Sustainable development policies as indicators and pre-conditions for sustainability efforts at universities

Abstract

Purpose -There is a widely held belief that Sustainable Development (SD) policies are essential for universities to successfully engage in matters related to sustainability, and are an indicator of the extent to which they are active in this field. This paper examines the evidence which currently exists to support this assumption. It surveys a sample of universities in Brazil, Germany, Greece, Portugal, South Africa, United Kingdom (UK) and United States of America (USA) to ascertain the extent to which universities that are active in the field of sustainable development have formal policies on sustainable development, and whether such policies are a pre-condition for successful sustainability efforts. Design/methodology/approach -The study involved 35 universities in these seven countries (five universities respectively). A mixed-methods approach has been used, ranging from document analysis, website analysis, questionnaires and interviewing. Findings -Although only 60% of the sampled universities had a policy that specifically addressed SD, this cannot be regarded as an indicator that the remaining 40% are not engaged with substantial actions that address SD. Indeed, all of the universities in the sample, regardless of the existence of a SD formal policy, demonstrated engagement with environmental sustainability policies or procedures in some form or another. This research has been limited by the availability and ability to procure information from the sampled universities. Despite this, it is one of the largest research efforts of this kind ever performed. Originality/value -Our findings provide some valuable insights about the connections between SD policies on the one hand, and the practice of SD in higher education institutions on the other.

A Matter of Responsible Management from Higher Education Institutions

“…Creating legitimacy by fulfilling a social mission and responsible acting more or less describes a management task, with assessment being a vital component that enables its success. Anticipating this, an increasing number of coordinating bodies have emerged in HEIs [11]. Although the assessment of research and teaching performance is a field that has received significant attention, the area of managing social responsibility in the course of fulfilling social legitimacy has not [17].…”

“…Notwithstanding, even without assessment tools of social performance, it is possible to be sustainable and act responsibly as an institution of higher education [11].…”

“…Previous studies approach the implementation of responsibility [4,7] or the integration of stakeholder interests in the context of sustainability considerations [8,9]. Other authors address responsibility by examining frameworks and indicators [10][11][12][13].…”

Indicators of Sustainability in Educational Practice: Perception of Teachers and Students of UAGro-Mexico

“…In the words of Leal Filho et al [43], it is necessary to strengthen sustainability in universities through the implementation of SD assessments and policies, as these promote solutions and initiatives to be efficient and reduce the footprint of their activities. The university, as a human resources trainer, has the responsibility to deliver graduates with knowledge, critical thinking and skills to solve complex problems, to make reasonable use of resources, and to commit to its environment [41].…”

Leveraging Sustainability of HEIs in Malaysia through Lean and Green Strategies: a Literature Review and Research Agenda

“…Furthermore, facts and figures indicated that SD in HEIs is still far from being holistically integrated by policy makers. Some studies [9][10][11] called for more investigations in order to provide a clearer picture on the ideas and integrate them into the education system. Lean and green are two strategies that potentially leverage organizational sustainability.…”