Sustainability work : an urgent need for a new profession

Recognising that educational efforts to create a more ecologically aware society, and that the mission of social work to facilitate positive social change have so far largely failed to achieve this, we are arguing here for the need to create a profession of “sustainability worker,” professionals who are able to help individuals and groups to develop personal sustainable living and healing pathways. We explore two key shortcomings in the current dominant thinking about ecological change: that technological progress will suffice to create a sustainable world and that generic environmental and sustainability education are able to create a deep ecological consciousness. The experiences of many ecotherapists and ecologically aware counsellors suggest that transformation towards ecological consciousness needs to be developed as part of a whole-person healing journey in which each individual is enabled to enhance their physical and mental health, while developing their ability to live with a reduced ecological footprint. We describe the professional skills required to enable this integrated process, and the educational initiatives needed to make this possible. In considering the most practical pathway for the development of this new profession, we compare sustainability work with social work by highlighting some of their significant differences. Applying a social ecology approach, we review the current critiques of social work theories and practices and argue that the needed social change cannot be achieved by just addressing the needs and disempowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed and living in poverty. Most ecological destruction and ethical decline are caused by people engaging in “retail therapy”: the practice of seeking to manage past traumas and present stresses through the compensatory, unreflective and addictive consumption of non-essential goods and services. The roots of this adaptive behaviour must be recognised and worked with to enable the needed transformation. We conclude that both social work and sustainability work should be regarded as complementary approaches needed to finally effect deep ecological change. We propose that sustainability work programmes initially be offered by ecologically progressive universities as a major in social work studies. The architecture for a related training programme has recently been developed by the first author for an Indian University and can be viewed by interested readers online.