The Earth Charter has demonstrated itself to be a very useful framework and reference for doing research on topics related to sustainability. This includes two theses recently submitted by graduate students, who incorporated the Earth Charter into their research on education for sustainable development and socially responsible businesses.
1. “Assessment of education for sustainable development in Universities in Costa Rica: implications for Latin America and the Caribbean”, Jairo Garcia.
This thesis was submitted in January 2010 as a partial requirement for the degree of Doctor of Education in Educational Technology, from Pepperdine University (California, United States). The study performed an assessment of the extent to which universities in Costa Rica are including education for sustainable development in their programs and curriculum, research and scholarship, faculty and staff development and rewards, outreach and service at the local, regional, national, and international level, student opportunities, and institutional mission and planning.
2. “Using The Earth Charter in Social Responsibility Actions of Agribusiness in Rural Areas”, Fernanda de Paulo Nonato.
This thesis was submitted in 2010 as a partial requirement for the degree of Master in Rural Economy, from the Federal University of Ceará (Brazil). The aim of the study was to show that the principles of Earth Charter can be embedded in socially responsible practices adopted by agribusiness companies located in the rural areas of Ceará. The researcher found that the Earth Charter brings a broader concept of social responsibility to businesses by providing them with universal elements which are structured to help them recognize their role in humanity. This study evaluated the performance of a socially responsible agribusiness company unit from Group 3 Hearts in Euzébio, Ceará, using the EC-methodology. As a result of this research, the company has demonstrated an interest in implementing some of the recommendations made by this study. This demonstrates the possibility of using the Earth Charter in the agroindustrial sector, and generating gains for all.