Dr Stephen Sterling is Emeritus Professor of Sustainability Education at the Centre for Sustainable Futures/Sustainable Earth Institute, University of Plymouth, UK. At Plymouth, he was Head of Sustainability Education for many years. Stephen has worked in environmental and sustainability education in the academic and NGO fields nationally and internationally for over four decades, including as a consultant and advisor on UNESCO’S Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) programmes. He has an international reputation as a thought leader in sustainability education and is extensively published in this area. His research interest is in ecological thinking, systemic change, and transformative learning at individual and institutional scales to help meet the challenge of accelerating the educational and learning response to the sustainability agenda and multiple global crises.

 He has been widely recognized for many years as one of the leading voices in sustainability education, and is in demand as an international keynote speaker. His first book (co-edited with John Huckle) was Education for Sustainability (Earthscan, 1996), and this was followed by the influential Schumacher Briefing Sustainable Education – Re-visioning learning and change (Green Books 2001), which remains a best seller. He also co-founded the first masters course in the UK on sustainability education (at London South Bank University), and led the WWF project on systems thinking Linking Thinking – new perspectives on thinking and learning for sustainability. His book 'The Sustainable University' (2013) is based partly on experience at Plymouth. 

His research interests lie in the interrelationships between ecological thinking, systemic change, and learning at individual and institutional scales to help meet the challenge of accelerating the educational response to the sustainability agenda. 

Winner of the VC Enterprise Awards for 'Outstanding Contribution' to the university, with regard to the sustainability agenda.

Distinguished Fellow of the Schumacher Institute
National Teaching Fellow, Higher Education Academy/Advance HE

Stepped down from former roles upon retirement