Sustainability
In the context of education and STEM projects, sustainability is related to the search for solutions that consider the balance between environment, society and economic development. In the classroom, this concept appears when students investigate real problems and propose ideas that not only solve an immediate challenge but also take into account their impacts on the future and the territory where they live.
Working on sustainability in projects means encouraging students to reflect on the responsible use of resources, the generation of waste, energy consumption and the social and environmental consequences of the solutions they develop. This approach helps broaden the perspective on problems and encourages the creation of more conscious proposals that value environmental preservation, collective well-being and innovation.
As at other stages of project development, sustainability need not appear as an abstract or distant concept. It can be explored through guiding questions, such as: how does this solution impact the environment? Is it possible to reuse materials? Does the project help solve a community problem?
By incorporating sustainability into STEM projects, the school contributes to forming more critical students, capable of thinking about solutions that consider not only technical efficiency but also the social, environmental and economic impacts of their choices.
What is, in short, to be sustainable?
The word sustainability, often associated only with the environment, actually rests on three fundamental pillars: environmental, social and economic. Being sustainable is to act and make decisions responsibly, seeking the balance between the preservation of nature (environmental pillar), welfare and social justice (social pillar) and the conscious and efficient use of financial and productive resources (economic pillar). In other words, it is about meeting the needs of the present without compromising future generations’ ability to meet their own.
In practice, the environmental pillar appears in attitudes such as reducing waste, saving water and energy and decreasing impacts on the environment. The social pillar, in turn, is reflected in actions that promote quality of life, inclusion, respect for communities and decent conditions for all people involved. The economic pillar is related to the responsible use of resources, conscious consumption and the search for viable and durable solutions from a financial point of view.
In educational or scientific projects, sustainability is achieved when proposals consider these three pillars in an integrated way: they minimize environmental impacts, value local knowledge and resources, involve the community, and are designed to maintain over time, with economic viability and real social benefits.