Table Of ContentThe Sustainability
Mindset Principles
As we increase our awareness of the planetary challenges
and how they intersect with the discipline or profession we
choose to focus on, we have put our attention on the exter-
nal forces and impacts. What remains untouched however
is the set of beliefs, values, assumptions, mental processes,
and paradigms that we hold and share: our mindset. But
how do we change a mindset?
This book is the first to introduce the 12 Principles for a
Sustainability Mindset, presenting educators with a frame-
work that makes it easy to include them into teaching plans
and lessons of any discipline. Written in a very clear and
practical way, the book provides examples, checklists, tips,
and tools for professionals and educators. It transforms the
development of a much-needed mindset for sustainability
into an accessible, fun and intuitive task.
The book is written with educators from a variety of
disciplines in mind, including but not limited to man-
agement educators, coaches, and trainers. No other book
comes close to providing such a well-organized and solid
way of starting to shift our mindsets in the direction of
sustainability.
Isabel Rimanoczy, author of Big Bang Being: Developing
the Sustainability Mindset and Stop Teaching, has thirty years’
experience as a researcher, author, and educator. She is the
Convener of the PRME Working Group on the Sustainabil-
ity Mindset, an international cohort of academics from 135
universities on five continents promoting innovation and a
sustainability mindset. Global Ambassador of AIM2Flourish
and Fellow of the Schumacher Institute.
Principles for Responsible Management series
Since the inception of the UN-supported Principles for
Responsible Management Education (PRME) in 2007, there
has been increased debate over how to adapt management
education to best meet the demands of the 21st- century
business environment. While consensus has been reached
by the majority of globally focused management education
institutions that sustainability must be incorporated into
management education curricula, the relevant question is no
longer why management education should change, but how.
Volumes within the Routledge/PRME book series
aim to cultivate and inspire actively engaged participants
by offering practical examples and case studies to support
the implementation of the Six Principles of Responsible
Management Education. Books in the series aim to enable
participants to transition from a global learning commu-
nity to an action community.
Editors
Milenko Gudic´
Carole Parkes
Patricia M. Flynn
Kemi Ogunyemi
Amy Verbos
Books in the series:
Struggles and Successes in the Pursuit of Sustainable
Development
Edited by Tay Keong Tan, Milenko Gúdic, and Patricia M. Flynn
“If we reach a sustainable future, it will be because
visionary teachers call a new generation of citizens and
leaders to the journey. Educators will find in this book
a sophisticated conceptual framework and pedagogic
toolkit for awakening students to the urgent challenge
of sustainability and sparking their engagement as
agents of transition.”
—Paul D. Raskin, President, Tellus Institute,
author of Journey to Earthland: The Great
Transition to Planetary Civilization
“Isabel Rimanoczy’s The Sustainability Mindset Principles,
is a well research and practical approach to develop-
ing sustainability mindsets. Her book captures the
complexity of mindsets that help us make sense of our
world. Sustainability will not happen without sus-
tainable mindsets. Believers and non-believers alike
should read this book.”
—Paul Shrivastava, Ph.D., Chief Sustainability
Officer, Director, Sustainability Institute,
Professor of Management, The Pennsylvania
State University
“This is an essential reading for anyone teaching sus-
tainability. Isabel shares simple and powerful tools that
you can immediately use to make the learning experi-
ence with your students truly transformative. Your stu-
dents will love these activities. The impact they make
is a shifted mindset that prepares students to serve as
responsible business leaders for a better world!"”
—Dr. Ekaterina Ivanova, National Research
University “Higher School of Economics”
Moscow
“In the current world situation, especially after the
pandemic caused by COVID-19, this book is not only
timely but necessary. In order to make this world a
better place to live and work in, and not to limit our-
selves merely to not impoverishing it, we need a new
mindset that can be applied to all disciplines and jobs.
Dr. Rimanoczy offers us 12 Sustainability Principles,
which are sufficiently broad and practical to generate
this mindset and to share it with others. Thanks to
her extensive experience teaching students and practi-
tioners, she brings together theory and practice in an
extraordinary fashion, providing us with a guide to
effectively create a positive impact on society.”
