Contribution

The Earth Charter, Spirituality and Sustainable Development

Richard Clugston

T

HE Earth Charter was completed and approved by the Earth Charter
Commission in 2000. It is an integrated ethical agenda to guide us
toward a just, sustainable and peaceful future. The Earth Charter affirms
the interconnectedness between the critical challenges facing humanity,e.g., eliminating violence and poverty, providing sustainable livelihoods
for all, and caring for the whole community of life and future generations. It highlights shared ethical and spiritual values as foundational tomeeting these challenges.
This article provides background on the Earth Charter and describes
the work of the Earth Charter Task Force on Religion, Spirituality andEthics. Using the Earth Charter principles, this Task Force has sought todeepen and strengthen the United Nations’ sustainable development
agenda. The current application of these principles to some of thesustainable development goals (Agenda 2030) will be described.

1. What is the Earth Charter?
The development of an Earth Charter originated in the call of the World
Commission on Environment and Development in 1987 for the creationof “a universal declaration” that would “consolidate and extend relevant
legal principles” creating “new norms needed to maintain livelihoods
and life on our shared planet” and “to guide state behavior in the transition to sustainable development.” Drafting an Earth Charter was part ofthe process leading to the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, but
the time for such a declaration was not right. The Rio Declaration
expressed the common agreement on environment and development, atthe time. However, many felt a deeper vision of sustainable development
was needed.
In 1994, Maurice Strong (Secretary-General of the Rio Summit) and
Mikhail Gorbachev, working through organizations they each founded(Earth Council and Green Cross International respectively), launched an
155

156

the earth charter, spirituality and sustainable development

initiative (with the support from the Dutch Government) to develop an
Earth Charter as a civil society initiative. From 1994 to 2000 the drafting and consultation process drew on hundreds of international documents on environment and development and a worldwide participatory
consultation process involving thousands of individuals and hundreds oforganizations.
The Earth Charter was approved by the Earth Charter Commission at
UNESCO in Paris in 2000. The Chair of the Drafting Committee,
Steven Rockefeller, states, “The Earth Charter is centrally concernedwith the transition to sustainable ways of living and sustainable humandevelopment. The four major themes of the Earth Charter are expressedin its four parts: Part I, Respect and Care for the Community of Life;
Part II, Ecological Integrity; Part III, Social and Economic Justice; andPart IV, Democracy, Nonviolence, and Peace. The Earth Charter visionreflects the conviction that caring for people and caring for Earth are
two interrelated dimensions of one great task. It supports the view that
economic institutions and activities should promote equitable humandevelopment and should value and protect Earth’s ecological systems
and the many services they provide. The Earth Charter is both apeople-centered and ecosystem-centered document. Recognizing that
our environmental, economic, social, political, and spiritual challenges
are interdependent, the Earth Charter provides an integrated framework
for thinking about and addressing these issues. The result is a fresh,broad conception of what constitutes a sustainable society and sustainable development.” (From Earth Charter International “The Earth
Charter History”)
The Earth Charter guides us toward a deeper and fuller vision of whatsustainability really requires. Its 16 main principles and 61 supporting
principles provide a framework for sustainable development, or “goodglobalization” developed through a broadly inclusive and participatory
consultation process.

2. The Earth Charter, Ethics and Spirituality
The Earth Charter affirms the three pillars of sustainable development—social, environmental and economic well being—as well as
commitment to future generations. It articulates and refines what thesepillars mean and shows their inextricable interconnections. It deepens
the triple bottom line, strengthening the importance of people andplanet. It also replaces our narrow and short-term anthropocentrisms
with a framework which draw us to “respect and care for the community

