So what is sustainability?
Sustainability is the practice of using resources in a way that meets current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. It involves balancing environmental protection, economic health, and social equity—ensuring that our actions today do not deplete natural resources or cause long-term harm.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.
Some Irish sites we recommend: ENFO is the national site for environmental information, sustainable living and more: https://www.askaboutireland.ie/enfo/
This page on the RTÉ website shows which power sources are used in Ireland on a day-to-day basis (by percentage), also how they’ve progressed between 1990 and 2023, among other climate-related stories:
https://www.rte.ie/eile/climate-change/
Fast Fashion vs Slow Fashion
In March 2026, the college hosted some guest speakers in a panel discussion on fashion and the circular economy. You can read a blog post about it here:
https://www.rathminescollege.ie/sustainability-week-panel-discussion/
And, staying with fashion, here’s a great 6-minute TED talk on the life cycle of a tee-shirt:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiSYoeqb_VY
Earth Day and World Environment Day
Did you know that the calendar is punctuated with days that celebrate our planet. Here are the two most important ones.
Earth Day takes place on the 22nd April every year, and there’s a dedicated website for it, which has lots of interesting ideas and information on it:
“EARTHDAY.ORG’s mission is to broaden, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide. Growing out of the first Earth Day in 1970, EARTHDAY.ORG is the world’s largest recruiter to the environmental movement, working with more than 150,000 partners in over 192 countries to drive positive action for our planet.”
World Environment Day takes place on the 5th June every year. It’s led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and has become one of the world’s largest platforms for environmental outreach—mobilizing millions of people, thousands of organizations, and governments across more than 150 countries each year.
Established by the UN General Assembly in 1972 and first celebrated on 5 June 1973, World Environment Day continues to raise awareness, inspire change, and drive global action for a healthier, more sustainable planet.
https://www.worldenvironmentday.global/
Young Champions of the Earth
Did you know that young people are at the forefront of campaigning for a sustainable future. The Young Champions of the Earth award – the UN’s most prestigious award programme recognizing environmental action by young people – seeks to honour and support young entrepreneurs whose efforts are building a greener, more just future for us all. Led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the award recognizes innovators between the ages of 18 and 30 whose work tackles the triple planetary crisis of climate change; land, nature and biodiversity loss; and pollution and waste.
https://www.unep.org/youngchampions/
A Life on our planet
And, at the other end of the age spectrum, this trailer for a 2020 Netflix series, ‘A Life on Our Planet’ (presented by David Attenborough, the legendary English broadcaster, natural historian and writer, born in 1926!), was recommended to us by one of our students in the Environmental Studies module:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64R2MYUt394
The Smarter Travel Programme
And, closer to home, our college signed up to this programme, run by the National Transport Authority (NTA), in the autumn of 2025.
“TFI Smarter Travel is a national voluntary behaviour change programme, supporting employers and third level institutions to implement voluntary Travel Plans. These plans focus on promoting and encouraging staff and students to sustainably and actively commute and beyond.”
https://www.nationaltransport.ie/tfi-smarter-travel/
As of April 2026, we’ve taken part in Walktober and have conducted a survey on the commuting habits of students and teachers at the college, which will help us with our policies going forward.
Coming Soon:
A new glossary of terms relating to sustainability and an easy-to-use carbon footprint calculator