Green4ADU Project Highlights Need for Accessible Sustainability Education for Adult Learners

11.11.2026

Globalisation Forum Sessions Build on Erasmus+ Project Findings About Green Skills, Wellbeing and Inclusion

How can sustainability education reach adults who are often overlooked by traditional learning opportunities?

This question was at the centre of two Green4ADU-focused sessions held during Wittenborg's Globalisation Forum 2026 and inaugural International Staff Week.

The discussions, held on 2 and 3 November in Apeldoorn, followed the presentation of final project results during the Green4ADU Online International Multiplier Event on 19 October, which marked the culmination of a two-year Erasmus+ collaboration coordinated by Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences and delivered alongside Interchange (Germany), CEIPES (Italy), BB&R (Spain) and OECON Group (Greece).

The project brought together partners across Europe to explore how adults with emerging skills can be supported in developing green competences, increasing environmental awareness and improving opportunities for participation in both society and the labour market.

Green competences at the Globalisation Forum

The first session took place at Apenheul on 2 November, where Cha-Hsuan Liu, Associate Professor of Applied Sciences at Wittenborg, joined Marcus Banai, Coordinator of The Hague's Energy Coaches network and neighbourhood energy facilitator, and Jan Lust, Lecturer at Wittenborg, for a panel discussion on empowering learners through green competences.

The panel examined how sustainability education can be connected to everyday life, from household energy use and employment opportunities to community wellbeing and environmental awareness.

The following day, Liu presented an overview of the Green4ADU project at Wittenborg's Spoorstraat study location, sharing lessons learned from the project's research, workshops and pilot activities across Europe.

The sessions also attracted interest from international partners attending the Globalisation Forum and International Staff Week, creating opportunities to discuss future cooperation and knowledge exchange beyond the project itself.

What the project discovered

One of the clearest findings was that many adult learners are interested in environmental issues but have limited opportunities to develop sustainability-related skills through structured learning programmes.

Project partners found strong interest in green topics among both educators and learners. However, they also identified a gap between understanding environmental challenges and knowing how to act on them in daily life.

This led the consortium to focus on practical learning experiences that could help participants apply sustainability concepts in meaningful ways.

Activities delivered across the project included workshops on biodiversity, citizen science, urban greening, recycling and environmental awareness, with partners adapting activities to local contexts in each participating country.

Accessibility is about more than technology

The project also challenged some assumptions about online learning.

While Green4ADU developed a multilingual e-learning platform, partners found that simply making resources available online did not automatically make them accessible.

“We thought that if we had online courses, they would be accessible to everyone because people can use a phone,” said Liu. “But in the end, it is not like TikTok. You need to know how to interact with an online learning system.”

The project found that some participants required additional support to work through digital learning materials.

“We also need to take into account that adults with emerging skills may have literacy or digital literacy levels that are different from what we expected,” Liu added.

These experiences highlighted the importance of providing guidance and support alongside digital resources, particularly when working with adult learners from diverse educational backgrounds.

Making sustainability matter

Another lesson from the project was that sustainability education becomes more effective when it addresses issues that people experience directly.

According to Liu, discussions during the project repeatedly showed that environmental topics can feel distant unless learners can connect them to their own lives.

“If you are only talking about how green issues are important, people do not always feel why it matters to them,” she said.

One example came from Banai's work with energy-saving initiatives in local communities.

“When somebody can save €10 or €20 on an energy bill, suddenly they see the benefit and start thinking about what else they can do,” Liu explained.

Partners also explored how sustainable practices can be incorporated into existing jobs and workplaces. Simple examples, from reducing energy use to introducing more environmentally friendly products and processes, helped learners understand how green competences could be applied immediately rather than at some point in the future.

Looking beyond the project

Green4ADU has resulted in a multilingual learning platform, a practical toolkit for educators and a set of recommendations aimed at supporting future sustainability education initiatives.

The resources will remain publicly available through the project's website and European dissemination platforms, allowing educators, researchers, policymakers and community organisations to build on the work after the project's completion.

The discussions held during the Globalisation Forum also pointed towards future opportunities. Representatives from institutions in other countries expressed interest in exploring new collaborative projects and sharing experiences from their own local contexts.

For Liu, one of the most valuable outcomes of the project is that its lessons can continue to inform future initiatives.