the earth charter, spirituality and sustainable development

157

of life.”
There is a consensus today that there are three distinct but interrelated
dimensions of sustainable development, namely, the social, economicand environmental. They are often described as the three pillars ofsustainable development. This understanding is sound as far as it goes,but it does not go far enough or deep enough ... there is a fourth pillar—
the global ethical and spiritual consciousness that is awakening in civilsociety around the world and that finds expression in the Earth Charter.
This global ethical consciousness is in truth the first pillar of a sustainable way of life, because it involves the internalization of the values ofsustainable human development and provides the inspiration andmotivation to act as well as essential guidance regarding the path togenuine sustainability. The lack of progress in the transition to sustainable development is often attributed to a lack of political will. What is
not generally acknowledged is that the lack of political will reflects alack of ethical vision and moral courage among our leaders and tosome degree among most of us—we, the people. The Earth Charterrecognizes the ethical and spiritual as well as the environmental, social,and economic dimensions of the sustainable development challenge.
(Rockefeller, 2010)

Ruud Lubbers, an Earth Charter commissioner, and former Prime
Minister of the Netherlands states, “It is remarkable to consider the appreciation of the spiritual dimension of life, as expressed in the Earth
Charter. Among the universal spiritual values recognized in the Earth
Charter are reverence for the mystery of being, gratitude for the gift oflife, reverence for life, compassion, love, hope, humility, peace, appreciation of beauty, ‘being more not having more’ and the joyful celebrationof life... Spirituality can blossom in a world in which people, planet andprofits balance the importance of the market economy with corporatesocial responsibility, and where the Earth Charter complements the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We might even begin to speak
about the four P’s: People, Planet, Profit and ‘Pneuma’.” (Lubbers, et al.
2008, p. 31)
The Earth Charter articulates some of the deeper, ethical and spiritual
dimensions of sustainability, as the following quotes (and paraphrases)from the text illustrate:• In the midst of our magnificent diversity of cultures, we are one
human family with a common destiny;

158

the earth charter, spirituality and sustainable development• We are at once citizens of different nations and of one world inwhich the local and the global are linked;• Humanity does not “own” the planet but shares it with a myriad oflife forms with which we are bound together in an Earth community;• Humanity is part of a vast evolving universe. Earth, our home, isalive with a unique community of life.
• The protection of Earth’s vitality, diversity, and beauty is a sacredtrust;• The spirit of human solidarity and kinship with all life isstrengthened when we live with reverence for the mystery of being,gratitude for the gift of life, and humility regarding the humanplace in nature;• All beings are interdependent and every form of life has value
regardless of its worth to human beings.
• For making headway in the great transition to a just, sustainable
and peaceful future, fundamental changes are needed in our values,
institutions, and ways of living. This requires a change of mind
and heart, a new sense of global interdependence and universal
responsibility. We need to identify ourselves with the whole Earth
Community as well as our local communities and form a global
partnership to care for Earth and one another.
The Earth Charter affirms that development—both economic and personal—is not primarily about short term economic gain (thereby owning, consuming and controlling ever more goods and services). Rather it
is about building those conditions and capacities necessary for full
human development for all in a flourishing Earth community. To paraphrase the Earth Charter, after basic needs are met, development shouldbe about being more, not having more. Real transformative change will
require the reorientation of development goals toward psychological andspiritual growth and sustainable living.
The Earth Charter recognizes that our failure to place our economic
policies in the broader context of the environment and and humanity’ssocial and spiritual existence has led to a corrosive materialism in theworld’s more economically advantaged regions and has exacerbatedconditions and perceptions of deprivation among the masses of theworld’s peoples. It has also accelerated the destruction of many species
and the ecological systems essential for our well being.
Development, to be truly sustainable, must provide the conditions
necessary for everyone’s spiritual growth, defined by Rami Shapiro asthe earth charter, spirituality and sustainable development

159

an “ever deepening capacity to embrace life with justice, compassion,
curiosity, awe, wonder, serenity and humility.”
All compassionately spiritual traditions affirm that there is an ultimate
goodness that we are here to help make fully present in the world, andthat we can develop an identity more consciously informed by a deeper
source, a higher power, a greater self. The major task in life is to awaken
to this deeper reality and live in accordance with it. This requires amajor effort to bring our awareness out of preoccupation with petty andself-centered concerns into a compassionate connection with all life, andto live in ways that all can live. Each compassionate spiritual tradition
has developed a set of transformative practices to enable one to focus
attention, desire and action to move beyond one’s small self into an
identity more informed by this deeper source.

