Abstract:

The green and digital transition in hospitality is not only a sectoral challenge, but a pedagogical one. As environmental, social and governance (ESG) expectations become more central to hospitality practice, there is an increasing need for learning models that move beyond the boundaries of formal education and support continuous competence development across vocational education, higher education, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This paper reflects on the role of open online educational resources (OERs) in enabling that shift within the Erasmus+ funded EcoSmart project, where WP3 translates research on sectoral needs into modular learning resources, toolkits, tutor guides, and workplace-relevant case studies.

Conceptually, the paper draws on lifelong learning as a framework for understanding ESG development as an ongoing process rather than a one-off training event, and on boundary crossing theory to examine how knowledge can move between classrooms, professional education, and SME settings. A practice-based learning perspective is also used to interpret EcoSmart’s emphasis on tangible, applied learning, including modular clusters in sustainability, digitalisation, and leadership, as well as tools designed for classroom, blended, online, and workplace-based use.

The paper argues that OERs are valuable not simply because they are open, but because they can act as boundary objects: flexible enough to travel across contexts, yet structured enough to support shared competence development. In this way, open educational resources can help democratise access to ESG learning, strengthen employability, and support SME innovation through more connected and practice-oriented forms of education.

Keywords:

Open Educational Resources (OERs), ESG literacy, Hospitality education, Lifelong learning, VET.