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

3968
Total Resources
1910
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.

3968 resources

Understanding How Stand-Alone Sustainability Courses Are Taught in Marketing: A Global Baseline Analysis

  • Utah State University (UT)

The growing societal and environmental challenges of the 21st century are ubiquitous. Thus, marketing educators are tasked with incorporating a sustainability approach into their curriculum, educating students on the synchronous …


Nursing students' perception of climate change and sustainability actions – A mismatched discourse: A qualitative, descriptive exploratory study

  • Dalarna University

Climate change is described as the biggest global challenge for human health in the upcoming decade. Nurses play a central role in mitigating the effect of climate change on the …


Higher Education for Sustainability: A Critical Review of the Empirical Evidence 2013–2020

  • University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna

Higher education for sustainable development (HESD) has grown into a substantial field of research and practice. HESD proposes that higher education will be central in a transition towards more sustainable …


The patterns of curriculum change processes that embed sustainability in higher education institutions

  • Leuphana University of Lüneburg

Implementing education for sustainable development (ESD) in higher education institutions (HEIs) is critical to facilitating a transition toward sustainable development. However, little is known about the specific implementation processes that …


Enabling students to face the environmental crisis and climate change with resilience: inclusive environmental and sustainability education approaches and strategies for coping with eco-anxiety

  • University of Winnipeg (MB)
  • Université de Saint-Boniface (MB)

As university educators, we should educate students to be able to address the challenges presented by the environmental crisis and climate change by being responsible eco-citizens, and creative, solution-oriented thinkers. …


SDGs: A Responsible Research Assessment Tool toward Impactful Business Research

  • University of Guelph (ON)
  • Yorkville University (NB)

An alternative research assessment (RA) tool was constructed to assess the relatedness of published business school research to the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The RA tool was …


Sustainable Development Goals as a Framework for Postgraduate Future Research Following COVID-19 Pandemic: A New Norm for Developing Countries

  • Northwest University (WA)

Education is regarded as the key to economic development, and COVID-19 has provided all universities the unique opportunity to urgently address their fitness for purpose. Universities can play a significant …


A framework for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in university programmes

  • University of Malta (Northern Harbor District)
  • University of Coimbra
  • Hamburg University of Applied Sciences
  • University of Passo Fundo
  • University of Aveiro
  • Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Universidade federal de Santa Maria
  • University of Applied Sciences Zittau/Görlitz
  • University of Belgrade
  • University of Milano-Bicocca
  • University of Wroclaw/Uniwersytet Wrocławski (Wrocław)
  • Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador
  • Universidade Positivo

There is a perceived need to develop approaches, methods and tools that may help higher education institutions to systematically introduce the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into research and teaching as …


Engaging students in education for sustainable development: The benefits of active learning, reflective practices and flipped classroom pedagogies

  • University of Edinburgh

Effective Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) requires appropriate pedagogies that engage learners in transformative learning. These pedagogies include reflective and active learning, involving experiential, collaborative and learner-centred activities. This paper …


Sustainability practices at higher education institutions in Asia

  • University of Waterloo (ON)
  • Universiti Putra Malaysia
  • Universiti Sains Malaysia
  • Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (Santa Catarina)
  • University of Passo Fundo
  • Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) (Perak Darul Ridzuan)
  • Beaconhouse National University
  • Hiroshima University
  • Universidade Fernando Pessoa
  • Khulna University of Engineering & Technology
  • Universiti Utara Malaysia

It is still unclear how Asian universities incorporate the theory or practice of sustainable development (SD) in their research and education programmes. To address this gap, the purpose of this …


Measuring the Transformation of University Students’ Self-Construal for Greater Environmental Sustainability

  • Arizona State University (AZ)
  • Kyoto University
  • National Taiwan University

University campus sustainability projects frequently aim to promote ecological behavior of their community members. However, these projects rarely consider the level of students’ self-construal, the view of self held by …


Sustainable geography in theory or in practice? Reflections from a participant at NGM 2019

  • UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Academic conferences have a large carbon footprint due to long-distance travel by participants and contribute to increased consumption in other ways. With reference to Stephen Sterling’s distinction between education about …


Lean practices toward a balanced sustainability in higher education institutions: A Brazilian experience

  • Universidade federal de Santa Maria
  • Universidade Federal de Pernambuco
  • Centro Universitário UniFBV

As few studies have explored the causal relationship between both the triple bottom line (TBL) of sustainability and the lean practices in higher education institutions (HEIs), the purpose of this …


Nurturing the Seeds of Sustainability Education: Information Regime in Brazilian Public HEI

  • Northumbria University (Newcastle Upon Tyne)
  • Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica Celso Suckow da Fonseca
  • Instituto Brasileiro de Informação em Ciência e Tecnologia

We currently live under the Anthropocene, a period in which human beings have generated impacts on nature corresponding to a geological force capable of modifying the planet's biophysical parameters, affecting …


Supporting the role of universities in leading individual and societal transformation through education for sustainable development

  • University of Bristol
  • Quality Assurance Agency For Higher Education (--None--)
  • University of St Andrews (Scotland)
  • University of the West of England, Bristol
  • Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Cardiff Metropolitan University
  • Advance HE