3. The Earth Charter Task Force on Religion, Spirituality,
and Ethics
This Task Force was formed in 2005 to engage a broad range of individuals, institutions, and organizations concerned with religion, spirituality,
ethics, and the Earth Charter. It assists such individuals and groups inintegrating the Earth Charter with their efforts toward creating a just,peaceful, and sustainable future for the entire Earth Community.
Along with science, economics, and policy, the world’s religions,spiritual perspectives, and ethical values can play a catalyzing rolein moving the human community toward a sustainable future. The vast
majority of the world’s peoples draw inspiration and guidance fromtheir religious beliefs and practices while many outside of formal
religious institutions rely on particular spiritual paths.
For millennia the world’s religious, spiritual and ethical traditions
have provided ethical grounding for the shaping of various cultures
throughout the world. Through indigenous traditions and the Axial
age religions arising in the last 3,000 years, humans have oriented
themselves to the mystery of existence, to relations with other humans,
and to nature itself.
The Earth Charter recognizes the immense contributions that havebeen made by religious, spiritual, and ethical traditions. Indeed, theEarth Charter affirms the rich multicultural and multireligious expressions present in the human community. While respecting this remarkable diversity, it also invites the world’s religious, spiritual, and ethicaltraditions into dialogue with the emerging global ethics represented in
the Earth Charter.

160

the earth charter, spirituality and sustainable development

The Charter was drafted with a spirit that calls individuals and institutions to help create the foundations for a common future. Thus, there isa recognition of shared although differentiated responsibilities for theflourishing of the Earth Community. During the drafting process of theCharter, scholars and leaders of the world’s religious and indigenous
traditions were able to give comments on the drafts of the Charter invarious venues around the world.
During the three year conference series on world religions andecology at Harvard’s Center for the Study of World Religions, over 800
scholars and representatives of the world’s religions gave feedbackon the various drafts of the Earth Charter. In the global Earth Charter
consultation, theologians, experts and religious organizations fromBahå’i, Buddhist, Christian, Confucian, Hindu, Indigenous, Islamic,
Jain, Jewish, and Shinto traditions shared their visions for a just, sustainable and peaceful world. Apart from these inputs, a broad range ofreligious and interreligious texts, statements and declarations werereviewed and used as a basis for the Earth Charter’s inclusive global
vision of shared values and common goals for sustainable living.
The Harvard conference series led to the formation of the Forum on
Religion and Ecology (FORE) now based at Yale University. Mary
Evelyn Tucker, the Co-director of the Forum is serving as a co-chair of
the Task Force. (The description of the Task Force above is adaptedfrom the FORE website, see http://fore.yale.edu/ )The Soetendorp Institute helps coordinate the Task Force. As part ofhis efforts as Co-Chair of this Task Force, Rabbi Soetendorp has drafted
the interreligious statement “Towards Rio+20 and Beyond—A Turning
Point in Earth History.” The statement formulated a strong and unified
message of the world’s religions to the major UN Rio+20 Conference
that took place in June 2012. The Soetendorp Institute took the lead indeveloping the Spiritual Dimensions of Sustainability Project, which is
described below.

