Universities as the engine of transformational sustainability toward delivering the sustainable development goals

Abstract

Purpose Universities can do more to deliver against the sustainable development goals (SDGs), working with faculty, staff and students, as well as their wider stakeholder community and alumni body. They play a critical role in helping shape new ways for the world, educating global citizens and delivering knowledge and innovation into society. Universities can be engines of societal transformation. Using a multiple case study approach, this study aims to explore different ways of strategizing sustainability toward delivering the SDGs are explored in a university setting with an example from the UK, Bulgaria (Europe) and USA. Design/methodology/approach The first case is a public UK university that adopted enterprise and sustainability as its academic mission to secure differentiation in a disrupted and increasingly marketized global higher education sector; this became a source of inspiration for change in regional businesses and the local community. The second case is a business sector-led sustainability-driven transformation working with a private university in Bulgaria to catalyze economic regeneration and social innovation. Finally, a case from the office for sustainability in a major US research university is given to show how its engagement program connected faculty and students in sustainability projects within the institution and with external partners. Findings Each case is in effect a “living lab,” positioning sustainability as an intentional and aspirational strategy with sustainable development and the SDG framework a means to that end. Leadership at all levels, and by students, was key to success in acting with a shared purpose. Partnerships within and with universities can help accelerate delivery of the SDGs, enabling higher education to make a fuller contribution to sustaining the economic, environmental, cultural and intellectual well-being of our global communities. Originality/value The role of universities as the engine of transformational sustainability toward delivering the SDGs has been explored by way of three case studies that highlight different means toward that end. The collegiate nature of the higher education sector, with its shared governance models and different constituencies and performance drivers, means that sustainability at a strategic level must be led with leaders at all levels acting with purpose. The “living lab” model can become a part of transformative institutional change that draws on both top-down and bottom-up strategies in pursuit of sustainable development.

Advancing research into accounting and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

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Bibliometric analysis of scientific publications on “sustainable development goals” with emphasis on “good health and well-being” goal (2015–2019)

“…Researchers and academic staff in universities are key players in promoting SDGs [ 10 , 11 ]. Contribution of scientists in different disciplines enlightens policy-makers and politicians on certain goals that need to be addressed in the future as well as on the extent of success or failure in achieving a certain goal.…”

Achieving an Equitable Transition to Open Access for Researchers in Lower and Middle-Income Countries [ICSR Perspectives]

“…This lack of inclusion and diversity in the research communication process should be a concern to us all, especially with so many stakeholders in the sector now aligning their own strategies and objectives with the goals and targets defined in the SDGs (Purcell, Henriksen, & Spengler, 2019); (Warden, 2017). Delivery on these objectives will likely require a recalibration of research to balance work on new discoveries with the application of existing and new knowledge for innovations to (among other things) eliminate extreme World map highlighting countries eligible for the Research4Life programme poverty, protect human rights, reduce child mortality, promote gender equality, improve crop productivity and halt the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria, COVID-19 and other diseases.…”