Cultures of sustainability governance in higher education institutions: A multi‐case study of dimensions and implications

Niedlich, Sebastian; Kummer, Benjamin; Bauer, Mara; Rieckmann, Marco; Bormann, Inka

doi:10.1111/hequ.12237

Cited by 52 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 33 publications

(80 reference statements)

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“…Such questioning should be done within the institutions by reflecting on the values that are deterring academics from redesigning their disciplines and appreciating the epistemology and multicultural vision of sustainability [7]. In this regard, being aware of the institution's cultural predispositions and willingness to transform is critical for enhancing HEIs sustainability governance [30]. These studies already point to the crucial action of the human factor and the underlying worldviews and value systems within HEIs as barriers to change in some cases, or drivers of change in others [7,30].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this regard, being aware of the institution's cultural predispositions and willingness to transform is critical for enhancing HEIs sustainability governance [30]. These studies already point to the crucial action of the human factor and the underlying worldviews and value systems within HEIs as barriers to change in some cases, or drivers of change in others [7,30]. Further research is needed to better understand the relation between HEIs institutional cultures and sustainability transformations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What Sustainability? Higher Education Institutions’ Pathways to Reach the Agenda 2030 Goals

2020

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Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have the mandate of promoting sustainability through addressing the Agenda 2030. However, how this is being understood and framed in both discourse and practice by HEIs remains an underexplored issue. This article interrogates the concept of sustainability embraced by ten key HEIs networks at global and regional levels while identifying and discussing the main pathways for action displayed. We rely on HEIs networks' data from available online documents related to the Agenda 2030. "Greening" is the dominant sustainability discourse among the global and many regional HEIs networks, that is, the one that refers to the links between people, planet and profit. Two other discourses are minor and regional, "resilience" and "alternative". The "alternative" discourse is the only one entailing a critical approach to the Agenda 2030 goals. All networks promote changes in HEIs organizational culture to embed sustainability values in strategic planning, academic and managerial work. Yet there is a need for further engagement with society to readdress HEIs societal role. Deep and critical reflection of the worldviews, contradictions and tensions in the discourses and practices proposed by HEIs networks at global and regional scales is also needed to build common pathways toward sustainability.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Sustainability? Higher Education Institutions’ Pathways to Reach the Agenda 2030 Goals

2020

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“…In view of the results of the study, it may also be useful to include aspects of organizational culture in the consideration. As Niedlich et al [32] have shown in their study, organizational culture plays a crucial role in HEI's governance for the implementation of sustainability aspects. Cultural orientations at management level can thus act as a stimulus or barrier to the success or failure of implementation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

The Role of Environmental Management Performance in Higher Education Institutions

2020

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Higher education institutions (HEIs) are influential social institutions which educate future decision-makers and shape society as a whole. Motivated by new public management, the proliferation of business tools, and a rising awareness for responsible acting, environmental management has also become a matter for HEIs. Focusing on performance outcomes and improvement based mechanisms leads to a professionalization through the active management of environmental issues. Therefore, the support of management structures is an essential prerequisite when implementing environmental efforts. Thus far, little attention has been dedicated to environmental management performance and steering processes of environmental issues in HEIs, which marks the research gap of this study. This article presents results of a survey on the concept of environmental management performance (EMP) based on Trumpp et al. (2015) aiming to answer the research question of how HEIs conduct environmental management along the dimensions of EMP, which includes environmental policy, environmental objectives, environmental processes, organizational structures, and monitoring. The results show that, as of now, HEIs pursue no common practice when approaching EMP. Nevertheless, two thirds of the respondents show an orientation towards sustainability with particularly high values regarding issues of environmental policy.

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“…According to Niedlich et al [72] (p. 3), a HEI needs to change its institutional culture if SD shall be put in practice because SD affects the whole HEI as an organization. They identified four categories of organizational culture as key areas for SD governance at a HEI.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They identified four categories of organizational culture as key areas for SD governance at a HEI. We emphasize the fourth, highlighting the importance of a "holistic governance covering all core areas of higher education institutions-teaching, research, operations and outreach" [72] (p. 4). With our findings, we are able to support this argument since it is crucially important for a HEI that the goal to realize SD at the whole university level is commonly pursued bottom-up and top-down.…”

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confidence: 99%

The Whole-Institution Approach at the University of Tübingen: Sustainable Development Set in Practice

2020

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In the following paper, we scrutinize understandings and values behind Sustainable Development (SD) in a case study of the University of Tübingen, Germany. In so doing, we adopt the perspective of the whole-institution approach of SD. We do not only analyze documents, but combine our investigations with empirical research on key actors’ understandings and values of SD, as well as the competencies and the knowledge to set SD in practice. First, we demonstrate that actors’ understandings and the values behind them at the University of Tübingen are in accord with the United Nations’ understanding of SD (‘Brundtland Report’). Second, we show that at the University of Tübingen, many actors already work in line with the whole-institution approach; this shall be further fostered and strengthened by the Competence Centre for SD. Finally, we demonstrate that both knowledge and competencies are fundamental to act for SD. It is suggested that the University of Tübingen should explicitly adopt the general understanding of SD in the above-mentioned sense, and develop a sustainability strategy, not least in order to support the actors to acquire specific knowledge to reach SD for the whole university. Finally, we discuss the potential and limits of transferring the findings to other Higher Education Institutions (HEI) and the challenges of necessary global perspectives.

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Cultures of sustainability governance in higher education institutions: A multi‐case study of dimensions and implications

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cited by 52 publications

References 33 publications

What Sustainability? Higher Education Institutions’ Pathways to Reach the Agenda 2030 Goals

What Sustainability? Higher Education Institutions’ Pathways to Reach the Agenda 2030 Goals

The Role of Environmental Management Performance in Higher Education Institutions

The Whole-Institution Approach at the University of Tübingen: Sustainable Development Set in Practice

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