—Ignacio Ferrero, Dean, School of Economics
& Business, Universidad de Navarra
“Dr. Rimanoczy’s latest book is a very useful vehi-
cle for shifting students’ mindsets and engaging them
in actions needed to heal this broken world. I think
it fits well with tool-oriented courses and programs
aimed at taking appropriate and useful actions…and
it recognizes that if we start with the proper mind-
set, everything else is natural, much easier, and much
more impactful. Her book offers a useful framework
for looking at who we need to become and guides
us on how to get there. Dr. Rimanoczy, who may
well be the leading expert on the planet on how to
develop a sustainability mindset, builds effectively on
more than a decade of dedicated work on discovering
and describing the kind of mindset we need to move
forward into the 21st Century.”
—James A.F. Stoner, Chairholder: James A.F.
Stoner Chair in Global Sustainability, Gabelli
School of Business, Fordham University.
Co-author with Frank Werner of Financial
Managing for a Sustainable World
“Rarely do educators shine equal light on the role
of the ‘internal’ aspect of leading sustainability and
other critical complex adaptive challenges. All change
begins with self, and leaders - with or without for-
mal a uthority - must first understand the impact and
influence they have on people and the systems within
which they work and live. This requires a good deal
of r eflection as well. Sustainability Mindset Principles
is comprehensive in both the practical external aspects
of this work as well, in very pragmatic language and
examples. The author has created numerous oppor-
tunities for everyone to see themselves as part of the
solution. And finally, the power of the questions we
pose to ourselves and others are fundamental to begin-
ning the process of personal transformation, and
ultimately systems transformation. This is a gift to edu-
cators, and the planet.”
—Darcy Winslow, President/Co-Founder
Academy for Systems Change
“Many of us started a journey trying to passion-
ately make ‘a difference in the world,’ only to be left
wondering after a while whether that is achievable.
When we turn inwards and try to address: What
purpose do I strive for and what makes me happy,
we begin to find answers which go beyond oneself
and are fundamentally linked to the well-being of the
people who are important to us. In my view, trying
to find the compass and to go on this path is the single
most important step one can take, and it might even
bring about big changes to the world. This book helps
to shed a light how to go about it, and is an important
expression of the author’s passion and work.”
—Jonas Haertle, Special Assistant to the
Executive Director, United Nations Institute
for Training and Research, (UNITAR)
“It is an absolute pleasure to read the new book by
Isabel Rimanoczy that discusses leadership, education,
and changing mindsets within the context of the
natural and human environment that develop recur-
sively. In a straight forward language with clear and
up to date examples, Isabel provides the reader with a
set of valuable tools to help educators develop leaders
with mindsets for the sustainable future. My advice
for educators, sustainability experts and practitioners
is: Read it, re-read it, live it.”
—Prof. Danica Purg, President of
IEDC-Bled School of Management, President
of CEEMAN, Acting Chair of the PRME
Steering Committee
“I celebrate this new book by Isabel Rimanoczy,
which underlines the Greek philosophy stating that
important events take place in their kayros: the right
timing. The Sustainability Mindset Principles couldn’t be
more timely: when it’s urgent to change a mindset to
set the foundation for a new era. Education is the cen-
tral pillar of this transformation, and in this context,
the contribution of Isabel Rimanoczy is not only val-
uable, but much needed.”
—Silvia Zimmermann del Castillo,
Author, President of the Argentine
Chapter of the Club of Rome
“Deeply insightful and grounded in the histories of
meaning making across cultures, this guide for e ducators
brings issues of sustainability to personal r elevance for
all students. In an engaging series of reflections, it leads
them to craft their own path to ensure the well-being
of the planet and all its living systems.”
—Mary Watson, Ph.D., Executive Dean,
The New School
“Practical and thoughtful, Rimanoczy’s book invites
educators to deeply reflect how to develop the sustain-
able mindset needed—along with the knowledge and
skills—to tackle the most pressing global issues and
achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
through a shift in ‘knowing’ (ecoliteracy), ‘thinking’
(systemic and innovative thinking) and ‘being’ (values,
purpose). This is, indeed, highly needed.”
—M. Florencia Librizzi, Head of Program and
Partnerships, SDG Academy, UN Sustainable
Development Solutions Network (SDSN)
“Rimanoczy writes about educating for and changing
mindsets on global sustainability with the drive of an
entrepreneur and the zeal of a missionary.”
—Tay Keong Tan, PhD, Director of
International Studies and Leadership Studies,
Radford University
The Sustainability
Mindset Principles
A Guide to Developing a Mindset
for a Better World
Isabel Rimanoczy
