Sustainability in higher education

Campus talks: social artist Helen Storey on working on the boundary of fashion and science

The UNHCR’s first designer-in-residence Helen Storey talks about why she has donated her creative archive to the University of the Arts London, and how the arts can help people connect with issues such as climate change and the refugee crisis

Helen Storey

University of the Arts London

A placard at a climate change protest reads "if you change nothing, nothing changes"

On climate change, are universities part of the problem or part of the solution?

As the effects of climate change become increasingly more extreme, fossil fuel interests are preventing transformative change. Where do universities stand?

Jennie C. Stephens

Maynooth University , Northeastern University

Practical strategies for greener transportation on your university campus

Focusing on electric vehicle use and optimising lead-acid batteries, Kumar Tripathi shares practical tips for improving campus sustainability through greener transport, based on a pilot study

Abhishek Kumar Tripathi

Aditya University

Sustainability education needs to go beyond the SDGs

Aligning teaching with the Sustainable Development Goals can only go so far in preparing students for a climate change-affected world. This resource offers a framework for embedding sustainability more deeply into curricula

Multiple authors

The University of East Anglia, Technical University of Munich

Close-up portrait of Tui - Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae - a famous New Zealand endemic honeyeater with yellow pollen on the forehead, in a blurred green background, in New Zealand

Dreaming of tuī returning to campus

Collaboration between community groups, local government and university students has improved bird nest survival rates exponentially as part of a broader biodiversity plan. Here is how one university is bringing native fauna back to campus

Seamus Moran

University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

Productive disagreement is our best hope of tackling the climate crisis

As complex communities with a social purpose, universities are ideal places to foster and model difficult discussions around prioritising investment and effort towards net zero goals, writes Nigel Ball

Nigel Ball

University of the Arts London

Woman in VR headset against image of wind farm

It’s time to turn the tide on our clean energy ambitions

Universities have a pivotal role to play in inspiring the next generation to find sustainable energy solutions, from uniting researchers with business to translating innovation into practice to growing the future workforce, writes Deborah Greaves

Deborah Greaves

University of Plymouth

Hands holding the words "net Zero" against a blurred out verdant background

Strategies to move universities to net zero

How one institution is reducing energy consumption, developing low-carbon infrastructure and rethinking campus spaces to reach net zero

Scott Davidson

The University of Edinburgh

A man in a green t-shirt collects plastic bottles

Four strategies to turn climate anxiety into student-led action

With climate anxiety on the rise among young people, universities can adopt several strategies to help harness those concerns, empower students and effect real change

Will Ellis

The London School of Economics and Political Science

How can we improve the sustainability of labs?

Small, incremental changes in how laboratories manage consumables and equipment can add up to a substantial reduction in the environmental footprint of research activities

Jenna Lowe

University of Liverpool

How can we give students the agency to deal with the climate crisis?

Climate impact needs to be the lens through which students view their studies, if we’re going to equip future generations to deal with the coming emergency. Here are the best teaching strategies to do so

Alex MacLaren

Heriot-Watt University

Campus talks: educating our way out of the climate crisis

Two academics share strategies for advancing climate action and boosting sustainability at an institutional and individual level

Liz Price , Tripp Shealy

Manchester Metropolitan University, Virginia Tech

Developing a circular economy for the data centre industry

With collaboration and stakeholder buy-in, universities can help solve global issues such as reducing e-waste and the environmental impact of internet servers

Deborah Andrews

London South Bank University

Hands holding together a jigsaw depicting the Earth

Equitable international research collaboration is possible – find out how

Lessons on building a successful international research collaboration founded on trust and respect between partners

Manuel Barcia

University of Leeds

Young male with backpack looking up at a plane overhead

Measuring the environmental impact of student relocation

A simple but robust tool and methodology can help universities calculate the carbon emissions from student travel when they relocate for study

Roederer Rose Lyne, Fraser Lovie

University of Aberdeen

Group of students working on a modern urban architecture project with renewable green energy sources

How to embed sustainability into different curricula

A framework to support sustainability education that works within different courses, with discipline-specific examples

Chris Preist

The University of Bristol

The art of change: using creative research methods to solve the plastics crisis

Incorporating theatre, music and the visual arts as research tools complements analytical and qualitative approaches to environmental challenges – and goes beyond public engagement into local and global policymaking

Cressida Bowyer

The University of Portsmouth

Embedding the SDGs into curricula via an interdisciplinary approach

Incorporating the SDGs into teaching involves facilitating project collaboration among students from different disciplines. Here are examples of how this can work in practice

