Publications

Introduction

AASHE’s publications library is the leading repository of reports, journal articles, books, and student research on sustainability in higher education. Certain publication types are entered in the annual AASHE Awards Program.

At a Glance

3944
Total Resources
1903
Organizations
99
Countries
58
U.S. States & Territories
12
Canadian Provinces

Bars in graphs can be clicked to view resources that align with a particular category. Because a resource may be listed under multiple topics and disciplines, graph data may include higher total counts than what is indicated in total resources above.

3944 resources

Catholic Universities and Social Action in the Context of the Transgressing of Planetary Boundaries

  • Creighton University (NE)

This paper will reflect upon Catholic universities’ mission of pursuing the truth and promoting justice in light of the ecological crisis. First, it will examine how the truth of our ...


Sustainable knowledge transformation in and through higher education: A case for transdisciplinary leadership

  • Ollscoil na Gaillimhe - University of Galway (Co. Galway)

This article explores inter- and transdisciplinarity, given the need for more complex, relevant, and transformative knowledge to shift society towards more sustainable futures. It connects practical questions about economic, societal ...


Sustainable Academia: Translating the Vision of a Full Sustainable University into a Measurable Reality

  • Technische Universiteit Delft

There is a growing public expectation that universities should start focusing on delivering sustainability. The topic of sustainability in higher education has gathered a significant amount of interest from students ...


Resources for hope: Ideas for alternatives from heterodox higher education institutions

  • Berea College (KY)
  • Deep Springs College (CA)

This report describes my field visits to Berea and Deep Springs Colleges in the U.S.A. and explores their forms of ownership/control, governance, financing and organisational structure. Berea ...


Is Education for Sustainable Development the means to bring about inclusive development? Between idealist and alternative positions

  • Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences

‘Adjectival educations’, include a great diversity of proposals within which Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) features prominently. ESD has enjoyed privileged attention from international organizations, in order to move political ...


Higher Education in the Environmental Century

The environmental crisis that threatens the future of our species is unprecedented as we begin the “environmental century.” Natural conditions that were favorable for the development of civilization have been ...


An On-Campus Botanical Tour to Promote Student Satisfaction and Learning in a University Level Biodiversity or General Biology Course

  • Xavier University of Louisiana (LA)

Outdoor, hands-on and experiential learning, as opposed to instruction-based learning in classroom, increases student satisfaction and motivation leading to a deeper understanding of the subject. However, the use of outdoor ...


High Performance Education Fails in Sustainability? - A Reflection on Finnish Primary Teacher Education

  • Åbo Akademi University (Varsinais-Suomi)
  • University of Helsinki

Sustainability is internationally often emphasized as an essential aim of higher education, but more as a principle than on the practical level. This is also obvious in the academic education ...


Is Going Green Worth It? Assessing Fan Engagement and Perceptions of Athletic Department Environmental Efforts

  • North Carolina State University (NC)
  • Ohio University (OH)
  • Seattle University (WA)

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which environmentally themed activities within an intercollegiate sport context impact fan engagement. A total of 557 fans responded to ...


Critical Thinking and Normative Competencies for Sustainability Science Education

  • Hokkaido University (Hokkaido)

In this paper, we extend the competencies framework of education for sustainability development (ESD) to argue that critical thinking should be taught as a core competency and that normative dialogue ...


Community-level environmental projects as learning tools for planners: a case study of graduate planning students

Despite the potential environmental impact of urban planning, there is little research on Environmental Education (EE) in the context of urban planning curricula. This study follows graduate planning students’ learning ...


Alive, Survive, Strive, Thrive: A Grounded Conceptual Sustainability Taxonomy

  • Bowling Green State University (OH)

A conceptual sustainability taxonomy has been needed to better communicate the value of sustainability, to align sustainability scholars’ theories and sustainability educators’ practices, and to develop curriculum, teaching, learning, and ...


A Rubric to Analyze Student Abilities to Engage in Sustainable Design

  • Georgia Institute of Technology (GA)
  • James Madison University (VA)
  • The Citadel (SC)

As engineering programs have begun to infuse sustainability into their undergraduate curricula, assessment tools are needed to further inform these reform efforts. The goal of this project was to demonstrate ...


Strategies Toward the Inclusion of Environmental Education in Educator Preparation Programs: Results from a National Survey

  • Trinity University (TX)
  • University of Texas at San Antonio (TX)

A national study was conducted to investigate the inclusion of environmental education (EE) into educator preparation programs across the United States. Responses from teacher educators in institutions of higher education ...

  • Posted April 27, 2017
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The Nitrogen Footprint Tool Network: A Multi-Institution Program to Research and Reduce Nitrogen Pollution

  • University of Virginia (VA)
  • Eastern Mennonite University (VA)
  • Brown University (RI)
  • Dickinson College (PA)
  • Colorado State University (CO)
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (DC)
  • University of New Hampshire (NH)
  • University of Chicago (IL)

Humans release reactive nitrogen into the environment at a rate that is 4 to 5 times as large as from natural terrestrial processes. They do this by producing and applying ...