4. Bringing Earth Charter Ethics and Spirituality into the
UN Sustainable Development Framework
Since the Earth Charter was completed in 2000, Earth Charter International has focused on having the governments represented at the United
Nations acknowledge the contribution of the Earth Charter and to translate its principles into action. Major efforts involved working with theCommission on Sustainable Development, The World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002), and with UN agencies (e.g., UNESCO,

the earth charter, spirituality and sustainable development

161

UNEP, UNDP) to endorse the Earth Charter and adopt policies consistent with its principles. UNESCO (and IUCN) did recognize the Earth
Charter and some language in the Johannesburg Declaration was drawn
from the Earth Charter.
However, until well into the preparatory process (2011–2012) for theUnited Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), governments and many NGOs were incapable or unwilling to recognize theneed for fundamental, transformative change and to acknowledge theinterconnectedness of our global challenges and the need to adopt
a new development agenda with an integrated triple bottom line ofsustainability at its center.
Recognizing the opportunity that Rio+20 offered to advance the Earth
Charter, the task force held a series of meetings at the Earth Charter +10
Conference in Ahmedabad, India in 2010. This conference called fordeepening the general understanding of sustainable development, andinspired “the Spiritual Dimensions of Sustainability Project” which
invited religious, spiritual and ethical organizations to1) Participate in a global conversation aimed at deepening the understanding of these spiritual or “inner” dimensions of sustainability;
2) Promote a greater public awareness of this “fourth pillar” of sustainability, especially by bringing these dimensions to bear on the
major international debates and processes including the Rio+20
Conference and the UN Decade for Sustainable Development(DESD); speaking in a unified voice for justice, sustainability,
and all-embracing peace; and developing joint strategies for advocating effectively for approaches to sustainable development that
include the spiritual purposes of life;3) Deepen the practice of compassionate and sustainable living
through exchanging good practices and available educational
materials.
From 2011 to date, the Task Force, in cooperation with many religious, spiritual and values based organizations, has convened a series ofconsultations on strengthening ethical and spiritual input into Rio+20(and later into the sustainable development goals).
Hosted by Soka Gakkai International and the Forum 21 Institute,these discussions took place in New York City beginning in December
2011. In the first meeting, participants shared their organizations’ recommendations for the outcomes of the Rio+20 Conference, identified
common priorities, and strategized as to how to work together most162

the earth charter, spirituality and sustainable development

effectively on the Road to Rio+20 to ensure that our policy priorities
were included in the final outcome document.
This first meeting began with a review of the recommendations fromthe 75 submissions to the Rio+20 secretariat that focused on ethics, spirituality, and the Earth Charter. These submissions affirmed the need fora stronger, ethical and spiritual framework for sustainable development.
They emphasized the adoption of specific policy mechanisms, such as
ombudspersons for future generations, implementing the Precautionary
Principle, new measures of well-being to replace GDP, and millennium
consumption goals. We continued to meet before and during Rio+20.
The Earth Charter was featured in a major conference at Rio+20 hosted
by Earth Charter International, at Soka Gakki International’s “Seeds ofHope” exhibit and in the People’s Sustainability Treaty on Ethical andSpiritual Values for Sustainable Development.

5. The Earth Charter and Agenda 2030
A major outcome of Rio+20 was the commitment by governments todevelop and adopt (in September 2015) new, universal sustainable
development goals (SDGs) that would incorporate the unfinished business of the Millennium Development Goals into a broader framework.
SDGs are to be the guides, the dashboard for this transformative change.
They are to be a set of action-oriented, concise and easy to communicate
goals that could help drive the implementation of sustainable development. 13 intergovernmental open working group meetings led to thecompletion of the Zero Draft of the SDGs in July 2014. This extensive
process, and the intergovernmental negotiation sessions in 2015 wereremarkable in the emphasis placed on truly transformative change
toward a truly integrated triple bottom line.
In partnership with the Forum 21 Institute, the Task Force hosted a series of consultations focused on spiritual and ethical analyses of theSDGs and their targets. These consultations were held in New York City
during or immediately after the UN intergovernmental working group
and negotiating sessions on the SDGs and targets. There have been two
major and interconnected outcomes of these gatherings: 1. the draftingof a book, and 2. the development of recommendations for the goals,
targets and indicators for sustainable development.
Many of the participants in these ongoing discussions agreed to write
chapters for the book titled “Earth Ethics, Spiritual Values and the New
UN Development Agenda,” edited by this paper’s author and Mirian
Vilela, the Executive Director of Earth Charter International. The bookthe earth charter, spirituality and sustainable development

