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

3959
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.

3959 resources

Sustainability practices at private universities: a state-of-the-art assessment

  • College of Charleston (SC)
  • Universidade Federal de Vicosa
  • University of Worcester
  • Hamburg University of Applied Sciences
  • University of Passo Fundo
  • Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
  • University of Minho
  • Pompeu Fabra University
  • University of A Coruña (a Coruña)

Private universities also play a key role in the sustainability debate. But despite their importance, there a shortage of research on how sustainability is being implemented at private universities. Based …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Guilty by Association: Addressing Sustainability in Architecture Education

  • Universidad ORT Uruguay

Despite the growing interest in sustainability, negative associations of this term with naïve discourses, green-washing, or low-quality design are still common within some areas in the discipline of architecture. Through …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

‘Challenge to the South’ Revisited: A Case Study Worldwide of Regional Centres of Expertise (RCEs) on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)

  • Yorkville University (NB)

Three decades ago Julius Nyerere (1990) wrote Challenge to the South. In response to the legacy of colonialism, Nyerere challenged the nations of the Global South to advance their development …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

A matter of connection: The 4 Cs of learning in pre-service teacher education for sustainability

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

Teacher education for sustainability (TEfS) aims to prepare future educators for their role as societal change agents by developing in them specific sustainability competencies. Whereas previous literature has dealt extensively …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

The Buzz about Bee Campuses: Student Thoughts Regarding Pollinator Conservation

  • Louisiana State University (LA)
  • The Ohio State University (OH)
  • University of Kentucky (KY)
  • USDA (IL)

The decline of insect pollinators in North America is alarming because it may have broad effects on multiple industries and ecosystem health (Gallai et al. 2009, Potts et al. 2010, …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Addressing the Relationship between Economics and Climate Change: A Discussion of Principles

  • Northeastern University (MA)

The majority of US colleges and universities have a degree requirement related to the principles of economics. As a result, nearly all college students have some exposure to economics during …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Teaching Sustainability Practice through Service Learning: A Case Study of Reducing Food Waste

  • University of Southern Maine (ME)
  • University of Wyoming (WY)

This case report details the collaboration and integration of three distinct courses using a service-learning approach for a grant-based environmental project at the University of Southern Maine (USM). The focus …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Enhancing sustainability education through experiential learning of sustainability reporting

  • University of Arkansas (AR)
  • Babson College (MA)
  • EQS International
  • Szkoła Główna Gospodarstwa Wiejskiego (Warsaw)

While progress has been made in the realm of teaching about sustainability to business students, integrating sustainability into experiential learning with a systemic mindset has been identified by leading scholars …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Transformative education: towards a relational, justice-oriented approach to sustainability

  • Leuphana University of Lüneburg
  • Lund University
  • One Project (CA)
  • Courage of Care Coalition (CA)

This paper aims to increase related knowledge across personal, social and ecological dimensions of sustainability and how it can be applied to support transformative learning.

  • Posted April 8, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Transdisciplinary sustainability research in real-world labs: success factors and methods for change

  • Concordia University (QC)
  • Leuphana University of Lüneburg
  • Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
  • ISOE – Institute for Social-Ecological Research (Darmstadt)
  • TELEINTERNETCAFE
  • Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences
  • Universität Ulm
  • University of Freiburg (Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg)
  • Deutsche Universität für Verwaltungswissenschaften Speyer
  • Wuppertal Institut
  • Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart
  • Hochschule Heilbronn

The transdisciplinary research mode has gained prominence in the research on and for sustainability transformations. Yet, solution-oriented research addressing complex sustainability problems has become complex itself, with new transdisciplinary research …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Evaluation and Lessons Learned from a Campus as a Living Lab Program to Promote Sustainable Practices

  • University of British Columbia (BC)
  • University of Victoria (BC)
  • Yaşar University

Any group that creates challenging goals also requires a strategy to achieve them and a process to review and improve this strategy over time. The University of British Columbia (UBC) …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Education to transform the world: limits and possibilities in and against the SDGs and ESD

