What is "Inclusive Sustainability"?

In 2015, PoCSC coined the term inclusive sustainability that:  

• Disrupts the idea that the university and the formally educated are the gatekeepers of knowledge 

• Acknowledges efforts made by PoC to advance sustainability 

• Recognizes that many sustainability efforts have historically ignored and discriminated against communities of color 

• Embraces different cultural approaches of caring for the environment 

• Emphasizes intersectional and interdisciplinary approaches 

For PoCSC, inclusive sustainability must begin as a framework for student success, retention, and building community in higher education. 

 Read 'Inclusive Sustainability: Environmental Justice in Higher Education' by Lu et. al 

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate why and how efforts at UC Santa Cruz have begun to shift from sustainability as a technical, export-oriented activity focused on aspects such as built environment, climate, energy, food, and water, to more of a concern with inclusive sustainability, which centers on issues of power dynamics, difference, and ethical considerations.