163emphasizes the need for transformative change and describes the ethicaland spiritual foundations for the new development paradigm. It offers abrief history of ethics and spirituality at the UN featuring statements,
declarations, events, NGO activities and organizations. Chapter authors
describe their ethical and spiritual principles and use them to evaluate
and strengthen the current proposals for sustainable development goals,
targets and indicators.
Section One features some significant social movements affirming
diverse ethical and spiritual perspectives for development, including
Integral, Interspiritual, Ethical Humanism, and peoples movements fortransformative change (People’s Sustainability Treaties). The integral
message is reorienting SDGs to support full human development, i.e.,
waking up and growing up. Interspirituality encourages drawing fromthe common principles and practices of all compassionate spiritualities
to guide the SDGs. The People’s Sustainability Treaties recommend a
set of sectoral goals to be incorporated in the SDGs.
In Section Two, diverse religious and spiritual organizations describe
their traditions’ beliefs and principles and apply this lens to analyzing
SDGs and recommending improvements. Groups include the Temple ofUnderstanding, Sukyo Mahikari, Bahai’s, Islamic, Buddhist, Christianand Indigenous perspectives. To be completed in August 2016, the bookends with a set of reflections on the way forward, and suggests priority
targets and indicators for the Sustainable Development Goals drawn
from the ethical and spiritual perspectives described in the book’s chapters.

6. Spiritual and Ethical Priorities for Agenda 2030
“Transforming our World, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” was adopted by Heads of State on Sept. 25 2015 (immediately
after the Pope’s address to the UN General Assembly). This Agenda
contains 17 sustainable development goals and 169 targets for reaching
those goals (To review these goals and targets see https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld). The task remaining(at the time this article was written) is to develop indicators that will
enable us to measure the extent to which these targets have beenreached.
Agenda 2030 and the Paris Climate Agreement (adopted in December2015) were watershed events, with the world’s governments agreeing
unanimously to adopt agendas and commitments for transformativechange—ending the fossil fuel era and implementing a new develop-

164

the earth charter, spirituality and sustainable development

ment agenda that will provide for the basic needs of all without crossing
planetary boundaries.
The UN Secretary General called for the integration of these two
major agreements into one comprehensive sustainable development
agenda. Christiana Figueres (UNFCCC) addressing this integration,argues that the overarching threat of catastrophic climate change sets thecontext and direction for sustainable development (e.g., more carbon in
the atmosphere = more poverty on the ground). The sustainable development goals, their targets, and most importantly their indicators should
provide the means to rapidly reduce both greenhouse gases and extreme
poverty, as priorities in a focused transformative sustainable development agenda.
The 169 targets and many of the 229 proposed indicators are laudable
in that they identify many important actions that must be taken to extend
needed opportunities and build capacities for all, and to protect and restore the health of the ecological systems necessary for our well-being.
Unfortunately, key indicators to guide and measure transformativechange are missing. Many of the proposed indicators are “business as
usual” accountability measures. There is a real danger that using such
indicators will reinforce the engine of unsustainable growth under theguise of sustainable development. Providing more and more goods andservices to an ever increasing human population without crossing planetary boundaries is a daunting challenge. It can only be met if indicatorsfor genuine transformative change are developed for the sustainable
development goals and targets.