There is growing recognition of the value of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) for all learners, and of the unique role that universities play in the transformation of individuals, institutions …


Scalable pathways to net zero carbon in the UK higher education sector: A systematic review of smart energy systems in university campuses

  • Buro Happold (NY)
  • University College London (London)

The following literature review sets out the state-of-the-art research relating to smart building principles and smart energy systems in UK higher education university campuses. The paper begins by discussing the …


Epistemic stability and epistemic adaptability: interdisciplinary knowledge integration competencies for complex sustainability issues

  • Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Global sustainability challenges transcend disciplines and, therefore, demand interdisciplinary approaches that are characterized by cross-disciplinary collaboration and integration across disciplines. In accordance with this need for interdisciplinary approaches, sustainability professionals …


A Global MetaUniversity to Lead by Design to a Sustainable Well-Being Future

  • University of Denver (CO)
  • Australian National University
  • University of Melbourne (Victoria)

The COVID19 pandemic has revealed deep, ingrained problems with higher education, but also opportunities for positive transformation. In the post-COVID world, education at all levels has the chance to become: …


Let’s read green! A comparison between approaches in different disciplines to enhance preservice teachers’ environmental attitudes

  • Universitat de València

This article examines the effect of different educational approaches to environmental education (EE) in the environmental attitudes of 507 preservice teachers. In one experimental group EE was addressed in a …


Preparedness of higher education institutions for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4: the case of Nepalese universities

  • Tribhuvan University of Nepal

The purpose of this paper is to assess the quality of education, research, and governance of Nepalese higher education institutions (HEIs) as a supplement to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4 …


Exploring environmental sustainability of academia as a working space

  • Indiana University Bloomington (IN)
  • Robert Gordon University

This study aims to examine the organizational citizenship behaviors toward the environment among US-based faculty members, in social sciences, natural sciences, the humanities and engineering. Potential barriers that may stop …


Learning towards environmental sustainability practices: insights from a values-based participatory research approach

  • University of the Free State
  • Fudan University

Transformative Learning Theory is instrumental in fostering sustained positive change in adult learners as it explains how critical reflection in crystallization processes results in emancipatory learning. Despite its relevance, there …


Exploring opportunities to incorporate systems thinking into secondary and tertiary chemistry education through practitioner perspectives

  • Deakin University

Recently, the chemistry education community has focused considerable effort on incorporating systems thinking into chemistry education as a means to address global challenges such as sustainability. In this project, a …


Enabling Sustainable Development by Embedding Tongan Knowledge into University Science Curricula

  • University of Auckland

Sustainable development requires the valuing of Indigenous knowledges. The complex and intertwined processes of coloniality and globalisation have contributed to spreading a dominant set of Western knowledge, values, and practices …


COVID-19: the impact of a global crisis on sustainable development teaching

  • College of Charleston (SC)
  • University of Malta (Northern Harbor District)
  • Bournemouth University (Dorset)
  • Universidade Aberta
  • Hamburg University of Applied Sciences
  • University of Passo Fundo
  • University of Aveiro
  • Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Universidade federal de Santa Maria
  • Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
  • University of Chester
  • North-West University (North West)
  • University of Milano-Bicocca
  • Universidade Federal da Paraíba

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global crisis, one which also influences the ways sustainability is being taught at universities. This paper undertakes an analysis of the extent to which …


Fostering Sustainability through Mobility Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes

  • Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Madrid)

International mobility programmes embed higher education (HE) students in a learning process in which they gain key knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs), some of them crucial in pursuing the Sustainable …


Sustainability at Universities as a Determinant of Entrepreneurship for Sustainability

  • Universitatea din București
  • Woosong University

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of universities in promoting sustainability and sustainable development goals among Indian students as future entrepreneurs, supporting the mission of sustainability. …


Advancing SDG competencies in higher education: exploring an interdisciplinary pedagogical approach

  • Kristianstad University

This study aims to explore an interdisciplinary pedagogical approach for advancing knowledge and understanding of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) at higher education institutions (HEIs).


Healthy Settings: Barriers and Facilitators to a Healthy Campus Community

  • University of Texas at Austin (TX)
  • McMaster University (ON)
  • St. Francis Xavier University (NS)

This paper provides a synopsis of findings from the first two phases of a larger campus-based participatory action research study, which examines the factors that contribute to health within a …


University Social Responsibility: The Case of Italy

  • Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale
  • Libera Università Carlo Cattaneo, LIUC

Increasing attention is now being paid to the concept of sustainability as a crucial element of our life at all levels. The awareness that attention must be paid not only …


Social and environmental reports at universities: a Habermasian view on their evolution

  • Università di Verona

This paper analyses how social and environmental disclosure has evolved over the years in Italian universities and aims to understand whether attention to sustainable development has changed. To determine this …


Effectiveness of a game-based class for interdisciplinary energy systems education in engineering courses

  • University of Tsukuba

Professionals in the energy sector are required to understand the interactions among technology, society, and the environment to tackle complex trade-offs among policy issues. The fostering of such professionals with …