Sambit Dash, Guruprasad Rao, Preetham Kumar

Manipal Academy of Higher Education

A hand picking up a plastic bottle off the ground

Greening your university is not optional; it’s urgent

Investing in greening your institution will result in huge savings in the long run. Here are some strategies that have worked for CETYS University

Isaac Azuz

CETYS Universidad

Building a sustainable future on campus

Work towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals starts from the ground up. Here’s how to cultivate a greener campus

Gerry Wee

Singapore Institute of Technology

A student presenting a green initiative in front of an audience

How to include student voices in green campus initiatives

As centres of knowledge and innovation, higher education institutions have a unique opportunity – and responsibility – to lead by example in promoting sustainability and environmental awareness. Here are ways to do it

Sowparnika Pavan Kumar Attavar

Manipal Academy of Higher Education

Young people in a meeting to discuss sustainability

Three ways universities can enhance teacher engagement with the Sustainable Development Goals

Using the UN SDGs to teach core content in a ‘real world’ context can enhance student engagement – but what about overstretched educators? Rebecca Watts Hull shares three strategies for bringing faculty on board

Rebecca Watts Hull

Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities

Green target on building blocks, sustainability

Three ways to create lasting change towards sustainability in your university

Progress towards sustainability falters when institutions don’t understand how change works. Here, Nicola Rieg explains how to apply concepts from organisational change management to integrate sustainability in higher education

Nicola Rieg

University of Surrey

Student testing out a wind turbine model

Critical approaches to incorporating the SDGs into curricula

Mapping curricula against the SDGs has become a key objective for education institutions aiming to showcase their commitment to sustainability. But we must do this through a critical lens

Sean Porter

The University of Exeter

Group of people sitting around a table at a meeting

Building blocks of a successful staff-student environmental, social and governance committee

To embed sustainability across institutions can be challenging. Find out how a staff-student environmental, social and governance committee can align priorities and drive meaningful change

Emily Centeno

ESCP Business School

Four ways to integrate the SDGs into English language classes

Connecting the Sustainable Development Goals with language teaching and learning can provide meaningful learning experiences, writes Chaonan Xu

Chaonan Xu

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Why visible senior leadership in sustainability matters

Successful or sustainable? Is this the biggest challenge that universities face when striving to reduce their carbon footprint? Jan Evans-Freeman explains where leadership fits into the equation

Jan Evans-Freeman

University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

How to unpick sustainability reporting in your business teaching

In this resource, Nick Rowbottom offers ways to help students distinguish and evaluate corporate sustainability within different international reporting standards

Nick Rowbottom

University of Birmingham

Dictionary definition of assets and accounting

Embrace broader definitions of accounting to help your students operate sustainably

Broader definitions of accounting help students redirect their energies and draw on broad-scope approaches to dealing with challenging issues to help shape a better world

Jennifer Rose, Garry Carnegie

The University of Manchester, RMIT University

Two accountants calculate the carbon footprint of a factory

The climate crisis heralds an imperative for sustainable accountancy practices

Finance and accounting educators have a moral obligation to embed the principles of the SDGs into their courses. Thankfully, it’s easier than ever to do, write Shona Russell and Ian Thomson

Shona Russell, Ian Thomson

University of St Andrews, University of Dundee

Sustainability accounting is coming: here’s how to navigate it

We can expect radical changes in sustainability accounting over the next few years. Developing a sustainability mindset for yourself and your students seems like a good place to start, write Sulaiman Aliyu and Toby York

Sulaiman Aliyu, Toby York

Middlesex University

Small business owner working in inventory

Teaching business students how to prepare sustainability reports for SMEs

In engaging with small and medium-sized enterprises, universities can raise SMEs’ awareness of their own climate impacts. Here, Ven Tauringana shares a model for teaching accounting students how to produce sustainability reports

Ven Tauringana

University of Southampton

Making sustainability part of university DNA

Meaningful change comes from embedding green practices into every aspect, and every member, of the institution, starting from induction training

Thomas Menkhoff, Kevin Cheong

Singapore Management University

Universities on Fire climate change podcast

Campus talks: universities aren’t too small to lead the climate crisis fight

It’s easy to feel hopeless in the face of climate change, but, in this episode, two experts offer ways universities – and individuals – can make a difference to their local area and the planet