  • Oslo Metropolitan University

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a significant marker in global efforts to universalise a conception of ecologically sustainable human development. SDG 4’s expanded vision of quality education …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Campuses as living labs for integrated sustainability research, education, and practice

  • University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (IL)

Campuses as living labs for integrated sustainability research, education, and practice

Ximing Cai, Morgan White#, Evan Delucia, Madhu Khanna Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Institute for Sustainability, …

  • Posted March 15, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Anti-Racism in Higher Education: A Model for Change

  • Azusa Pacific University (CA)

Racism continues to persist in higher education and traditional diversity initiatives that focus only on support resources and tolerance training continue to fall short in making lasting change on college …

  • Posted Feb. 22, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Trends in research on the carbon footprint of higher education: A bibliometric analysis (2010–2019)

  • National Sun Yat-sen University
  • South China Normal University

Reducing carbon footprints is an important part of sustainable development. Although there has been increasing research attention to this topic, little is known about the status of research on the …

  • Posted Feb. 19, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Strengthening local economy – an example of higher education institutions’ engagement in “co-creation for sustainability”

  • Hochschule Niederrhein, University of Applied Sciences

Major societal challenges like energy efficiency, climate change and resource scarcity trigger and influence continuous change processes worldwide, nationwide, but also on all regional levels. They force regions to think …

  • Posted Feb. 19, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Impact of higher education imparted by Indian universities on the pro-sustainability orientation of students

  • Symbiosis International University (Maharashtra)

The purpose of this study is to test a model on pro-sustainability orientation (PSO) among the students and comparison of the levels of PSO among the first-year and the second-year …

  • Posted Feb. 19, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

The carbon footprint of a UK University during the COVID-19 lockdown

  • Bournemouth University (Dorset)

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to compare the carbon intensity of higher education delivered on- and off-campus. This is attributed to governmental lockdown orders that have forced …

  • Posted Feb. 19, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Future Directions—Engaged Scholarship and the Climate Crisis

  • University of California, Davis (CA)

Climate change has the potential to disrupt ecosystem services and further exacerbate the effects of human activities on natural resources. This has significant implications for educational institutions and the populations …

  • Posted Feb. 19, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

How many chickens does it take to make an egg? Animal welfare and environmental benefits of replacing eggs with plant foods at the University of California, and beyond

  • University of California, Santa Barbara (CA)

Our question “How many chickens does it take to make an egg?” was inspired by the successful replacement of egg-based mayonnaise with plant-based mayonnaise in general dining at the University …

  • Posted Feb. 19, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Democracy and the (missing) politics in environmental education

  • Oberlin College (OH)

Our work as educators does not match the scope, scale, and urgency of the challenges we presently face and that our descendants will confront through the centuries of the “long …

  • Posted Feb. 19, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

An exploratory study of students’ perceptions of environmental issues as social work practice and their understanding of environmental justice

  • Boise State University (ID)
  • Indiana University

As environmental crises continue to rise, the profession of social work in the US is being called to incorporate environmental justice content in the training and education of social workers …

  • Posted Feb. 19, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Higher education and food waste: assessing current trends

  • Allegheny College (PA)
  • University of Passo Fundo
  • Manchester Metropolitan University
  • University of Applied Sciences Zittau/Görlitz
  • Università di Verona

Food waste is a considerable sustainability challenge, and many universities around the world are engaged in food waste prevention. University canteens offer opportunities for prevention of food waste by steering …

  • Posted Feb. 19, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Learning processes for interpersonal competence development in project-based sustainability courses – insights from a comparative international study

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

For professional sustainability work, graduates need to be able to work in teams and collaborate with stakeholders; in other words, they need to have developed interpersonal competence. There is growing …

  • Posted Feb. 19, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

A futuring approach to teaching wicked problems

  • Utrecht University

This paper investigates how the teaching and learning about “wicked” environmental problems may be fostered through an educational approach premised on futuring – the active imagination of the future. The …

  • Posted Feb. 19, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Decoupling responsible management education: Do business schools walk their talk?

