Sustainability Synergies: Aligning GreenComp and TASK™

Aligning for Impact

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The road to a sustainable future is complex, and traversing it requires a foundational understanding of the different pathways and obstacles we face along the way. At Sulitest, we believe that education and knowledge are essential for achieving this goal. With this in mind, we consider universal sustainability literacy as our “destination”, referential frameworks as our “milestones”, and TASK™ as our “knowledge compass” that helps guide us through the labyrinth towards a sustainable future. Without checkpoints along the way, we wouldn’t know which way to go to reach out destination. Without a compass, we wouldn’t know how to get there.

GreenComp — the European Sustainability Competence Framework — is one of several new reference frameworks that identifies sustainability competences for education programs to help learners develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes that promote sustainability and sustainable lives.

We consider GreenComp a milestone in our journey as it provides a common goal and reference that everyone working in education and training for sustainability can use, share, and achieve for a more sustainable future.

A compass has its limitations in guiding you to your destination, but if you know where you’re going, it will always point you in the “right” direction. Similarly, TASK™ won’t provide all the answers to become an overnight expert, but it shows you where you stand in relation to your destination, and where to improve along the way, by enabling:

• Students to understand and demonstrate their knowledge of sustainability.
• Universities to measure the level of sustainability knowledge, inform strategy, and demonstrate impact.
  
  

What is Sulitest?

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• Sulitest is a social enterprise that support universities and organizations in their efforts to integrate sustainability education into their institutions, programs, and courses.
• Sulitest offers 2 products focused on raising sustainability awareness and assessing sustainability knowledge, respectively: Awareness Test (AT) and The Assessment of Sustainability Knowledge (TASK™).
  
  

What is TASK™?

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• TASK™ is the world’s first assessment tool to provide a standardized measure of knowledge based on a systemic approach to sustainability.
• The TASK™ tool provides a robust, research-based, and online assessment process leading to an internationally recognized certificate of sustainability knowledge.
• TASK™ is accessible via an easy-to-use platform that provides relevant and comparable metrics for monitoring and steering education for sustainability across any educational program.

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Why Align the GreenComp and TASK™ Frameworks?

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We evaluated and considered several different reference frameworks for sustainability knowledge, including GreenComp. Universities that will want to use and incorporate the GreenComp framework will need a simple, easy to use tool for their students to understand it. Given the strong theoretical and conceptual ties between the TASK™ and GreenComp frameworks, aligning them ensures that TASK™ is assessing knowledge and skills that the European Commission has determined is relevant for learners. Furthermore, linking the two frameworks strengthens the credibility of TASK™, as GreenComp is the standard sustainability competence framework of the European Union, and the European Commission encourages its member states to use GreenComp as a reference when rolling out educational initiatives on sustainability.

Aligning the two frameworks simplifies work for administrators and program directors who will look for assessment tools that focus on GreenComp’s competences. This will allow them to easily match the standard competence framework (GreenComp) with a complementary assessment framework (TASK™). Utilizing these complementary tools in tandem will help to maximize efficiency and achieve multiple complementary outcomes.

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Framework Fusion

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GreenComp and TASK™ are closely aligned in several major ways:

Theoretical alignment

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• Both are structured around the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Agenda 2030
• Both are anchored to the Planetary Boundaries Framework
• Both draw inspiration from the UNESCO Strategy of Education for Sustainable Development
• Both are based on 3-part human development: GreenComp refers to Knowledge—Skills—Attitudes, while Sulitest/TASK™ to Knowledge—Skills—Mindset

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Structural alignment

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• Both share an embedded approach to sustainability (i.e., an economy contained within a society dependent on a planet of limited resources and clear boundaries)
• Both articulate student learning outcomes and well-defined outcomes statements
• Both emphasize the importance of SDG 4: Quality Education

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Content alignment

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• TASK™ aligns with the majority of GreenComp’s learning statements, specifically the Knowledge statements and Skills statements, but it is not an exhaustive measure of GreenComp’s learning statements
• TASK™’s subjects align to each of GreenComp’s Learning Outcomes Statements
• TASK™ completely covers 16 of GreenComp’s competence categories

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For more information about the alignment between the GreenComp and TASK™ frameworks, please read this document for a detailed and in-depth analysis.

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Thanks for reading! Sulitest’s mission is to increase the knowledge, skills, and attitudes about sustainability that motivate individuals to become more deeply committed to building a sustainable future and to making informed and effective decisions. If you’d like to learn more about the Sulitest model and matrix of sustainability knowledge, read our Position Paper here.

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If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us!