Sustainability Study Abroad Programs
What is Sustainability?
Sustainability isn’t a single course — it’s the lens for the whole program. Students engage directly with the businesses, policymakers, and communities working on the SDGs through field visits and project-based coursework, and our SCALE Scholars program (the Sustainability Champions Abroad Learning Experience) funds students committed to social and environmental impact.
Authentica is a sustainability-focused study abroad company built around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As a provider of faculty-led, semester, and summer programs in Florence, Barcelona, Seoul, and beyond, we design every experience around real-world sustainability challenges — from the circular economy and renewable energy to responsible tourism — and deliver them carbon-neutral, offsetting roughly 3.7 tonnes of CO₂ per participant. Since 2013, our organization has served 6,000+ participants across 35+ countries, pairing academic rigour with measurable social and environmental impact.
In 1987, the United Nations defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
Sustainability is a holistic approach that maintains a balance between economic, environmental, and social factors to ensure the well-being of current and future generations. Sustainability includes a wide range of issues, including climate change, biodiversity, resource use, social equity, and economic development.
Our natural resources are finite and are being depleted or polluted, and adopting sustainable practices has become more important than ever. We must find alternate ways to reduce our consumption of resources, minimize waste and pollution, and protect natural habitats and biodiversity. We must also ensure that economic development benefits everyone and not just a few. Sustainability is not an option but a necessity if we want to create a healthier and happier future for ourselves and the planet.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs)
In 2015, the United Nations adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a universal call to end poverty, protect the planet and improve lives, today and in the future. They are targeted to be achieved by 2030. The UN SDGs are based on a vision that global development should leave no one behind. They provide a comprehensive framework for sustainable development that addresses economic, social, and environmental challenges holistically.
The UN SDGs can only be achieved by 2030 if all sectors—governments, businesses, NGOs, educational institutions, and the public—come together, get involved, and build partnerships to create a better future for everyone.
What does this mean for study abroad?
We are aware that education abroad means moving bodies overseas through emission-generating air travel. But we also believe that the benefits of students’ exposure to, immersion in, and education about critical global issues can create a good that balances it. Our world needs the next generation of leaders and citizens to understand and be deeply engaged with realities and challenges that other people and countries face, and to be inspired by solutions that other people and countries create.
Once our students are abroad, we support the UN SDGs through our programming and sustainable travel practices in the following ways (for more, see our Responsible Travel Policy):
- Carbon offsets for air travel built into program fee
- No single-use plastic policy
- Train travel wherever possible
- Using environmentally and socially sustainable suppliers onsite
- Incorporating sustainability and the SDGs in our academic coursework and all co-curricular activities
By embedding these practices, we ensure that sustainability study abroad programs align with global efforts to foster environmental responsibility and awareness.
An Overview of 17 UN SDGs
Authentica Is Committed To Advancing The UN SDGs
Sustainability is in our DNA.
Since its inception, Authentica has been committed to advancing the UN SDGs. We design and deliver our experiential learning programs in alignment with the UN SDGs. With less than a decade left to meet the SDGs, Authentica is dedicated to working proactively with institutional partners, participants, and local communities to support the achievement of these goals.
Within the field of education abroad, Authentica:
- has co-authored The Forum on Education Abroad’s Guidelines for Advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals through Education Abroad.
- sponsored The Forum’s Award for Advancing the UN SDGs through Education Abroad for institutions that have made significant progress towards the SDGs through education abroad.
- is a member of CANIE, a volunteer grassroots initiative formed by international education practitioners from around the world who see the need for our sector to step up and act on climate. CANIE serves as a platform to bring the sector together to act as a catalyst for action.
Search Sustainable Study Abroad Programs by SDG
The students of today are the leaders, citizens, and changemakers of tomorrow. That’s why all of program offerings incorporate and seek to advance one or more SDGs. Explore our sustainability study abroad programs based on where you want to make an impact.
- SDGs
- Program Type
- Discipline
- Location
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Authentica is a sustainability-focused study abroad organization whose programs are built around the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Every program — faculty-led, semester, or summer — is designed around real sustainability challenges and delivered carbon-neutral, with roughly 3.7 tonnes of CO₂ offset per participant.
As a sustainable study abroad provider, Authentica embeds the SDGs into the core of each program rather than treating sustainability as an add-on. Students study topics like the circular economy, renewable energy, and responsible tourism through project-based coursework and field visits with the organizations working on them — all for transferable academic credit.
Yes. Authentica runs its programs carbon-neutral, offsetting approximately 3.7 tonnes of CO₂ per participant. Sustainability extends beyond the classroom to how the programs themselves are operated, from travel to on-the-ground logistics.
Sustainability is the lens for the entire experience. Each program pairs SDG-focused concentrations — from sustainable business to climate policy — with hands-on field visits, and the SCALE Scholars program funds students committed to impact. Authentica’s organization-wide focus on sustainability and the SDGs means students leave with both academic credit and applied sustainability experience.