Green Education and Training for Sustainability: A Scopus AI–Driven Systematic Review of Global Trends and Future Directions

Abstract

The escalating global environmental crisis has intensified the urgency to reorient education systems toward sustainability, prompting a surge of scholarly interest in green education and training. Despite widespread advocacy for sustainability integration, the field remains fragmented, with variations in implementation, scope, and theoretical grounding across regions and disciplines. To address this gap, the present study aims to analyze the evolution, conceptual linkages, and emerging trends in green education and training for sustainability through a data-driven lens. The search strategy combined keywords related to green education, sustainability training, and competency development, yielding a robust dataset spanning multiple disciplines. Findings reveal that sustainability integration within higher education curricula remains a consistent theme, emphasizing curriculum reform and experiential learning. Rising themes include sustainability education in engineering, environmental behavior change, and lifelong learning, reflecting a growing shift toward applied, interdisciplinary, and behavioral approaches. A novel theme emerged around green training and organizational learning, underscoring the expanding relevance of sustainability beyond academia into professional and corporate contexts. The study highlights the theoretical significance of linking transformative learning, systems thinking, and organizational learning frameworks to sustainability education. Practically, it calls for stronger policy alignment, cross-sector collaboration, and the adoption of digital innovations to enhance sustainability competencies. Despite limitations related to database scope and algorithmic interpretation, the study provides a comprehensive, AI-informed synthesis that advances both scholarly understanding and institutional practice in green education for sustainable development.