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

4204
Total Resources
2017
Organizations
101
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.

4204 resources

Exploring the Intersection of Science and Policy: The Case Study of Installing Solar Panels and Energy Storage System at the University of Ottawa

  • University of Ottawa (ON)

Buildings account for up to a third of total world greenhouse gas GHG emissions, and this pattern is expected to persist. By 2050, cities will be home to 70 % …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Embedding Environmental Sustainability Education in a Master of Teaching Program: Reflections on Improvisation and Learning-by-Doing at OISE

  • University of Toronto (ON)

The aim of this paper is to share our story about introducing environmental sustainability education (ESE) in an initial teacher education (ITE) program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Eco-critical language awareness for English language teaching (ELT): Promoting justice, wellbeing, and sustainability in the classroom

  • University of Alabama (AL)

Critical Language Awareness (CLA) seeks to promote social justice by explicitly calling attention to power issues in the context of literacy development and language instruction. In this article, we assert …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Fostering students’ systems thinking competence for sustainability by using multiple real-world learning approaches

  • Wageningen University
  • Addis Ababa University

For a sustainable future, equipping sustainability change agents with relevant sustainability competencies is crucial. Among these competencies is system thinking competence – the understanding of complex interrelationships among the dimensions …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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The college campus as a living laboratory for meaningful food system transformation

  • University at Albany (NY)
  • Johnson & Wales University, Providence (RI)

As has become abundantly clear to the social scientists, agriculturalists, policymakers, and food justice advocates who have taken up the fight, progress toward more resilient, fair, and effective food systems …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Sustainability training at Spanish public faculties of education: a virtual ethnography

  • Universidad de Oviedo (Asturias)
  • University of Malaga (Malaga)

Various institutional statements and official documents refer to the Sustainable Development Goals and sustainability training. This should imply a university education in these values, considering that those who are going …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Changing the world one engineer at a time – unmaking the traditional engineering education when introducing sustainability subjects

  • Linkoping University

Purpose: The information technology (IT) sector has been seen as central to society's transformation to a more just and sustainable society, which underlines teachers’ responsibility to foster engineers who can …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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The sustainable development goals in a Bachelor of Design course; current integration and benefits, constraints and opportunities for deeper integration

  • University of Melbourne (Victoria)

Purpose: Universities’ unique position within society means they have an important role to contribute to sustainability and to help achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs), which are one of the …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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A case study of sustainable hospitality education relating to food waste from the perspective of transformative learning theory

  • Shih Chien University

This study applies a critical tourism approach and transformative learning theory to examine the factors influencing students to take a food design course and the relationships among students' learning intentions …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Sustainability certificates in higher education

  • JAMK University of Applied Sciences

The thesis researched the usage of sustainability certificates in higher education, in Finland and in Europe. The objective was to suggest which certificates were suitable for Jamk University of Applied …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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The Alignment of Universities With Sustainable Development Goals: How Do Academics Perceive the Progress (Not) Made?

  • Abu Dhabi University

The sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda have acted as a global unifying force to address social, economic, and environmental sustainability concerns. Higher education institutions (HEIs)/universities have been …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Unmasking the Action-Oriented ESD Approach to Acting Environmentally Friendly

  • Monash University (VIC)
  • Huaibei Normal University

Since the United Nations’ declaration on education for sustainable development (ESD), countries and universities across the globe aim to enhance sustainability consciousness, knowingness, attitude, and behavior among learners. However, there …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Higher Education and Food Access: A Case Study of Food Access Initiatives and Their Community Impact

  • Central Washington University (WA)

Food security issues are being prioritized across college campuses and among student communities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. While basic needs services are typically available on campuses, there …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Sustainability Rankings: What they are About and How to make them Meaningful

  • RMIT University

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have long embraced a path towards sustainability and engaged in supporting sustainable development. The adoption of the sustainability development goals has forced HEIs to assess how …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Post-Pandemic Lessons for Destination Resilience and Sustainable Event Management: The Complex Learning Destination

  • Texas A&M University (TX)

This paper aims to share post-pandemic lessons for destination resilience and the sustainability of events. It offers a new perspective that reimagines the space and place of events as learning …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Examining undergraduate students’ systems thinking competency through a problem scenario in the context of climate change education

  • National Sun Yat-sen University

Higher education plays an important role in preparing future citizens and leaders with the capacity to address systemic issues behind complex problems such as climate change. There have however been …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Environmental Attitudes of Community College Students Concerning Age, Gender, and Race

  • St. John's University, New York (NY)

Many studies have shown the mental, physical, and academic benefits of environmental education to students. Equally important, environmental education can develop our students into more environmentally minded citizens. However, we …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Backcasting for sustainability – An approach to education for sustainable development in management

  • HEC Montréal (QC)

