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

3966
Total Resources
1909
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.

3966 resources

Measuring professional action competence in education for sustainable development (PACesd)

  • KU Leuven
  • University of Antwerp

Based on the concept of action competence, the current study introduces an integrated framework of Professional Action Competence in Education for Sustainable Development (PACesd) described by three defining features: willingness, …


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 …


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 …


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 …


Sustainable development goals and the scientific community: a systematic review of the literature and the research agenda

  • University of Campinas

The aim of this paper is to discuss the process of the constitution of the Sustainable Development Goals and, by extension, present how the scientific community has been collaborating with …


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 …


Mapping sustainability initiatives in higher education institutions in Latin America

  • Universidad de Sonora (Sonora)
  • Hamburg University of Applied Sciences
  • University of Passo Fundo
  • Universidade federal de Santa Maria
  • Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná
  • Universidad EAFIT (Antioquia)
  • Universidade Federal da Paraíba
  • Universidad Galileo

Many higher education institutions (HEIs) around the world are involved in a variety of sustainability initiatives. These are acknowledged to be important elements in fostering the cause of sustainability in …


Proposal for sustainability action archetypes for higher education institutions

  • University of Campinas

Higher education institutions (HEIs) should assume their role as leaders in the search for a sustainable future. Consequently, such institutions need to incorporate sustainability into their activities. However, this needs …


Social Learning of Sustainability in a Pandemic—Changes to Sustainability Understandings, Attitudes, and Behaviors during the Global Pandemic in a Higher Education Setting

  • University of Queensland (QLD)
  • University of Klagenfurt

When people learn from each other and change their behavior accordingly, this is called social learning. COVID-19 not only taught us new habits to limit contagion, imposed restrictions also limited …


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 …


Applying SDGs as a systematic approach for incorporating sustainability in higher education

  • University of Melbourne (Victoria)

The achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) for all communities and jurisdictions require a comprehensive roadmap that encompasses all dimensions of data infrastructure, social, economic, environmental and governance ecosystems. …


Educating for the future: How higher education in environmental management affects pro-environmental behaviour

  • University of Zaragoza
  • Montpellier Business School (Montpellier)

This study analyses whether and how environmental education determines the adoption of pro-environmental behaviours. We conducted an experiment on 222 business administration students to examine this relationship from two theoretical …


Higher Education Institution–Community Partnerships: Measuring the Performance of Sustainability Science Initiatives

  • Brock University (ON)

The enterprise of sustainability science extends beyond the academy to address pressing environmental issues through collaboration. It coincides with trends in higher education institutions (HEIs) towards an expanded mission for …


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 …


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 …


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 …


Intention to adopt pro-environmental behaviors among university students of hard and soft sciences: the case of drinking by reusable bottles

  • Università degli Studi di Torino
  • Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II

The market of bottled water is one of the largest in the world. Paradoxically, the consumption of water in plastic bottles is highest in countries rich in the potable tap …


Promoting recycling, reducing and reusing in the School of Design: a step toward improving sustainability literacy

  • Syracuse University (NY)

This paper aims to explore systematic strategies implemented at the School of Design, X University, to use materials more sustainably and responsibly in the design studios.


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 …


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 …


Teaching ecosystem services: a pathway to improve students’ argumentation in favour of nature conservation and sustainable development?

  • University of the Basque Country

Ecosystem services (ES) are the benefits people obtain from nature contributing to our well-being. Although this concept has high didactic potential, its presence in education literature is scarce. This article …


Teaching and learning for change: analysis of a post-graduate One Health program

  • Universite Libre de Bruxelles (Brussels Region)
  • Université Dan Dicko Dankoulodo de Maradi
  • Université de Namur
  • Université de Liège
  • Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire
  • Université de Montpellier

As problematized through the One Health concept, global health issues are defeating conventional disciplinary approaches since they unfold across various scientific domains and across all levels of society. Calling for …


Using the theory of planned behavior to understand the students’ pro-environmental behavior: a case-study in a Portuguese HEI

  • Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra (Coimbra)

Through the application of the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study aims to explore the main determinants of higher education students’ pro-environmental behavior.