Beyond practitioner and researcher: 15 roles adopted by actors in transdisciplinary and transformative research processes

  • Leuphana University of Lüneburg
  • Wuppertal Institut

To tackle complex sustainability problems, science and practice must join forces and interact in the processes of knowledge co-production. This central claim of sustainability science requires all actors to do …


How management education is engaging students in the sustainable development goals

This paper aims to explore if, and how, business schools globally have been engaging their students in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), both inside and outside the classroom, since the …


UNESCO's Education for Sustainable Development Framework and the Reality of University–Community Cooperation in the Caucasus Mountain Region

  • University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
  • Armenian State Pedagogical University
  • Tbilisi State University

The project Transdisciplinarity for Sustainable Tourism Development in the Caucasus Region (CaucaSusT) initiated the integration of transdisciplinary approaches into partner universities in Armenia and Georgia. The aim was to develop …


Addressing the higher education for sustainable development agenda at the College of Open and Distance Learning, St. Mary’s University, Ethiopia: opportunities and challenges

  • St. Mary’s University, Ethiopia

This study aims to assess the extent to which sustainable development practices are prevalent at the College of Open and Distance Learning (CODL), St. Mary’s University, Ethiopia. The assessment focused …


Sustainable Development Goals and Education: A Bibliometric Mapping Analysis

  • Universidad Pablo de Olavide
  • UNICEF (NY)

The 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda sets out 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aimed at improving life in all its dimensions, covering all sectors, with a particular emphasis on education. The …


Higher education institutions, SDG2 and agri-food sustainability: lessons from Chulalongkorn University and Thailand

  • Chulalongkorn University

This paper examines higher education efforts linking United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) and agri-food system sustainability given reports of stagnant movement for SDG2 in Southeast Asia and lack of …


Institutionalizing the intangible through research and engagement: Indigenous knowledge and higher education for sustainable development in Zambia

  • Rowan University (NJ)
  • Nottingham Trent University
  • University of Zambia

Universities have an integral role in the development of communities. This is underpinned by the notion that universities possess a social responsibility to be agents of change in relation to …


Accelerating the implementation of SDG 4: stakeholder perceptions towards initiation of sustainable community engagement projects by higher education institutions

  • University of Mpumalanga

This paper aims to present the results of an investigation on how a reciprocal relationship between the University of Mpumalanga (UMP) in South Africa and the surrounding communities can be …


Investigating barriers to efficient electricity management practices in government-owned tertiary institutions: a case of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife

  • Obafemi Awolowo University
  • City University of Hong Kong
  • Federal University of Technology Akure

Energy efficiency is a cost-effective way to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions; however, certain barriers have hindered its adoption in public universities. Hence, it is essential to identify and analyze the …


Arranging university semester date to minimize annual CO2 emission: A UK university case study

  • University of Edinburgh
  • Tsinghua University
  • Sichuan University

Existing methods of reducing carbon emissions on campus often require substantial investment, and the potential opportunities for carbon dioxide and energy savings in universities with existing infrastructure have not been …


Promoting language education for sustainable development: a program effects case study in Japanese higher education

  • Konan University

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of education for sustainable development (ESD) approaches in English as a foreign language (EFL) in Japanese higher education. A content …


The University at the Crossroads of Eco-Social Challenges: Pedagogy of Care and the Community of Life for a Transformative Learning

  • Universidad de Granada

What kind of responsibility do universities have with regard to the current emergency created by ecological and socio-economic collapse? This work begins by considering the colonization of universities by neoliberal …


Sustainability Governance at Higher Education Institutions: Equipped to Transform?

  • University of Vechta
  • Freie Universität Berlin

In this opinion paper, we reflect on selected literature as well as on specific research we have conducted into sustainability governance at German HEIs. We then provide answers to the …


Driving Transformational Sustainability in a University Through Structural and Academic Innovation: A Case Study of A Public University in Spain

  • United Nations University
  • Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are increasingly engaged in the urgent and important work involved in the global transition towards sustainable development. They are potentially well suited to address key challenges, …


Reducing the environmental impact of food service in universities using life cycle assessment

  • Eckerd College (FL)

This study aims to use life cycle assessment to determine the environmental impact of food purchases at a small, liberal arts college. The authors also use the results to develop …


Assessing climate solutions and taking climate leadership: how can universities prepare their students for challenging times?

  • Trent University (ON)

Through this point-of-departure paper we aim to prompt discussion and action around redesigning university learning to help students tackle climate-related challenges in a personally and societally meaningful way. We use …


Measuring interdisciplinarity in the context of sustainability research projects toward capacity building in higher education

  • Technische Universität Dresden (Dresden)

The purpose of this paper is to develop an analytical framework toward facilitating the quantitative measurement of interdisciplinary understanding regarding sustainable energy systems with an application in the area of …


A hybrid approach to sustainable development competencies: the role of formal, informal and non-formal learning experiences

  • University of São Paulo

This paper aims to explore whether formal, non-formal, and informal learning experiences contribute to developing sustainable development competencies (SDCs) among students in a Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) signatory …