Bryan Alexander, Sebastian Pfautsch

Georgetown University, Western Sydney University

Environmental considerations for businesses

Accounting for sustainability: we need to change how we teach

Accountants of the future will need to respond to as yet unknown sustainability reporting standards. Freirean dialogic teaching where lecturers learn alongside students through discussion helps build the skills to respond to such change

Jennifer Rose

The University of Manchester

A whole-university road map to sustainability impact

Top-ranked Western Sydney University combines immediate action with long-term planning to drive progress in achieving impact aligned with the SDGs. Here, Deborah Sweeney and Kevin Dunn share insights learned from their institution-wide approach

Deborah Sweeney, Kevin Dunn

Western Sydney University

multiracial group of students eating burgers outside

Creating a reusable takeout dish programme on campus

Want to reduce single-use waste at your university? In this guide for students and administrators, Rojine McVea offers tips for how to set up a reusable dish service based on her own experience

Rojine McVea

University of Alberta

An image of solar panels in a field at sunset

Start your university on a path to resilient net zero

Practical tips on how institutions can improve their resilience to climate threats while on a path towards net zero emissions, by Rob Wilby and Shona Smith

Robert Wilby, Shona Smith

Loughborough University, University of Leeds

Young researchers work together on a green city project

Building blocks of university-industry partnerships for positive change

How universities can develop strategic cross-sector partnerships and trans-disciplinary research in order to boost progress towards the SDGs

Tim Bodley-Scott, Ersel Oymak

UCL

Hands holding seedling surrounded by sustainability icons

A holistic blueprint for sustainability

Instead of compartmentalising decisions about infrastructure or resource allocation, universities need a whole-system approach to sustainability that shifts attitudes and behaviour, writes Lily Kong

Lily Kong

Singapore Management University

Deforested rainforest now used for cattle farming

We’ve engaged 250 student volunteers to hold climate emitters to account

The Net Zero Tracker taps into students’ passion for climate action, teaches them net-zero literacy and builds their employability. Here’s how we work with them

Camilla Hyslop

University of Oxford

Image of someone picking up a plastic bottle from a beach

From personal to professional: incorporating sustainability into your university work

Practical advice for embedding sustainability issues into broader professional practice, taking lessons from teaching English language that are applicable across other disciplines

Peter Buckley

The University of Edinburgh

Green gap years can be beneficial for students transitioning to university

Offering students a green gap year has multiple rewards

James Derounian makes the case for a gap year in which school-leavers can engage with university while tackling climate change and helping with community development

James Derounian

University of Bolton

Transformative not transmissive education for sustainability

The teaching of sustainability and the SDGs needs to equip graduates with the skills to bring about transformative change for a better future. Jen Dollin, Brittany Hardiman and Susan Germein explore what this means for universities

Jen Dollin, Brittany Vermeulen , Susan Germein

Western Sydney University

The different steps to improved sustainability

To offset or not to offset – that is the question

Carbon offsetting is a hotly debated issue, with critics positing that it distracts from real efforts to reduce emissions. David Duncan explains why a compromise position in which offsetting is used to complement focused efforts at carbon reduction may be needed

David Duncan

University of Glasgow

Go green, AI!

Can artificial intelligence be as green as it is integral to solving complex problems? As universities integrate courses on AI into different fields, they also need to show students its risks and costs, particularly for the environment

Inès Chihi, Inma Peral

University of Luxembourg

Universities and their researchers have a key role to play in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

The sector’s role in addressing climate change is crucial – and varied

From researching microalgae to evaluating and contributing to climate policy, universities have a significant job to do, says Lucy Meredith

Lucy Meredith

University of the West of Scotland

Five tips to enhance your institution’s civic engagement by working with public libraries

Advice to help universities work in partnership with public libraries to reach wider audiences and enhance their civic engagement

Marge Ainsley, Rachel Heydecker

Carnegie UK

We must consider the SDGs in local contexts and universities can help

We won’t get anywhere without placing the SDGs in local contexts

Applying the SDGs looks vastly different in a Western city from how it does in a rural Asian village. Su Li Chong explains how universities can help us get past a one-size-fits-all approach

Su Li Chong

Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP)

Universities and higher education institutions need to sever ties with oil companies and get their ethics in order if they want to tackle the SDGs

Universities aren’t walking the walk on sustainability – not even close

While HEIs continue to take tens of millions of pounds from oil companies, their integrity and commitment to the SDGs looks shaky at best, says James Derounian

James Derounian

Visiting professor

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