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

3958
Total Resources
1908
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.

3958 resources

Overcoming barriers to achieving sustainable development at universities in Vietnam

  • Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City

Numerous studies in the business context have identified variables that can promote sustainable development. By contrast, studies of universities have mostly clarified challenges of higher education, with little focus on …


Stimulating boundary crossing learning in a multi-stakeholder learning environment for sustainable development

  • Wageningen University

Sustainable development requires multiple stakeholders to work and learn across practices, in other words, it requires boundary crossing competence. To prepare students for their future sustainability professions, higher education should …


A comprehensive approach for the feasibility assessment of on-campus food waste composting

  • American University of Sharjah
  • German Jordanian University

Food waste management is increasingly emphasized globally due to its economic and environmental impacts and the strategic transformation towards sustainability. This can be observed from the increasing number of Zero …


A Paradigm Shift in International Service-Learning: The Imperative for Reciprocal Learning

  • Appalachian State University (NC)

The US-based authors argue that the practice of what we currently call “international service-learning” does not generally achieve its most important goals in the context of the global South, especially …


The Impact of Service Learning in the Development of Student Teachers’ Socio-Educational Commitment

  • Comillas Universidad Pontificia (Madrid)

This research arises from the university’s need to contribute to the training of professionals, especially teachers, who, in turn are committed to contribute to a more sustainable and socially just …


Higher education and the sustainable tourism pedagogy: Are tourism students ready to lead change in the post pandemic era?

  • Universidad Complutense de Madrid

The present context of COVID19 pandemics has highlighted the vulnerability of tourism. Sustainable tourism needs to be thoroughly implemented to confront this and other crises; and sustainable tourism pedagogies must …


Social Media for Engaging and Educating: From Universities’ Sustainability Reporting to Dialogic Communication

  • Università degli Studi "Gabriele d'Annunzio"

Traditionally, universities are committed to the missions of conducting research and teaching. Recently, they were also called to contribute to supporting sustainable development in society. Many universities worldwide have experienced …


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 …


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 …


Sustainability in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs: Authentic engagement through a community-based approach

  • Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (FL)
  • University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland

Higher education Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs currently offer the theoretical knowledge and industry-related competences that seek to prepare STEM graduates to be leaders to meet 21st century …


Transformative, interdisciplinary and intercultural learning for developing HEI students’ sustainability-oriented competences: a case study

  • Erasmus University Rotterdam
  • University of Jyvaskyla (PO Box 35)

The literature has produced relevant theoretical insights into pedagogical frameworks, tools and competences that would be best suited to teach sustainability at higher education (HE). This article contributes to such …


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 …


Developing a sustainability competences paradigm in Higher Education or a White Elephant?

  • Gävle University College

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have been at the forefront in creating and breaking paradigms, and educating the future decision-makers, entrepreneurs, and leaders. In the last decade, there have been many …


Student Teachers’ Willingness to Act in the Climate Change Context

  • University of Rijeka

In education for sustainable development, widely regarded as a framework that offers us the opportunity to improve the ways in which we cope with climate change issues, the need for …


The Challenge of Teacher Training in the 2030 Agenda Framework Using Geotechnologies

  • Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia – UNED
  • Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Social evolution, globalization, and advances in technology are making it increasingly necessary to offer complete and comprehensive teacher training. This training should produce citizens who are concerned about the planet …


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 …


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).


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 …


Mapping social structures for sustainability transformation at McGill University, Canada

  • McGill University (QC)

For a university to be a prime mover for sustainability transformation, all units of the university should contribute. However, organizational change in educational institutions is often studied by examining specific …


Can student managed investment funds (SMIFs) narrow the environmental, social and governance (ESG) skills gap?

  • Queen's University
  • Memorial University of Newfoundland (NL)

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it endeavors to document the current state of environmental, social and governance (ESG) pedagogy within undergraduate finance courses of business schools, and …


Sustainability in engineering education: A review of learning outcomes

  • Monash University (VIC)

Although UNESCO and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals have articulated the critical role of engineering in achieving sustainable forms of development, there remains the need to analyze the design, features, …


A scale for assessing student understandings of marine resource conservation and sustainability: psychometric verification and the latent mean difference between genders

  • Tzu Chi University
  • National Taiwan Ocean University

This study developed a scale for evaluating how well students understand marine-resource conservation and sustainability; it evaluated the scale’s psychometric properties and investigated the gender difference in the scale’s score. …


Diffusing corporate sustainability knowledge with online education: experiences from a massive open online course (MOOC) on sustainable fashion

  • Copenhagen Business School

This study aims to show how a massive open online course (MOOC) can be used as an educational tool to diffuse specialised corporate sustainability research globally to a broad range …


A Qualitative Assessment of Community Learning Initiatives for Environmental Awareness and Behaviour Change: Applying UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Framework

  • Bournemouth University (Dorset)
  • The Open University of Japan

This study uses qualitative research methods of text mining to elucidate the potential and prospects for community-based learning opportunities for raising environmental awareness and bringing about healthy behaviour change among …


Environmental sustainability in higher education: Mapping the field

  • University of Magdalena
  • University of Barcelona

A considerable amount of literature has been published on environmental sustainability in the context of higher education. However, no previous studies have investigated how environmental sustainability has evolved in the …