“Utopia dynamizes action,” said Mathieu Régnier, curator of the MTL + exhibition at the Biosphere, Environment Museum in Montreal, to students of a sustainable development and management graduate course. The …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Six critical questions for teaching justice-based environmental sustainability (JBES) in higher education

  • Beijing Normal University
  • Universidade Federal de Sergipe

In this short article, we pose six key questions that we argue as essential to critically problem-pose in achieving teaching for justice-based environmental sustainability (JBES) in higher education (HE). We …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Combining best practices framework with benchmarking to advance principles for responsible management education (PRME) performance

  • University of Calgary (AB)

Higher education institutions play a critical role in shaping a more sustainable world. There is limited research on ‘how’ business schools can effectively take the UN PRME's Sharing Information Progress …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Connection to nature of university students in the environmental field — An empirical study in 41 countries

  • Goethe University Frankfurt

People's personal relationships with nature are seen as essential factors influencing environmental behavior. Although human-nature relationships have been a recurring research topic in a wide range of disciplines, there has …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Nature as Mentor: Catalyzing First-Year Liberal Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Transition Through a Biomimicry First-Year Seminar

  • College of Charleston (SC)
  • University of Minnesota System Office (MN)

University students crave immersive, collaborative, interdisciplinary, applied learning contextualized to real world sustainability challenges. Liberal arts and sciences institutions are particularly well positioned to respond. Here we report on our …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Teaching sustainability within the context of everyday life: Steps toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through the EUSTEPs Module

  • Global Footprint Network (CA)
  • Universidade Aberta
  • University of Coimbra
  • University of Aveiro
  • University of Siena
  • Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Kentriki Makedonia)

In a world characterized by Ecological Overshoot, where humanity demands more from natural ecosystems than they can sustainably renew, education can nurture sustainability-minded citizens and future leaders to help accelerate …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Understanding Environmental Justice Instruction in Higher Education: Activist Epistemic Orientations and a Continuum of Community Engaged Curricular and Pedagogical Practice

  • University of Massachusetts Boston (MA)

Starting in the early 1980’s, the environmental justice (EJ) movement was critical in drawing much needed attention to how communities of color, low-income groups, Indigenous peoples, and other marginalized groups …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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A self-Identity-development approach to higher business education for sustainability

  • University of Manitoba (MB)

This study is focused on reorienting conventional educational approaches in higher education, particularly in higher business education, that tend to link unsustainable inner values with economic and analytical skills. Higher …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Research on sustainability leadership in higher education: a scoping review

  • Mahidol University (Bangkok)

Purpose: Despite the centrality of leadership to the successful transformation of universities toward sustainability, the literature on the role and practices of sustainability leadership in higher education remains poorly developed. …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Active methodologies and curricular sustainability in teacher training

  • University of Jaén
  • Universidad de Granada

Purpose: Changes in society, the economy and health require a response from higher education regarding the training of professionals, specifically, future teachers. In this sense, active methodologies constitute, in line …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Recent developments on research in sustainability in higher education management and accounting areas

  • Polytechnic Institute of Leiria
  • Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná

The purpose of this study is to investigate recent developments in sustainability in higher education, seeking to understand what is happening in the areas of Management and Accounting. This study …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Systems thinking for systems leadership: promoting competency development for graduate students in sustainability studies

  • Virginia Tech (VA)

Purpose: This paper aims to offer a case study for teaching specific systems thinking competencies that promote leadership for systems change. It uses leadership as a novel way to identify …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Benefit-cost analysis of becoming certified pollinator friendly

  • Louisiana State University (LA)
  • The Ohio State University (OH)

Despite significant drop in pollinator abundance, no studies exist on the benefits and costs of pollinator conservation in the public domain. An in-person survey was conducted at three large, public …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Valuation of student-led agricultural activities at university: comparison of willingness to pay with inferred values

  • Ritsumeikan University

Agricultural fields in university campuses can improve urban nutrition security, increase greenery, and provide opportunities for students to grow crops and enhance self-management skills. We conducted student surveys among freshmen …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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An assessment of key sustainability competencies: a review of scales and propositions for validation

  • Umeå University

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review and provide propositions about survey assessment tools of the key sustainability competencies (KSCs) of education for sustainability. UNESCO points out how …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Science|Environment|Health, One Health, Planetary Health, Sustainability, and Education for Sustainable Development: How Do They Connect in Health Teaching?

  • Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster
  • Pädagogische Hochschule Luzern

In this paper, we explore Science|Environment|Health, One Health, Planetary Health, and Sustainability/Education for Sustainable Development in the context of the 2030 Agenda as four major frameworks that take a step …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Education for Sustainability: Understanding Processes of Change across Individual, Collective, and System Levels

  • Lund University
  • Karolinska Institutet

Researchers and practitioners increasingly emphasise the need to complement dominant external, technological approaches with an internal focus to support transformation toward sustainability. However, knowledge on how this internal human dimension …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Sustainability infrastructure insights from a campus sustainability survey

  • University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI)

The physical and social infrastructure of an environment influences the ability of that place to be sustainable. To evaluate the sustainability culture and literacy of a university environment, a campus …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Social sustainability reporting in European business schools

  • La Salle Campus Barcelona - Universitat Ramon Llull

Purpose: This study aims to explore the social sustainability reporting (SR) of top European business schools to illustrate and discuss their practices and the associated challenges. Design/methodology/approach: For the top …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Understanding urban sustainability from Mode 2 Science and transdisciplinary education: how Master Thesis Ateliers of the Ghent Stadsacademie tackle wicked issues

  • Ghent University

The wicked sustainability problems that we are increasingly facing not only require new ways of knowledge production, but also challenge our traditional educational system. More and more importance is attached …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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At the moment of disposal: how messaging techniques at university public outdoor waste receptacles can improve the solid waste stream

  • University of Florida (FL)

Purpose: This study aims to test how waste disposal behaviors can be changed such as higher recycling diversion and lower contamination rates using signage and messaging techniques at public outdoor …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Energy Consumption in Office Buildings: A Case Study of an Australian University Campus

  • University of Technology Sydney
  • University of Twente

Building energy management, in terms of both adopted technologies and occupant consumption behaviour, is becoming an essential element of sustainability and climate change mitigation programs. The global COVID-19 pandemic and …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Gamification to Improve Participation in an Environmental Science Course: An Educator’s Reflection

  • The University of Arizona (AZ)

Reticence prevalent among East Asian students has prompted educators to attempt different methods to engage them. Gamification of courses has gained popularity as an avenue to encourage students’ participation, and …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Teaching students to collaborate with communities: expanding engineering education to create a sustainable future

  • Georgia Institute of Technology (GA)

Engineers are crucial to solving the world’s most pressing challenges, but they cannot do it alone. Creating new and more just systems that support people and planet requires that engineers …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Governance in the implementation of the UN sustainable development goals in higher education: global trends

  • Winona State University (MN)
  • Universidade Federal de Vicosa
  • University of Malta (Northern Harbor District)
  • Hamburg University of Applied Sciences
  • Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (Eastern)
  • Universidade Fernando Pessoa

Governance is a key component for implementing sustainable development (SD) initiatives in university teaching, research, and projects. This line of thinking also applies to implementing the United Nations (UN) sustainable …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Leadership, support and organisation for academics’ participation in engineering education change for sustainable development

  • KTH Royal Institute of Technology

This work spotlights the experiences from ten years of implementing sustainable development in all educational programs at a technical university. With a focus on the critical issue of involving more …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Understanding the Research Interlinkages Between Anthropocene, Millennium and Sustainable Development Goals: A Global Bibliometric Analysis

  • Presidency University
  • Guangzhou University

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are impacted by the Anthropocene's onset, hence critical actions must be taken to develop tailored policies for these goals. This research aims to understand the interaction …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Key insights from climate communication – and how they can inspire sustainability in higher education

  • Hochschule Konstanz für Technik, Wirtschaft und Gestaltung

Purpose: To combat climate change and safeguard a liveable future, humanity needs fundamental and rapid social change. The purpose of this paper is to show, why and how climate communication …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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The Contribution of Higher Education to Sustainability: The Development and Assessment of Sustainability Competences in a University Case Study

  • Imperial College London

Universities can make a significant contribution to sustainability, and the development of sustainability competences in their graduates should be a key outcome of their courses. We propose an assessment framework …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Inclusion and social justice in sustainable higher education: An integrated perspective through the lens of public engagement

  • Sapienza Università di Roma
  • Università di Roma LUMSA
  • Università degli Studi del Sannio

The objective of this paper is to investigate the commitment of universities in terms of inclusion and social justice in the light of the opportunities offered by university public engagement …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Ensuring sustainability in internationalisation efforts at higher education institutions

  • Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul - UFRGS
  • University of Nottingham
  • Manchester Metropolitan University
  • National University of Sciences and Technology (Federal)
  • Università di Bologna
  • Universidade Fernando Pessoa

Purpose: Higher education institutions (HEIs) around the world are engaged in internationalisation efforts. Yet internationalisation per se is associated with significant pressures on the environment and environmental resources, which need …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Defining Sustainability in Higher Education Institutions

  • Loyola University Maryland (MD)
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI)

People interact with each other based on shared meaning. In the absence of shared meaning, organizations fail to identify and achieve goals. Focus is generally placed on how to engage, …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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Ecosystem guidance for the incorporation of renewable utilities in a multi-use campus network

  • Texas A&M University (TX)

Configuring the network connections in industrial, power, and water networks to mimic the structural patterns of ecological food webs has been shown to improve the resilience of human networks. This …

  • Posted June 15, 2023
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