  • Posted April 26, 2017
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Universities run for, by, and with the faculty, students and staff: Alternatives to the neoliberal destruction of higher education

After analysing the organisational pathologies and societal ills created by the neoliberalisation of universities, the article engages in an organisational critique of the pseudo-business model currently in use. It poses ...

  • Posted April 26, 2017
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Six ways to ensure higher education leaves no one behind

  • UNESCO

Noting the lack of sufficient institutions to cater to the growing demand for higher education as well as increasing disparities in its access, the United Nations educational and scientific agency ...

  • Posted April 25, 2017
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Beyond Interpersonal Competence: Teaching and Learning Professional Skills in Sustainability

  • Arizona State University (AZ)

Successful careers in sustainability are determined by positive real-world change towards sustainability. This success depends heavily on professional skills in effective and compassionate communication, collaborative teamwork, or impactful stakeholder engagement ...

  • Posted April 25, 2017
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In what ways are teacher candidates being prepared to teach about the environment? A case study from Wisconsin

There is an urgent need for primary and secondary students to develop awareness, knowledge, attitudes, and an environmental ethic necessary to undertake environmental issues and problems. The need to adequately ...

  • Posted April 25, 2017
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Business School Legitimacy and the Challenge of Sustainability: A Fuzzy Set Analysis of Institutional Decoupling

Business schools face growing institutional pressure to respond to the sustainability agenda, especially since the financial crisis highlighted the need to educate business leaders who engage with issues beyond a ...

  • Posted April 24, 2017
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Sustainability Education Through Active-Learning in Large Lecture Settings: Evaluation of Four Out-Of- Class Exercises

  • Sonoma State University (CA)

Large classes on sustainable development present certain challenges. Often high student to instructor ratios encourage passive learning pedagogies. However, because sustainability education seeks to increase awareness and help students shift ...

  • Posted April 24, 2017
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Sustainability and Undergraduate Management Curricula: Changes Over a 5-Year Period

  • Bond University (Queensland)

Global initiatives and a rapidly expanding academic literature identify the responsibility that universities have to incorporate sustainability education into their curricula. This study had two aims: first, to investigate the ...

  • Posted April 24, 2017
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RMIT University Climate Risk Assessment

  • RMIT University

This report details the process and findings from the first climate risk assessment carried out for RMIT University, with a primary focus on the Melbourne City campus. The analysis considered ...

  • Posted April 24, 2017
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Approaches to embedding sustainability in teacher education: A synthesis of the literature

  • Queensland University of Technology
  • James Cook University (Queensland)

This study investigated how teacher education academics embed sustainability education in learning and teaching, using a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed journal articles. A taxonomy of four distinctive approaches was ...

  • Posted April 24, 2017
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Repeat performance: CSU earns second STARS Platinum

  • Colorado State University (CO)

This news story from Colorado State University mentions highlights from the university that helped it achieve AASHE STARS Platinum rating for the second time, the only university thus far to ...

  • Posted April 21, 2017
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Feeding the Flames: A Report on Student Hunger at UIC

  • University of Illinois Chicago (IL)

This report represents the results of a yearlong study of student food insecurity at UIC conducted by students and faculty in the School of Public Health, Division of Environmental and ...

  • Posted April 21, 2017
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Restroom Water Reduction Potential at an Urban University

  • University of Illinois Chicago (IL)

A water audit was conducted at a variety of University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) campus buildings to help evaluate the potential to conserve water and save the university money ...

  • Posted April 20, 2017
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Students see promise in careers in the business of sustainability

  • Colby College (ME)
  • College of the Atlantic (ME)
  • Unity Environmental University (ME)
  • AASHE (PA)
  • International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP) (OR)

Two small, isolated Maine colleges that focus on sustainability and the environment know they aren’t for everyone.

Students have to work in the local community, where they experience the ...

  • Posted April 20, 2017
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AAUP 2016-17 Faculty Compensation Survey Report

Between the 2015–16 and 2016–17 academic years, average salaries for full-time ranked faculty members (assistant, associate, and full professors) increased by 0.5 percent after adjusting for inflation ...

  • Posted April 20, 2017
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LGBTQ Students on Campus: Issues and Opportunities for Higher Education Leaders

  • Michigan State University (MI)

The American Council on Education published a blog piece about LGBTQ issues on higher education campuses. The piece includes key issues for higher education leaders, suggestions for good practices that ...

  • Posted April 17, 2017
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Good practice in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in the UK: Case Studies

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is described by UNESCO as enabling us to address present and future global challenges and create more sustainable and resilient societies by changing the way ...

  • Posted April 17, 2017
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Universities and the Sustainable Development Future: Evaluating Higher-Education Contributions to the 2030 Agenda

Since the mid-1970s, a series of international declarations that link environment and sustainable development to all aspects of higher learning have been endorsed and signed by universities around the world ...

