Adhering to the basic principles of transformative learning in education for sustainable development, socioemotional competencies are fundamental for the promotion of sustainability; however, they are difficult to nurture. There is initial evidence that mindfulness practice may promote the enhancement of such competencies, but a comprehensive analysis of how mindfulness practices could be nurtured and a measurement of its effectiveness in developing this set of competencies are missing. This paper aims to fill this gap by synthesizing the findings of current research on the effectiveness of mindfulness programs for the promotion of socioemotional competencies. By performing a systematic review and a meta-analysis, this paper shows that mindfulness practices, although they have a weak effect, could be an effective method to positively influence three outcomes of socioemotional competencies: emotional regulation, empathy and social connectedness, and resilience with differential effects. Guidance is also offered to implement mindfulness practices to successfully enhance ESD.

Carbon labels are considered a fundamental tool for reducing emissions associated with grocery products. Although the prior literature has shown that both limited motivation and understanding of carbon labels explain the effectiveness of carbon labels, knowledge regarding how to improve the label design to increase noticeability is limited. Given the limited motivation of mainstream consumers to use carbon labels, this exploratory paper proposes that the label design should trigger bottom-up (or sensory-driven) attention mechanisms. Using grounded theory for the data collection and analysis of six focus groups, this study tests six features (i.e., location, size, color, icons, a colored background or border, and textual anchors) and identifies four design criteria (i.e., vividness, incongruity, simplicity, and clarity) that may increase label noticeability. The main conclusion of this qualitative study is that carbon labels are noticed when they are perceived as a cue of hazard. Based on this finding, we propose that carbon labels could be designed as warning labels; therefore, the insights already proven in the warning label literature should be applied to carbon label design to increase its noticeability and use.