Strategies to promote sustainability in higher education institutions: A case study of a federal institute of higher education in Brazil
International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education
ISSN: 1467-6370
Article publication date: 6 November 2017
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze strategies that promote sustainability in higher education institutions (HEIs), focusing on the case study of a federal institute of higher education in Brazil.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was based on a scientific literature review on sustainability in HEIs, to identify the recurrent actions for sustainability in these institutions; and a case study of a federal institute of higher education in Brazil, to illustrate how these actions are being implemented by HEIs.
Findings
Concerns about sustainability, prompted by the Brazilian federal legislature, led federal HEI to change its internal processes, infrastructure and organizational culture toward sustainability.
Practical implications
The findings presented in this study, more specifically the sustainability plan of the Federal Institute for Education, Science and Technology of Santa Catarina, aligned with the recommendations proposed, can be used and replicated in other HEIs.
Originality/value
Scientific literature about organizational changes led by sustainability concerns, in HEIs specifically, still needs more attention in the academia. By addressing the case of a Brazilian public institution of higher education, this paper contributes to the literature on sustainability in higher education by reporting the process of implementation of a sustainability plan.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Izabela Pereira for her contribution in the revision of this paper. This study was conducted by the Research Centre on Energy Efficiency and Sustainability (Greens), from the University of Southern Santa Catarina (Unisul), in the context of the project Building Resilience in a Dynamic Global Economy: Complexity across scales in the Brazilian Food-Water-Energy Nexus (BRIDGE), funded by the Newton Fund, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Estado de Santa Catarina and the Research Councils United Kingdom (RCUK). This study was also conducted under the Master Program in Administration (PPGA) at the University of Southern Santa Catarina (Unisul) with the support from CAPES.
Citation
Berchin, I.I., Grando, V.d.S., Marcon, G.A., Corseuil, L. and Guerra, J.B.S.O.d.A. (2017), "Strategies to promote sustainability in higher education institutions: A case study of a federal institute of higher education in Brazil", International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 18 No. 7, pp. 1018-1038. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-06-2016-0102
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited