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Higher education institutions: a strategy towards sustainability

Fabricio Casarejos (Interdisciplinary Center for the Environment (NIMA), Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Center for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c), Lisbon University, Lisboa, Portugal)
Mauricio Nogueira Frota (Postgraduate Program in Metrology for Quality, Innovation and Sustainability, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Laura Morten Gustavson (Postgraduate Program in Metrology for Quality, Innovation and Sustainability, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education

ISSN: 1467-6370

Article publication date: 6 November 2017

1708

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to guide higher education institutions (HEIs) in accomplishing sustainability goals while strengthening their associated systems and processes. Pursuing this goal, this study proposes a conceptual framework for modeling the HEI organizational environment; a set of strategic sustainability actions to drive movements toward sustainability; and an assessment scheme incorporating four indices to measure the degree of commitment, parity, difficulty and institutional performance throughout the implementation process of the actions proposed.

Design/methodology/approach

Development of the work included a literature review focused on internationally established concepts, recommendations and guidelines aimed at driving HEIs to fully acknowledge the principles of sustainable development, a study of the state-of-the-art evaluation frameworks for sustainability and an analysis of scientific studies on sustainability in HEIs and society.

Findings

The overall approach proposed proved to be robust, as it synthesizes global concepts, recommendations and guidelines endorsed by key international organizations and researchers thoroughly discussed in worldwide publications related to sustainability. Moreover, the conceptual framework for modeling the HEI organizational environment, the strategic sustainability actions formulated and the assessment scheme are confirmed to be a practical and realistic strategy for assisting HEIs to effectively achieve their sustainability targets and goals.

Practical implications

Facilitation of institutional performance assessment using the hands-on tool proposed to drive HEIs toward sustainability.

Originality/value

Few studies have proposed multidimensional approaches and indices to assess the institutional performance of HEIs in implementing sustainability actions.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the State Council for S&T of the State of Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), for the financial support of the first author. They would also like to thank the Brazilian Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) for the financial support of the third author.

Citation

Casarejos, F., Frota, M.N. and Gustavson, L.M. (2017), "Higher education institutions: a strategy towards sustainability", International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 18 No. 7, pp. 995-1017. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-08-2016-0159

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited

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