7. Recommended SDG Targets and Indicators
The following illustrate the application of the Earth Charter lens to twoof the SDGs, showing how the Earth Charter’s ethical and spiritual perspective would guide sustainable development policy: (Many of theserecommendations have been adapted from Earth Charter International’s
input into Rio+20, see Clugston, et al. 2011.)
Overarching Recommendation: Acknowledge the fundamental importance of shared ethical and spiritual values in making the transition to asustainable way of life.
A shared vision of ethical and spiritual values is necessary to inspireand guide cooperative action for change. Shared values awaken a senseof common purpose and build community spirit. In an increasingly in-the earth charter, spirituality and sustainable development

165

terdependent world, achieving the environmental, economic, and social
goals associated with sustainability requires worldwide collaboration,and cooperation is not possible without shared values and a sense ofcommon purpose. The vision of a sustainable future as an inclusive
social and ecological ideal that is good, right and just is what is needed
to inspire strong commitment and drive change.
The emergence throughout the world of a new ethical and spiritual
consciousness that supports the transition to a just, sustainable andpeaceful world is one of the most promising developments of the last
sixty years. The ethical and spiritual values associated with this new
consciousness have been given expression in many intergovernmental
and civil society declarations such as the Universal Declarationof Human Rights, the World Charter for Nature, the Rio Declaration,and the Earth Charter. The Earth Charter identifies the basic spiritualchallenge that the world community must address if it is to make thetransition to strong sustainability when it states: We must realizethat when basic needs have been met, human development is primarily
about being more, not having more.
This guideline is, of course, entirely consistent with the teachings of
all the world’s great wisdom traditions. The values associated withhuman rights, cultural diversity, social and economic justice, a culture ofpeace, intergenerational responsibility, and respect and care for thegreater community of life, are all part of what ‘being more’ means in the
21st century. In addition, the Earth Charter recognizes the importance ofreverence for the mystery of being, compassion, love, hope, and the
joyful celebration of life. ‘Being more’ in the spirit of these values andideals is the only sure path to a sustainable world.
Recommendations for Sustainable Development Goal 16: Promote
Peaceful and Inclusive Societies for Sustainable Development, provide
access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive
institutions at all levels.
Certainly the targets listed in Goal 16 are all necessary but not sufficient to create a world that works for all. The Earth Charter calls us torespect and care for the community of life, and its definition of inclusive
societies would include all members of the more than human Earthcommunity, as well as future generations. We recommend adding thefollowing targets:
Recommendation 16.1: Express responsibility to future generations
by implementing the precautionary principle and establishing Ombuds-

166

the earth charter, spirituality and sustainable development

persons for Future Generations at global, national and local levels.
As defined by the Brundtland Commission report, sustainable development requires we meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, within thelimits imposed by the capacity of the biosphere to absorb the effectsof human activities. This universal responsibility for intergenerational
equity is expressed in Earth Charter Principle 4 which calls us to
Secure Earth’s bounty and beauty for present and future generations.
Implicit in the call for Ombudspersons for Future Generations is a
deep commitment to implementing the precautionary principle as adopted in the Rio Declaration and the UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change, amongst other international agreements. The Earth
Charter’s formulation of the precautionary principle is pro-active andprogressive:
Earth Charter Principle 6. Prevent harm as the best method ofenvironmental protection and, when knowledge is limited, apply aprecautionary approach.
a. Take action to avoid the possibility of serious or irreversible environmental harm even when scientific knowledge is incomplete orinconclusive.
b. Place the burden of proof on those who argue that a proposed
activity will not cause significant harm, and make the responsible
parties liable for environmental harm.
c. Ensure that decision making addresses the cumulative, long-term,
indirect, long distance, and global consequences of human activities.
Recommendation 16.2: Ensure that the United Nations adopts mechanisms of trusteeship for global common goods on behalf all peoples, thegreater community of life, and future generations.
Global common goods include obligations for maintaining the integrity of planetary boundaries and the ecological wellbeing of all, overseeing markets to ensure that they are protective of non-market common
goods, and ensuring impartiality between all interests—individual, civilsociety, corporate, and national.
The basis for these duties is well articulated in the Preamble of the
Earth Charter:
Earth, our home, is alive with a unique community of life. The forcesof nature make existence a demanding and uncertain adventure, butthe earth charter, spirituality and sustainable development

167

Earth has provided the conditions essential to life’s evolution. The resilience of the community of life and the well-being of humanity depend
upon preserving a healthy biosphere with all its ecological systems, arich variety of plants and animals, fertile soils, pure waters, and clean
air. The global environment with its finite resources is a common
concern of all peoples. The protection of Earth’s vitality, diversity,and beauty is a sacred trust.
The notion of an international institution exercising a trusteeshipfunction is not new. Indeed, under the auspices of the UN, a TrusteeshipCouncil was enacted to act on behalf of states transitioning from colonisation to independence. This Trusteeship Council was mandated to
speak for the yet-to-be state entities which had no legal standing or representation. The Trusteeship Council acted on behalf of entities thatwere not legally recognized. An obvious parallel can be drawn between
the functioning of this Council and a global trusteeship function overglobal public goals and common goods on behalf of all peoples, thegreater community of life, and future generations. The first four principles of the Earth Charter provide one articulation of the necessary goals.
Recommendations for Sustainable Development Goal 4: Ensure Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education and promote life-long learning
opportunities for all.
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) was a major, andneglected, priority of Agenda 21. Tasked with coordinating the UN
Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, UNESCO’s effort topromote ESD through formal educational institutions, as well as many
nonformal and media based educational/advertising enterprises, ismaking an important contribution. However, universal access to quality
education (let alone ESD) for both boys and girls, even at the primarylevel, is an elusive goal. The shift to a sustainable society is deeply
dependent on the educational system, and that education should address
the material, social and spiritual dimensions of human development, andin its fullest sense, education must provide the space for value-basedsustainable learning.
The importance of access for all to quality education for sustainable
development is articulated in Earth Charter principle 14:
Integrate into formal education and life-long learning the knowledge,
values, and skills needed for a sustainable way of life.
a. Provide all, especially children and youth, with educational oppor-

168

the earth charter, spirituality and sustainable development

tunities that empower them to contribute actively to sustainable
development.
b. Promote the contribution of the arts and humanities as well as thesciences in sustainability education.
c. Enhance the role of the mass media in raising awareness of
ecological and social challenges.
d. Recognize the importance of moral and spiritual education forsustainable living.
The right kind of education, training and public awareness is foundational to realize transformative change toward strong sustainability in
our lifestyles, communities and policies. As we seek too increase thenumber of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technicaland vocational skills for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship,
how do we ensure that the competencies they gain will not be used toadvance unsustainable enterprises?
Ironically, it is the most educated that have created and are benefitting
most from unsustainable practices. Our formal and informal education
institutions all too often promote intolerant social projects, or the excessive pursuit of individual consumption and gratification.
The Earth Charter promotes access for all to quality education, but a
specific kind of education for sustainable development and global
citizenship.
Recommendation for SDG 4: The targets in SDG 4 should be realized,
but these need to be realized in a values context that enhances ourcapacities and motivation to:a. Engage deeply and effectively in contemplative practices thatawaken us to our great work, our vocations, where our deepest
passions meet the real needs of the world.
b. Experience our interconnectedness and interdependence withthe whole living world embracing diverse cultures of people andanimals, agriculture and wilderness, the cycles of life and theseasons, as well as the unfolding cosmos.
c. Feel, and act from, compassionate concern for others, doing noharm, reaching out to assist all beings.
d. Live in ways that all can live, consuming no more than one’s fairshare of Earth’s bounty-choosing products and services (e.g., food,energy, transportation, housing) that are ecologically sound, socially just and economically viable (e.g, local, fair trade, organic,the earth charter, spirituality and sustainable development

