How to live and work sustainable? Erasmus Project

Project Title

How to live and work sustainable?

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Environment and climate change; Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning

Project Summary

Living and working sustainably – everyone is convinced of the importance of this goal. But what does sustainability actually mean in everyday life, and how sustainably do I really live? Filling this concept with knowledge and, taking this as a starting point, questioning one’s own behavior and activities and drawing conclusions for one’s own private and professional actions is the aim of the school partnership between BBS Buxtehude and BC Syd in Sonderburg. The profiles of the two similarly structured business schools are intertwined: BBS as a European school can contribute its experience from intensive work on EU projects, while BC Syd as a UN school can, most importantly, contribute knowledge and practice in achieving UN target 13 “Climate Action”.

During the two-year project period, 25 pupils aged 16-19 per school per year together with accompanying teachers will develop a basic understanding of sustainability through different local and regional businesses and institutions, which they will explore together. These institutions cover fundamental aspects of raising awareness and understanding sustainability: from expert lectures in the Climate House in Bremerhaven, through practical workshops on an ecologically run apple farm, to a tour of the climate-neutral power supplier SYD Energie, students acquire practical knowledge about sustainability and thus bring business and climate aspects into a meaningful perspective. To achieve this, pupils develop checklists through face-to-face exchanges at the local level as well as through the eTwinning tool that is included in the classroom, to record their understanding of sustainability and to update and review it on a regular basis through accompanying analyses of how sustainability is presented in advertising. This is supplemented on an ongoing basis with integrated units on the economic aspects of sustainability, and on linguistic and intercultural preparation and follow-up.

The two groups of pupils in the first year will focus on the topic of “How do I work sustainably”, the results of which will be officially presented to the following group of pupils at each school in an event they have designed themselves. The following two groups will then use the knowledge and methods they have acquired to focus on the topic of “How do I live sustainably” and draw conclusions for their own actions and lives. In close bilateral cooperation, the knowledge gained will flow into the creation of a self-evaluation app, which will subsequently be presented to an MEP in Brussels during a visit to the EU Parliament as part of the EU Sustainable Energy Week, as well as in internal school events.

This student-centered way of working enables students to gain confidence in key qualifications such as research methods, presentation techniques and communication techniques, in addition to increasing their knowledge of sustainability, while at the same time training their intercultural skills on a personal and virtual level in international teamwork.

In order to systematically support the pupils in their work, teachers receive training on the educational work of the Climate House, the eTwinning tool and the basics for creating a sustainability app, which they pass on to both pupils and other teachers.

Especially in the German-Danish Friendship Year, the aim of getting to know the culture and life of the neighboring country beyond a holiday trip is supported, thus recognizing the cultural heritage of Europe as a means of holding together the common identity and common values.

By looking at sustainability from a German and Danish perspective in international teams, the students also broaden their language skills, which also contributes to their profile building and – together with the acquired knowledge and the increase in methodological skills – prepares them for the transition from formal education to the world of work, while at the same time showing them new, individual future perspectives in Europe. In addition to promoting the internationalization of the individual participants, it also supports that of both schools and helps them to sharpen their profiles.

By highlighting school profiles in this way, this bilateral project contributes to making the schools more attractive. In addition, the app created in the project can be disseminated and further developed, thus continuing the theme of sustainability in a different perspective at an individual or institutional level, and also implementing the concept of the UN World School in Buxtehude.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 64421 Eur

Project Coordinator

BBS Buxtehude & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Business College Syd