Development of the Assessment of Student Knowledge of Green Chemistry Principles (ASK-GCP)

  • North Dakota State University (ND)

As implementation of green chemistry into university-level courses increases, it is vital that educators have a tool to rapidly measure student knowledge of green chemistry principles. We report the development …


Environmental Attitudes Among Undergraduate Students at a South African University

  • North-West University (North West)

Understanding environmental attitudes (EAs) has been viewed as prerequisite to changing environmental behaviour and is a particularly salient topic in the context of higher educational institutions which play an important …


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 …


Life Cycle Assessment of Compostable Coffee Pods: A US University Based Case Study

  • University of Tennessee at Knoxville (TN)
  • Oak Ridge National Laboratory (TN)

Single-serve machines have proven to be a rapid and convenient mechanism for preparing coffee for consumption. However, disposing the single-use coffee pods accompanying each use creates insurmountable waste in landfills. …


Teaching environmental sustainability in China: opportunities and challenges for business and economics faculty in higher education

  • Plymouth Marjon University

Environmental sustainability constitutes an important part of the political and educational context in China as it strives to move toward an ecological civilization. However, there is limited literature documenting the …


Higher education: the best practices for fostering competences for sustainable development through the use of active learning methodologies

  • Pompeu Fabra University

The purpose of this paper is to analyse which are the active learning methodologies, which had better contribute to acquiring competences for sustainable development (SD) in higher education.


A study of the Web visibility of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda on university websites

  • University of Barcelona
  • Pompeu Fabra University

Universities play an important role in the promotion and implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This study aims to examine the visibility of information about the Sustainable Development …


University gardens for sustainable citizenship: assessing the impacts of garden-based learning on environmental and food education at Spanish higher education

  • Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador
  • University of Valladolid

Gardens are being used at all educational stages, because they provide with a real-world context for active and experiential learning. In Spain, there exists a movement in favor of their …


Active learning as enabler of sustainability learning outcomes: Capturing the perceptions of learners during a materials education workshop

  • Imperial College London
  • Research Institutes of Sweden - RISE

Active learning is a promising teaching approach that can develop sustainability competences in learners. In this paper, we investigate the potential of active-learning pedagogies such as serious games and active-learning …


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 …


Does Higher Business Education Champion Environmental Sustainability for Next Generation of Leaders? An Assessment of In-School Students and Alumni’s Perspective

  • University of Hradec Kralove (Královéhradecký kraj)
  • Guangzhou College of South China University of Technology
  • South China Normal University

Higher business education has become a crucial driver of change in achieving sustainable development because it can educate future leaders who champion environmental sustainability initiatives in the corporate world. Given …


Exploring the development of context appreciation in coursework that targets problem-solving for sustainable development

  • Griffith University (Queensland)
  • Swinburne University of Technology

This study aims to explore the role of planned, sudden shifts in lived experiences, in influencing learner capabilities towards improved problem-solving for sustainable development outcomes. The authors responded to employers …


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 …


Addressing plate waste and consumption practice at university canteens: realizing green university through citizen-consumers

  • Ubon Ratchathani Rajabhat University

This study aims to explore ways to minimize plate waste at university canteens by studying plate waste and consumers at three main canteens of a university, Thailand.


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 …


Embracing higher education leadership in sustainability: A systematic review

  • Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha

Education has long been praised for its economic benefits, which stem from the developed technical skills and improved health conditions it promotes. Nonetheless, improving the quality of education, including sustainability, …


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 …


University students involved in a sustainable world: assessing sustainable consumption in Spain

  • Universidad de Salamanca

To achieve sustainable development to protect the environment and society, an increasing number of scholars have conducted in-depth research on sustainable and responsible consumption behaviors. The outputs demonstrate that consumers …


Happy Sustainability: A Future Quest for More Sustainable Universities

  • Universidad de Sonora (Sonora)
  • University of Glasgow

For decades, sustainability researchers have tenaciously insisted on transforming higher education institutions into more sustainable and inclusive campuses. Yet, as the 2030 agenda seems unlikely to be achieved, universities are …


Inclusion of Education for Sustainable Development in Environmental Engineering. A Systematic Review

  • Universidad de Salamanca
  • Universidad Santo Tomas

Sustainable development (SD) is a global commitment, in the economic, social, and environmental terms of the 21st century. The SD integrates conventional development models that seek economic growth and human …


Universitas: how do students perceive university social responsibility in three European higher education institutions?

  • Universidade do Porto

The social dimension of Higher Education has gained relevance on the political and strategic discourses that urge Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to put University Social Responsibility (USR) into action and …


How do higher education institutions promote sustainable development? A literature review

  • Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have a fundamental role in transforming societies aimed at a more sustainable future. Through knowledge creation and dissemination, research, education and outreach, institutions of higher education …


Correlation between electric energy use and CO2 emissions in a university campus in Brazil

  • Universidade Federal Fluminense

The purpose of this article is to examine the correlations between greenhouse gas (GHG) by CO2eq emissions and the use of electricity on the Praia Vermelha campus of the Universidade …


Determinant Factors of SDG Disclosure in the University Context

  • Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli"

Universities are expected to have a leading role in the advancement, promotion, and achievement of the 2030 UN Agenda, embedding the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across their four dimensions …


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 …