NCEA Level 3 Education for Sustainability key terms

Meeting people's present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs, balancing environmental, social, economic and cultural wellbeing over time.

Development that improves quality of life now while keeping environmental and social systems healthy enough to support future generations, integrating economic, social, cultural and environmental goals.

The 1987 United Nations wording describing sustainable development as meeting present needs without compromising future generations' ability to meet their own needs; widely used as a starting reference point.

Fairness between generations, meaning decisions made today should not leave later generations with fewer options, poorer environments or diminished wellbeing than the present generation inherited.

Fairness among people living now, so that benefits and burdens such as pollution, resource use and wealth are not unfairly concentrated on particular groups or places.

A way of judging success by three linked results: environmental quality, social wellbeing and economic viability, rather than profit alone; sometimes extended to include culture.

The overall quality of people's lives, including physical and mental health, material security, social connection, cultural identity and connection to a healthy environment.

Māori knowledge, values and ways of knowing passed through generations, including relationships between people and the natural world; often considered alongside Western science in New Zealand sustainability thinking.

The Māori concept and practice of guardianship, where people hold responsibility to care for and protect the environment, resources and people for current and future generations.

Working together collaboratively, with shared purpose and mutual respect, often involving partnerships between schools, communities, iwi, councils and other groups in sustainability action.

Taking responsible care of something entrusted to you, such as land, water, a school garden or local ecosystem, acting as a guardian rather than an owner.

The knowledge, skills and dispositions needed to understand environmental, social and economic systems and to make informed decisions that support sustainability.

Analysing issues by looking at parts, connections, feedback and whole-system behaviour over time, rather than treating problems as isolated events with single causes.

A circular cause-and-effect process where a change produces effects that feed back to increase the change (reinforcing) or reduce it (balancing).

A place in a system where a small, well-chosen intervention can produce large and lasting change, such as rules, goals, information flows or underlying mindsets.

A threshold beyond which a system shifts abruptly into a different state, often hard to reverse, such as an ecosystem collapsing or a new social norm spreading rapidly.

The capacity of a person, community or ecosystem to absorb disturbance, adapt and reorganise while retaining its essential functions and identity.

The ability of people or systems to adjust to changing conditions, learn from experience and develop new responses when existing approaches no longer work.

The degree to which a person, community or system is likely to be harmed by a hazard, shaped by exposure, sensitivity and the resources available to cope.

The maximum population or level of use an environment can support over time without degrading the resources and processes on which it depends.

A measure of the land and water area needed to supply the resources a person or group consumes and to absorb their wastes, expressed in global hectares.

The total greenhouse gas emissions caused directly or indirectly by a person, organisation, product or activity, usually expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent.

The natural warming process where gases in the atmosphere trap heat; human emissions of these gases have strengthened it and are driving global temperature rise.

Actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or remove them from the atmosphere, such as cutting fossil fuel use, improving efficiency, planting forests or changing consumption patterns.

Adjusting practices, infrastructure and communities to cope with actual or expected climate impacts, such as flooding, drought, sea-level rise and heatwaves.

The variety of living things at genetic, species and ecosystem levels, which supports ecosystem functioning and helps natural systems cope with change.

The benefits people obtain from nature, including food, clean water, pollination, climate regulation, flood protection and cultural or recreational value.

Energy from sources that are naturally replenished, such as sunlight, wind, flowing water, geothermal heat and biomass, in contrast with finite fossil fuels.

Getting the same useful output while using less energy, for example through better insulation, efficient appliances or improved processes, reducing emissions and costs.

A priority order for managing materials: avoid or reduce, reuse, recycle, recover energy, then dispose; placing prevention first reduces environmental pressure most effectively.

An economic approach that designs out waste and keeps materials in use through repair, reuse, remanufacturing and recycling, instead of the linear take-make-dispose model.

A method for estimating environmental impacts of a product or service across its whole life, from raw material extraction through manufacture, use and disposal.

A social and economic pattern where buying and owning goods is central to identity and status, often driving resource use, waste and emissions.

Fair treatment and fair shares of opportunities, resources and decision-making power for all people, including addressing inequalities that environmental problems worsen.

Fairness in outcomes and access, recognising that people start from different circumstances and may need different support to reach comparable wellbeing.

The principle that no group should carry a disproportionate share of environmental harm, and that all communities deserve a healthy environment and a voice in decisions.

Learning that starts from the local environment, community and culture, connecting curriculum to real issues and actions in the learners' own place.

An approach to learning that builds the knowledge, skills, values and confidence to act on sustainability issues in local and global contexts.

The combination of knowledge, skills, motivation and confidence that enables a learner to take informed, effective action on an issue they care about.

A person's sense that they can make choices and influence outcomes, a belief that their actions matter and can contribute to change.

Genuinely including learners' perspectives, ideas and decisions in shaping learning and school or community action, rather than seeking token opinions.

A cycle of planning, acting, observing and reflecting in which participants investigate a real issue and take action together, improving both the situation and their understanding.

A process where learners investigate authentic questions, gather and evaluate evidence, and draw reasoned conclusions rather than memorising set answers.

Examining claims, evidence and assumptions carefully, questioning whose interests are served and recognising bias before reaching a reasoned judgement.

A particular way of viewing an issue shaped by culture, values, experience and interests; sustainability issues usually involve several legitimate and conflicting perspectives.

A broad set of assumptions and beliefs through which a person or culture interprets the world, including how humans relate to nature.

Deeply held beliefs about what matters and what is right, which guide decisions and priorities; sustainability education asks learners to clarify and justify their own.

A working relationship between a school or group and community organisations, iwi, businesses or councils, sharing resources, knowledge and decisions for mutual benefit.

A person or group with an interest in, or affected by, an issue or decision, including those who may hold little formal power.

Seeking views from affected people before deciding, ideally early enough for their input to genuinely shape the outcome.

A measurable sign used to track progress or change, such as water clarity, attendance, waste volume or wellbeing survey scores.

Repeated, systematic observation or measurement over time to detect change, check whether an action is working and inform adjustments.

Measurements taken before an action or project begins, used as a starting point against which later change can be compared.

Judging the value, effectiveness and fairness of an action or programme using evidence, to decide what to keep, change or stop.

Deliberately thinking back over an experience to identify what happened, why, what was learned and what to do differently next time.

Active work to help a damaged ecosystem recover, such as replanting natives, removing pests or restoring waterways, often monitored over years.

A relationship of care and responsibility for a place or resource, held on behalf of others and future generations rather than for private gain.

People who will live after us, whose needs and options are considered in sustainability decisions even though they cannot speak for themselves.

The boundaries beyond which resource use or pollution harms ecological or social systems; recognising them is central to sustainability reasoning.

A level or condition at which a system's behaviour changes significantly, such as a pollution level that suddenly harms a stream's ecology.