Between 25th-27th May 2011, the University of Gloucestershire was the venue for the 12th International Conference on HRD Research and Practice across Europe. It was hosted on behalf of the University Forum for Human Resource Development (UFHRD) and the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD).

As always, our overriding goal for this conference was to develop the discipline of HRD as a field of theory, research and practice and to report on our current research from around the globe. Issues surrounding sustainability in human resource development were central to these discussions. As scholars and practitioners in this field, it is essential that we support our people and organisations in addressing the issues of skills development, knowledge and mind sets in order to adapt and co-create a different world for sustainable futures.

As Van Velsor (2009) suggests, we should pay "balanced attention to economic, social and environmental factors, fully embracing the concepts of political, civil, social, economic, cultural and human rights". However, we should also appreciate that "...integrating sustainability thinking and practice into organisations is difficult and a task which requires vision, commitment and leadership" (Azapagic, 2003).