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

Toward a Sustainable University: Babes-Bolyai University Goes Green

  • Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai

The present research aims to investigate the roadmap followed by a Romanian University implementing sustainability practices and thus contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Informed by the stakeholder …


Sustainable Mobility in Universities: The Case of the University of Foggia (Italy)

  • University of Bari Aldo Moro
  • Università di Foggia

Among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that make up the 2030 Agenda and refer to different areas of social, economic and environmental development, goal 11.2 concerns access to safe, …


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 …


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 …


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 …


Music as a Tool for Promoting Environmental Awareness. Experiences of Undergraduate Education Students on the Production of Video Tales in the COVID-19 Pandemic

  • Universidad de Salamanca
  • Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha

This paper elaborates on the didactic implementation of musical theater with undergraduate education students. Students had to select, prepare, justify, design, elaborate, rehearse, stage, and record an educational tale that …


Conceptualization of sustainability among students, administrative and teaching staff of a university community: An exploratory study in Italy

  • Università degli Studi di Torino
  • Politecnico di Torino
  • Sapienza Università di Roma

Universities have been widely recognised as unparalleled potential catalysers for sustainability, being both formal learning institutions and places where informal, mutual influences and lay/expert knowledge meet. The 17 Sustainable Development …


Integrating Sustainable Development Goals in educational institutions

  • Universitat Jaume I (Castelló)

This research contributes to the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through Education, a growing area of research, by means of a systematic review of the literature on …


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 …


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: …


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 …


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 …


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 …


A self-assessment tool for social responsibility in higher education. Reporting on a national policy development process in Portugal

  • Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra (Coimbra)

Providing higher education institutions (HEIs) with a tool for self-assessing their social responsibility (SR) that generates the information and knowledge necessary to a strategic approach to adopting the Green Paper …


Perceptions of a green university: an exploratory study among students

  • UNSW Sydney (NSW)
  • Hong Kong Baptist University

This study aims at exploring perceptions of a green university among its students. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 18 postgraduate and undergraduate students at a green campus in Germany through …


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).


Green building strategies for LEED-certified laboratory buildings: comparison between gold and platinum levels

  • Incheon National University

Laboratory facilities at higher education institutions are increasingly utilizing green building strategies to decrease their environmental footprint. The U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating …


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 …


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 …


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 …


The Effect of Service Quality on Student Loyalty and Student Satisfaction: An Empirical Study of Universities in Vietnam

  • Ho Chi Minh City Open University

In recent years, there have been several studies on service quality in higher education, however, research on service quality and sustainable activities affecting student loyalty has been largely ignored in …


Sustainable Smart Cities Challenges in Project Management Curriculum

  • The Academic College of Tel Aviv–Yaffo

Business schools aim to educate and train tomorrow’s managers, who will be responsible to lead their organizations towards success. Since businesses use projects as the main means to implement innovative …


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 …


Multiple case-study analysis of service-learning as a means to foster sustainability competencies amongst pre-service educators

  • Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Madrid)
  • Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya
  • Rovira i Virgili University
  • Universitat Internacional de Catalunya

The aim of this multiple case-study analysis was to find out the influence that service-learning methodology has on the development of sustainability competences amongst university students (Preschool, Primary and Social …


Using a Cooperative Educational Game to Promote Pro-Environmental Engagement in Future Teachers

  • Universidad de Granada

This paper explores the value of cooperative games in enhancing knowledge and generating pro-environmental engagement in students. For this, an educational board game related to global change was developed, validated, …


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 …


The Contribution of Higher Education Institutions to the SDGs—An Evaluation of Sustainability Reporting Practices

  • Università del Salento

The introduction of Agenda 2030 has impacted the public and private sectors. Agenda 2030 is a document that aims to promote collaboration and partnership between countries and the population for …


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 …


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 …


Higher Education Interdisciplinarity: Addressing the Complexity of Sustainable Energies and the Green Economy

  • Sapienza Università di Roma

Universities play a strategic role towards a sustainable future, as they address the complex scientific research on green transition and enable students from diverse backgrounds to acquire different skills, integrate …


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 …


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 …


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 …


The Influence of Instructional Delivery Modality on Sustainability Literacy

  • University of Georgia (GA)
  • University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)

As human environmental impacts have increased, so has the desirability of sustainable practices in multiple dimensions and at multiple scales. In this context, sustainability literacy has become a desirable outcome …


A cost-minimizing approach to eliminating the primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions at institutions of higher education

  • University of Massachusetts Amherst (MA)
  • University of Massachusetts Boston (MA)

Many institutions of higher education have committed to carbon neutrality. Given this goal, the main economic issue is minimizing cost. As for society as a whole, dominant decarbonization strategies are …


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 …


Self-construal types and organizational citizenship behavior for the environment of employees in a university

  • Adekunle Ajasin University

In researching into workplace pro-environmental behaviors, there is sparse evidence on self-construals with dimensions of organizational citizenship behavior for the environment (OCBE), particularly among university employees. To fill this gap, …


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 …


Exploring personal definitions of sustainability and their impact on perceptions of sustainability culture

  • James Madison University (VA)
  • Inflexion

The purpose of this paper is to present an exploratory analysis of campus community member (i.e. students, faculty, staff) definitions of sustainability, their perceptions of select elements of sustainability culture …


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 …


Factors affecting students’ intentions to use a university bus: importance of travel attitudes and service quality attributes

  • University of Nizwa

This paper aims to assess the student’s perceptions concerning to characteristics of a university bus service and private car. A questionnaire was designed consisting of questions on personal and travel …


What Does Education for Sustainable Development Offer in Initial Teacher Training? A Systematic Review

  • University of Jaén
  • Universidad de Granada

Promoting Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in higher education impliesan improvement and quality in the exercise of responsible citizenship, being the key inthe training of future teachers as the main …


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 …


Evaluating and improving the contributions of university research to social innovation

  • Royal Roads University (BC)

The purpose of this study is to assess the contributions of graduate research to social innovation and change for learning and improved transdisciplinary practice. Universities, as centers of teaching and …


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 …


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 …


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 …


Landscapes as living laboratories for sustainable campus planning and stewardship: A scoping review of approaches and practices

  • California State University, Monterey Bay (CA)

Living laboratories are increasingly employed to support campus sustainability and student learning. This research explored how living labs are defined in relation to the biophysical landscape, how they are integrated …


Sustainability and creativity through mail art: A case study with young artists in universities

  • University of Zaragoza

Universities around the world are making considerable efforts to contribute to sustainable development through their institutional frameworks, education, research or community awareness. This article discusses how young artists connect with …