  • Berry College (GA)
  • Georgia Institute of Technology (GA)
  • Kennesaw State University (GA)
  • Seattle University (WA)
  • University of Mississippi (MS)
  • Western Michigan University (MI)

Corporate scandals in recent decades have prompted business schools to advance programs to better develop the next generation of responsible business leaders. Despite these efforts, some scholars have raised concerns …

  • Posted Feb. 19, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Higher education for times of climate crisis – critical awareness, purpose and community

  • The University of Newcastle (NSW)

Climate change impacts cascade across scales and sectors, and present specific threats to education institutions and systems, including reduced educational access, participation and attainment by students. In this paper, we …

  • Posted Feb. 19, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Education for Sustainable Development Goals (ESDG): What Is Wrong with ESDGs, and What Can We Do Better?

  • The Hague University of Applied Science

This article will discuss social, environmental, and ecological justice in education for sustainable development (ESD) and Education for Sustainable Development Goals (ESDG). The concept of sustainable development and, by extension, …

  • Posted Feb. 17, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Unthinking knowledge production: from post-Covid to post-carbon futures

  • Durham University

The past years have witnessed a growing awareness of the role of institutions of knowledge production in reproducing the global climate crisis, from research funded by fossil fuel companies to …

  • Posted Feb. 17, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Integrating Multiple Perspectives in an Urban Ecology Course

  • Rochester Institute of Technology (NY)

New approaches are needed to educate university students about urban sustainability challenges. In particular, students need opportunities to learn the importance of integrating not just biophysical issues (e.g. climate change, …

  • Posted Feb. 17, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Translating green economy concepts into practice: ideas pitches as learning tools for sustainability education

  • Universität Trier

The urgency of the current climate crisis emphasizes the need for university graduates equipped with relevant knowledge and skills to tackle environmental and social problems such as material consumption, environmental …

  • Posted Feb. 17, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Are distance higher education institutions sustainable enough? – A comparison between two distance learning universities

  • Universidade Aberta
  • University of Beira Interior
  • Universidad de Granada
  • Madrid Open University

Universities are continually transforming its structure and governance in response to the new social, environmental and economic challenges. Particularly, there has recently been a growing academic interest for measuring sustainable …

  • Posted Feb. 17, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Green University and academic performance: An empirical study on UI GreenMetric and World University Rankings

  • University of Huddersfield
  • Hacettepe Üniversitesi

The role of higher education institutions in promoting environmental sustainability is not limited to research activities but also covers improving their campus infrastructure into a more environment-friendly setting as well …

  • Posted Feb. 17, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

A Resource-Efficient Modular Course Design for Co-Teaching Integrated Sustainability in Higher Education: Developing the Next Generation of Entrepreneurial Leaders

  • Babson College (MA)

Society faces mounting pressures related to economic growth, social injustice, and environmental degradation. Building upon scholarly consensus regarding the necessity of multidisciplinary approaches to address such complex problems, the entrepreneurship …

  • Posted Feb. 10, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Towards climate justice education: views from activists and educators in Scotland

  • University of Edinburgh

In the context of a resurgence of civic activism to address climate change, we present findings from an exploratory research project on climate justice education (CJE). We conducted deliberative focus …

  • Posted Feb. 10, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

University Stormwater Management within Urban Environmental Regulatory Regimes: Barriers to Progressivity or Opportunities to Innovate?