  • Posted April 17, 2017
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Opening up the Pandora's box of sustainability league tables of universities: a Kafkaesque perspective

The aim of this paper is to explore the institutional impact of sustainability league tables on current university agendas. It focuses on a narrative critique of one such league table ...

  • Posted April 12, 2017
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For function or transformation? A critical discourse analysis of education under the Sustainable Development Goals

  • Clark University (MA)

We conduct a critical discourse analysis of the extent to which Sustainable Development Goal 4, “to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all and promote lifelong learning,” promotes a ...

  • Posted April 12, 2017
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Education for Sustainable Development, Nature and Vernacular Learning

  • Mount Saint Vincent University (NS)

Mainstream education for sustainable development conceives of nature as a resource or commodity. The natural world is, for the most part, accorded only instrumental or utilitarian value. As a field ...

  • Posted April 5, 2017
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Quantity and Electricity Consumption of Plug Load Equipment on a University Campus

  • Stanford University (CA)

The percent of energy consumed by plug load equipment in commercial buildings is on the rise. Research conducted in the past has included surveying plug load equipment, measuring plug load ...

  • Posted April 3, 2017
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Post-Sustainability and Environmental Education: Remaking Education for the Future

  • Lakehead University (ON)

This book provides a critique of over two decades of sustained effort to infuse educational systems with education for sustainable development. Taking to heart the idea that deconstruction is a ...

  • Posted March 28, 2017
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Guide for Using the Earth Charter in Education

This Guide provides basic information on how to use the Earth Charter in educational settings. It will be especially helpful to educators who are working in the fields of environmental ...

  • Posted March 21, 2017
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Campus Dining 101: A Benchmark Study on Farm to College in New England

  • Farm to Institution New England (VT)

Farm to Institution New England is pleased to announce a report that highlights the data collected from college dining operators in the region. This is the second report in our ...

  • Posted March 21, 2017
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Hungry and Homeless in College: Results From a National Study of Basic Needs Insecurity in Higher Education

Food and housing insecurity among the nation’s community college students threatens their health and wellbeing, along with their academic achievements. Addressing these basic needs is critical to ensuring that ...

  • Posted March 21, 2017
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The Glocal Curriculum: A Practical Guide to Teaching and Learning in an Interconnected World

  • Arizona State University (AZ)
  • Leuphana University of Lüneburg

In the 21st century, higher education faces a number of substantial challenges. We need to educate a rapidly increasing number of students, as college and other degrees become a requirement ...

  • Posted March 21, 2017
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LEED Certification of Campus Buildings: A Cost-Benefit Approach

  • Seton Hall University (NJ)

No comprehensive study has been done within the higher education sector to see if Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification makes sense economically. This study helps fill the ...

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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The business case for high performance green buildings: Sustainability and its financial impact

  • Johnson Controls, Inc (WI)

This paper endeavours to present building owners, managers, architects and design/builders with a compelling business case for considering a green building for their new construction projects. A green building ...

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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Green Building Performance: A Post Occupancy Evaluation of 22 GSA Buildings

  • U.S. General Services Administration

Do “green” buildings deliver the performance they promise? To answer this question, the General Services Administration (GSA) selected 22 representative green buildings from its national portfolio, including 12 buildings whose ...

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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The Business Case for Green Building: A Review of the Costs and Benefits for Developers, Investors and Occupants

This report examines whether or not it is possible to attach a financial value to the cost and benefits of green buildings. Today, green buildings can be delivered at a ...

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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Environmental perceptions and health before and after relocation to a green building

  • Harvard University (MA)
  • State University of New York Upstate Medical University (NY)
  • Syracuse University (NY)

Green buildings are designed to have low environmental impacts and improved occupant health and well-being. Improvements to the built environment including ventilation, lighting, and materials have resulted in improved indoor ...

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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Do Green Buildings Outperform Conventional Buildings? Indoor Environment and Energy Performance in North American Offices

A comprehensive post-occupancy investigation of the performance of ìgreenî and ìconventionalî office buildings has been completed. The study included occupant surveys and physical building and energy use data collected from ...

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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The impact of working in a green certified building on cognitive function and health

  • Harvard University (MA)
  • State University of New York Upstate Medical University (NY)

Thirty years of public health research have demonstrated that improved indoor environmental quality is associated with better health outcomes. Recent research has demonstrated an impact of the indoor environment on ...

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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Green Buildings and Health

  • Harvard University (MA)

Green building design is becoming broadly adopted, with one green building standard reporting over 3.5 billion square feet certified to date. By definition, green buildings focus on minimizing impacts ...

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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Effects of Green Buildings on Employee Health and Productivity

  • Michigan State University (MI)

We investigated the effects of improved indoor environmental quality (IEQ) on perceived health and productivity in occupants who moved from conventional to green (according to Leadership in Energy and Environmental ...

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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