The usefulness of mathematical modelling for economic and environmental sustainability in the scope of university teacher education

Purpose The purpose of this study is to present a general review that provides an overview of the concept of sustainability and the effectiveness of mathematics curricula in courses where deeper work on economic and environmental sustainability has become central. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative methodology consisting of a review based on a pre-defined systematic method was used to exhaustively search and identify the most relevant answers to the research question: What is the role of mathematics to sustainability? To facilitate answering such a broad question, several concrete questions were formulated. Answers from published and unpublished documents were analysed. The quality of the extracted data was assessed, and the results were synthesized. Findings It was concluded that, on the one hand, the discipline of mathematics has much to contribute to solving the problems of sustainability; on the other hand, new mathematics is appearing stimulated by new challenges. Social implications This work presents social implications in an innovative way. It allows for an increase in educational sustainability by bringing the academic community closer to the business world and the challenges of society and, furthermore, by having a major impact on the motivation of teachers and students to develop cooperative work within university institutions. Originality/value The originality is based on an a priori analysis for the construction and implementation of didactic tools for university teacher training in the area of mathematics within the framework of sustainable development, both economically and environmentally.