that compel me to the focus of my next project as an educator: Bridging the sustainability
divide using early innovators of green practice in a business development district. Inspired
by the findings of Collins, Lawrence, Roper & Haar (2010), I propose an action learning/
action research process to facilitate:
(1) The update of green business practices (such as Life Cycle Management) by
potential early adopters drawing on the extant practice of first stage Small-Medium
Enterprise innovators located in New Zealand, particularly those located in the
target business district (For example, see Formway Furniture; McLaren (2008);
Ministry for the Environment (2007)).
(2) Cooperative applied research and development in green technology development
especially with R&D providers proximate to the business district (including Unitec
New Zealand and the Mt Albert Crown Research Institutes).
(3) Design and delivery of education and training curricula tailored to the needs of
green innovators and potential early adopters of green practices in the business
district (For example, developed from the course curricula in Mellalieu, 2010a,
2011).
11
Profitable agricultural abatement options include: dicyandiamide (DCD) nitrification inhibitors, stand-off
pads, Monensin (an antibiotic), biodigestion of animal effluent, Agrotain (a urease inhibitor). From Bertram &
Terry, (2010, Table 8.1. p. 144), identified from their analysis of data from ICF International 2007, 2008.
Working paper
Under review 27
13.Acknowledgements
Components of this paper were presented at Higher Education Research and Development
Society of Australasia Engaging Communities HERDSA 2008 conference, 1-4 July 2008,
Rotorua, and the New Zealand Tertiary Education Summit 2009, Wellington, New Zealand,
28 April, 2009. The author acknowledges the constructive advice presented at the conferences
reviewers of the papers, and Professor Kerry Shepherd of the University of Otago.
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MELLALIEU
15.Summary
through its Resource Management Act (1991) and was an early signatory to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992). Through its Tertiary Education
Strategy (TES) 2007-2012 the Labour government signalled its desire that the countrys
higher education sector should support its ambitious environmental vision and goals.
A strategic audit of the environmental performance of a publicly-funded New Zealand
tertiary institution examined the extent to which the institution achieved the environmental
goals espoused in its official charter and those of the government. The audit identified that the
institution had retreated substantially from its earlier pioneering commitments to
environmental initiatives, initiated from the late 1990s. Two factors accounted for this retreat.
First, the institution was under financial duress. Secondly, there was significant dissonance
between the governments stated vision and aims supporting Education for Sustainability
(EfS) and practical policy implementation. Specifically, the governments policy aims were
not translated into an explicit investment funding priority for the tertiary education sector or
an appropriate system of monitoring and control.
The paper explores the recommendation by New Zealand's Parliamentary
Commissioner for the Environment that: 'ALL graduates leaving educational institutions
should possess a core understanding of environmental sustainability as a result of institutes
encouraging EfS throughout their organisations'. Despite that recommendation, the most
recent National government tertiary education strategy, TES 2010-2015, retreats further from
this position, condemning the nations future professional leadership - and tertiary graduates
in general - to an orchestrated conspiracy of ignorance about the risks and opportunities for
sustainable development.
Working paper
Under review 33
16.The author
Peter J. Mellalieu infuses Education for Sustainability into his teaching of strategy,
innovation, design management, and entrepreneurship across the Faculty of Creative
Industries and Business at Unitec Institute of Technology, New Zealand. As an educator and
industrial trainer he is committed towards helping enterprise develop their capabilities for
profitable eco-sustainable operations and/or devising new products and services for the
green market place.
Peter has worked for - or consulted to - a variety of medium enterprise and
multinational subsidiaries including a vaccine manufacturer, a plastics manufacturer, a dairy
products processor, several research laboratories, and central government agencies including
agriculture and fisheries, trade and industry, justice, and health.
He studied biotechnology and industrial engineering at Massey University, Palmerston
North. He later completed a masters in public policy at Victoria University focussing on
development studies and international business. His career as a teacher and innovation
strategy consultant began at Massey University in 1987. In 2000, he was appointed associate
professor and foundation director for a new postgraduate programme in business innovation
and entrepreneurship at Unitec Institute of Technology. In his current teaching, he guides his
students to appreciate the value of implementing eco-sustainable practices whilst also
achieving traditional business objectives. He is highly regarded as a developer of innovative
curricula and learning environments.
Peter has visited several alternative and new technology centres in Europe, Africa, and
the United States. In 2005, he developed a strategy for creating a leadership development
centre for enterprise development at the University of Botswana, southern Africa. In 2005, he
experienced a staff exchange to Florida Gulf Coast University, one of the leading US
universities in terms of deploying eco-sustainable principles in both its operational practices
and teaching. He is a member of several organisations that promote the adoption of
appropriate eco-sustainable practices. During the 1970s he was an active member in New
Zealand's first political party committed to eco-sustainable principles: the Values Party.
He has convened two conferences that have considered issues of eco-sustainability and
strategy. The conference 'Strategies for sustainability and success: The role and impact of
strategic thinking in the development of sustainable enterprise' (ISSN 1174-8419) was hosted
by the University of Canterbury and attended by business educators and strategy consultants.
His interest in environmental issues was initiated by his school science teacher who
introduced him to Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring (1962). In the 1940 his grandfather was
a pioneering 'eco-activist' who advocated against the city council discharging town sewerage
directly into the St Annes seaside estuary near Blackpool, northern England.
Peter is a keen yachtsman, cycler, outdoor adventurer, and performing artist.

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Working paper

The Rise and Fall of Education for

2.Research methodology .......................................................................................................... 6

3.Unitec and the New Zealand higher education sector........................................................... 8

4.Results of the Unitec strategic audit: seven strategic issues ..................................................9

6.Unitec undergoes financial and managerial restructuring....................................................17

8.Summary: An orchestrated conspiracy of ignorance?......................................................... 22

1.Introduction: The natural environment is under threat from humanity's actions

2 Orchestrated conspiracy of ignorance

New Zealand: 100% Pure

4 Orchestrated conspiracy of ignorance

how I could contribute appropriate improvements in my role as a professor of strategy,

Although RWE is regarded as of dubious merit by some academics, RWE is conducted

6 Orchestrated conspiracy of ignorance

In this paper I sometimes use the terms eco-sustainability and sustainability as

through the NZQA, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority

4.Results of the Unitec strategic audit: seven strategic issues

8 Orchestrated conspiracy of ignorance

Figure 1: The vicious circles of environmental sustainability-related strategic issues facing

Reaction from the chief financial officer

10 Orchestrated conspiracy of ignorance

In summary, three of the government's thirteen national policy aims pertain to

Build global awareness;

12 Orchestrated conspiracy of ignorance

14 Orchestrated conspiracy of ignorance

16 Orchestrated conspiracy of ignorance

an insufficient response to the recommendations arising from the strategic audit of

18 Orchestrated conspiracy of ignorance

By late 2009, following a process of consultation, the new National government

20 Orchestrated conspiracy of ignorance

Unitecs response: Investment Plan 2011-2013

22 Orchestrated conspiracy of ignorance

24 Orchestrated conspiracy of ignorance

26 Orchestrated conspiracy of ignorance

28 Orchestrated conspiracy of ignorance

30 Orchestrated conspiracy of ignorance

Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/document/

32 Orchestrated conspiracy of ignorance

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