
What is ESD?
ESD, or Education for Sustainable Development, can be thought of as education that fosters the builders of a sustainable society. Today, the world faces a variety of problems caused by human development activities: climate change, biodiversity loss, resource depletion, ever-increasing wealth inequality, and the expansion of poverty. ESD comprises learning and educational activities that aim to develop ① alternative, humanistic values, and ② transformative actions that lead to problem-solving and the realisation of a sustainable society.
The acceptance of these global problems as our own, and tackling these problems in our immediate environment (think globally, act locally), can help to ensure that human beings are able to secure a nuturing, abundant, and just world for current and future generations.
ESD & the SDGs
ESD is a concept which was first proposed by Japan at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development. UNESCO, the lead UN agency for ESD, has since taken the lead in global ESD efforts based on various international treatises and global frameworks adopted at United Nations conferences & assemblies.
The Sustainable Development Goals were adopted as goals for the entire international community at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in 2015, which eventually also led to the Paris Climate Accords. These 17 goals and 169 targets were adopted under the slogan of “Leave No One Behind” and with a deadline of 2030 to achieve a world that ensures, among other things, sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development, for all of humanity.
ESD is not only positioned as one of the 17 targets outlined by the SDGs, but has also been designated as a key enabler of all other goals. ESD, which develops the builders of a sustainable society, is expected to contribute to the realization of quality education (SDG #4) , which is essential to achieve the SDGs.
Yakushima Town ESD Global Advisors
In 2021, the value of her 20+ years of experience working in development and public health throughout various countries in Africa & Southeast Asia was recognised by the Yakushima Town government, and KaleidoForest Inc. Representative and CEO Makiko Sugishita was designated as a “Global Advisor for ESD”.
The following year, KaleidoForest Inc. Sustainability Specialist & Creative Director Andrew Zoll—who is a Nara University-certified ESD Teacher and holds an MSc. in Human Ecology from Lund University in addition to decades of environmental volunteer experience—was named to the same position.
As ESD Global Advisors, Makiko & Andrew work with the primary, junior high, and high schools on Yakushima to hone each school’s ESD curriculums—in addition to holding classes, tranings, and workshops for students, school teachers and employees, and parents/guardians/community members alike.



In order to foster the values and knowledge necessary for the next generation of sustainable world-builders, ESD classes and projects are not only limited to the SDGs, but also encompasses various topics such as human rights and career advice. KaleidoForest’s ESD work is especially tailored to each school’s specific needs and requests.
Further, this ESD work is not limited only to Yakushima. Using ICT (Information and Communication Technology) Makiko and Andrew also facilitate collaborative online education between schools across Japan. From Yakushima to Nara, and from Kagoshima to Tanegashima, since 2021 Makiko and Andrew have between them facilitated classes and workshops for over 600 teachers and over 5,000 students.
Their workshops and projects cover a range of topics, including climate change, the history of the SDGs, indigenous environmental management & traditional ecological knowledge, globalism & glocalism, water rights, human rights, gender equality & diversity, sustainable futuring, art & ecology, and more.


KaleidoForest also engages in educational advisory work for international development organisations and NPOs. KaleidoForest continually seeks to incorporate the principles of Regenerative Leadership ( the successive stage to the SDGs ) in the workshops and sustainability consultation that it provides to non-academic institutions and businesses. We are happy to accomodate requests for lectures, workshops, and sustainability exercises. Please do feel free to inquire below.