  • University of California, Los Angeles (CA)
  • University of California, Santa Barbara (CA)
  • University of California, Irvine (CA)
  • University of California, San Diego (CA)
  • University of Louisville (KY)
  • Virginia Tech (VA)
  • Monash University (VIC)
  • The Nature Conservancy (VA)

U.S. public university campuses are held directly responsible for compliance with many of the same federal- and state-level environmental regulations as cities, including stormwater management. While operating as ‘cities within …

  • Posted Feb. 10, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

The Power Game: Developing Influence and Negotiation Skills for Sustainable Development

  • Virginia Tech (VA)

This paper describes the outcomes of a game designed to teach advanced leadership skills, specifically influence and negotiation strategies, to current and aspiring sustainability professionals at Virginia Tech’s Center for …

  • Posted Feb. 10, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Campus Forest Carbon Sequestration: An Undergraduate Project Experience

  • State University of New York Polytechnic Institute (NY)

Predicted changes in climate have generated interest in strategies to mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases and increase education on the topic. Our study involved an instructor-led team of 19 biology …

  • Posted Feb. 10, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Drivers for Universities’ Contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals: An Analysis of Spanish Public Universities

  • University of Zaragoza

Universities have a critical role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), both for implementing active policies and for encouraging other actors to participate. This requires having the skills and …

  • Posted Feb. 10, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Enhancing the effects of university education for sustainable development on social sustainability: the role of social capital and real-world learning

  • University of A Coruña (a Coruña)

The purpose of this paper is to understand the roles that social capital and real-world learning may play in enhancing the effects of university education for sustainable development (ESD) on …

  • Posted Feb. 10, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

COVID-19, sustainable development and higher education: towards a recovery path

  • Hamburg University of Applied Sciences

This paper aims to outline the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to universities and how they may react.

  • Posted Feb. 10, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Bridging Research‐Practice Tensions: Exploring Day‐to‐Day Engaged Scholarship Investigating Sustainable Development Challenges

  • Abilene Christian University (TX)
  • Simon Fraser University (BC)
  • University of Toulouse

This paper adds to literature on engaged scholarship by exploring how previous experience, study expectations, and multiple identities are key factors that shape how management researchers perceive and experience the …

  • Posted Feb. 10, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

Teaching (super) wicked problems: authentic learning about climate change

  • St Mary's University College

Climate change is a ‘super-wicked’ problem associated with challenges including food security, mass migration and biodiversity loss. Young people are increasingly expecting their university education to prepare them to address …

  • Posted Feb. 10, 2021
  • Publications
  • View more

The Library as a Campus Sustainability Hub: A Case Study in Increasing Community Engagement & Collaboration in Sustainability through Academic Libraries

  • Binghamton University (NY)

As the topic of sustainability becomes more relevant to all types of libraries, two academic science librarians share a case study on identifying and filling gaps in sustainability-related engagement, education, …


Is the college farm sustainable? A reflective essay from Davidson College

  • Davidson College (NC)

Campus farms and gardens are proliferating across college and university campuses. While they may have unique missions, at their core those missions often include promoting student learning, campus sustainability, and …


How students engage in biomimicry

  • King's College London

Biomimicry is a useful method to develop students’ skills, such as design and systems thinking, particularly when complemented with inquiry-based learning. The research seeks to uncover how students engage in …


Perceptions of interconnected sustainability: Students’ narratives bridging transition and education

  • University of Helsinki

As sustainability becomes a focal point and important aspect of educational development in several disciplines and universities globally, it is important to critically reflect on the different utilisations of sustainability …


Design precepts for online experiential learning programs to address wicked sustainability problems

  • University of Tasmania (TAS)

There are increasing pressures within the higher education sector to incorporate digital pedagogies into teaching and learning, a trend amplified by recent extensive recourse to online delivery within the sector. …


Collegiate athletics environmental sustainability efforts within STARS reporting

  • Texas A&M University (TX)
  • University of Tennessee at Knoxville (TN)

The purpose of this paper is to examine higher education institutions’ participation in association for the advancement of sustainability in higher education’s (AASHE’s) Green Athletics category in the sustainability tracking, …


Unaligned connections or enlarging engagements? Tertiary education in developing countries and the implementation of the SDGs

  • University College London (London)

Given that tertiary education (TE) is a sector often associated with exclusion, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where only a small proportion of the population gain access, how …