169

carbon and pollution neutral, humane).
e. Ensure that our decision making and conflict resolution processes
are open, enabling all to participate and clarify their preferencesand grievances. Our process capacities—to be humble, honest andrespectful; to not blame and to forgive; and to compromise for thegood of all—are foundational for arriving at structures and solutions that further everyone’s development.
f. Act to shift policies to support a just and sustainable future by voting, lobbying, and participating in political decision making at alllevels to promote policies to better care for future generations andthe whole community of life, e.g., creating better measures of genuine progress than GDP, internalizing social and environmental
costs in pricing goods and services, eliminating perverse subsidies,and creating ombudspersons and trusteeship structures at all
governmental levels to effectively represent the interests of all
members of the life community, current and future.

8. The Way Forward
The Earth Charter was ahead of its time, but its time seems to be now.
There is a great awakening (in the midst of much resistance) to a new
spiritually and ethically grounded development agenda. As Pope Francis
said in Laudato Si’.
“The Earth Charter asked us to leave behind a period of self-destruction and make a new start, but we have not as yet developed a universal
awareness needed to achieve this. Here, I would echo that courageous
challenge: ‘As never before in history, common destiny beckons us toseek a new beginning... Let ours be a time remembered for the awakening of a new reverence for life, the firm resolve to achieve sustainability,
the quickening of the struggle for justice and peace, and the joyful
celebration of life.’ ” (para 207)
References
Clugston, R., R. Lubbers, B. Mackey, S. Rockefeller, A. Roerrink, and M. Vilela, (2011)“Earth Charter International Recommendations for the Zero Draft of the UNCSD(Rio+20) Outcome Document.” UNCSD Website, Compilation Document, November 1, 2011, available at http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio+20/index.php?
Earth Charter Commission (2000) The Earth Charter. San Jose, Costa Rica. Earth
Charter International available on line at http://www.earthcharter.org
Earth Charter History, N.D, http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/download/about_the_
Initiative_history_2t.pdf
Laudato si’ (24 May 2015) | Francis-La Santa Sede. http://w2.vatican.va/content/

170

the earth charter, spirituality and sustainable development

francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclicalaudato-si.html
Lubbers, R., W. van Genugten, T. Lambooy, and Marie-Ève Rancourt. Inspiration for
Global Governance: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Earth
Charter, 2008. Alphen ann den Rijn, The Netherlands, Kluwer Press.
Rockefeller, S (2010) “Challenges and Opportunities Facing the Earth Charter Initiative”
Unpublished Keynote Address at “An Ethical Framework for a Sustainable World,”
1–3 November 2010, Ahmedabad, India.
Soetendorp Institute (2012) “Towards Rio+20 and Beyond—A Turning Point in Earth
History”
United Nations (2015) “Transforming our World, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development”
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld
The World Commission on Environment and Development, Our Common Future, 1987.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology Website http://fore.yale.edu/entry on the Earth
Charter
Author Biography
Rick Clugston, Ph.D. coordinates the Sustainability and Global Affairs program at theCenter for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary. He also is the Co-Director of the
Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future and directs the Sustainable
Development Programs of Forum 21. From 2009 to 2012, Rick directed the Earth Charter Project at the Center for Environmental and Sustainability Education at Florida Gulf
Coast University. From 1989 to 2009, Rick served as Executive Director of the Center
for Respect of Life and Environment in Washington, DC, where he assisted religious andacademic institutions in transforming their teaching and practices to support strong
sustainability and directed Earth Charter US. Rick was Publisher and Editor of Earth
Ethics: Evolving Values for an Earth Community and the Deputy Editor of The International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education (MCB University Publications).
Prior to coming to Washington, Rick worked at the University of Minnesota as a faculty
member in the College of Human Ecology, and later as a strategic planner in Academic
Affairs, Continuing Education and the Office of the President. He received his doctorate
in Higher Education Policy and Planning from the University of Minnesota and his
masters in Human Development from the University of Chicago.