Making open educational resource videos on sustainable development: students’ attitudes, rationales, and approaches

  • National Chengchi University

The aim of this study was to investigate students’ attitudes, rationales, and approaches to making open educational resource (OER) videos (a form of OERs) on sustainable development (SD) in order …


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 …


Investigating the environmental behavior of business and accounting university students

  • National Technical University of Athens
  • University of West Attica

The purpose of this study is to explore the underlying dimensions of environmental behavior (EB) and examine how environmental education (EE) and ecological sensitivity (ES) motivate the EB of Business …


Cooling supply costs of a university campus

  • Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
  • EIFER - European Institute for Energy Research

Global climate change and growing research activities lead to increasing cooling demands and related supply costs at universities, while at the same time ambitious goals towards carbon neutral campuses are …


CSR Education in Economia Aziendale Curricula: An Overview

  • Università del Salento

In the last few years, policymakers have underlined the need for new soft and hard skills about corporate social responsibility (CSR). The main debate about CSR education has been driven …


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 …


Place-responsive Pedagogies in the Anthropocene: attuning with the more-than-human

  • The Mind Lab
  • University of Stirling (Scotland)

Drawing on New Materialist frameworks for environmental and sustainability education, we extend and deepen our understanding of contemporary place-responsive pedagogies in the light of our human-impacted geological epoch, the Anthropocene, …


The role of community-based learning in teaching about industrial ecology and sustainability in the context of engineering education: A case study from the field

  • University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI)

Industrial ecology and sustainability education have evolved over time, as this relatively new discipline has emerged and has been refined. Courses engaging with these topics are often found in engineering …


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 …


Analysis of sustainability insertion in materials selection courses of engineering undergraduate programmes

  • University of Campinas
  • Universidade Federal Fluminense
  • Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Universidad Católica del Norte

This study aims to analyse how the materials selection courses of engineering undergraduate programmes can be better aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).


Are the sustainability-oriented skills and competencies of business graduates meeting or missing employers’ needs? Perspectives of regional employers

  • James Cook University (Queensland)

In the Anthropocene, universities play a role in developing students’ sustainability literacy and capacity to solve socio-ecological challenges. The objective of this study is to identify the generic and sustainability-oriented …


Fostering sustainable businesses: understanding sustainability-driven entrepreneurial intention among university students in Pakistan

  • University of Turbat
  • Institute of Business Management

The purpose of this research paper is to predict sustainability-driven entrepreneurship intention among university students in the developing market (Pakistan).


Towards a European framework for community engagement in higher education – a case study analysis of European universities

  • University of Twente
  • Ghent University
  • Technological University Dublin (Dublin)
  • University of Rijeka
  • Institute for the Development of Education

This paper aims to examine the development and piloting of a novel European framework for community engagement (CE) in higher education, which has been purposefully designed to progress the CE …


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. …


University leadership in climate mitigation: reducing emissions from waste through carbon pricing

  • Syracuse University (NY)
  • Seoul National University

Purpose - This paper aims to investigate potential impact of internal carbon pricing in emission reduction in Higher education institutions (HEIs). Over the past century, human activities have increased greenhouse …


Developing an Integrated Sustainability Management Approach for Higher Education Institutions

  • University of the West of England, Bristol

The Higher Education Institutions' (HEIs) around the world have to pay the main role in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals for that HEIs need to be sustainable first. This …


Development and Application of the Just Employment Policy Assessment in American Higher Education Institutions

  • University of Toronto (ON)

The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the visibility of economic inequality and the inadequacy of current minimum wage laws in the United States. Changes in the minimum wage, a living wage, …


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 …


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 …


The socially responsible European university: a challenging project

  • University College London (London)
  • Universidad de Tarapacá

Abstract

Purpose: This paper aims to propose a thesis about the historical evolution of the relationship of the European University in relation to the idea of social responsibility.

Design/methodology/approach: This …


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 …


University contributions to co-creating sustainable tourism destinations

  • University of Queensland (QLD)
  • University of Gothenburg
  • Universita' di Macerata

A debate is emerging about the evolving functions and roles of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). New functions pivot on value-adding to the social, environmental and economic sustainability of communities – …


Students’ home-university commuting patterns: A shift towards more sustainable modes of transport

  • University of Minho

Students commuting to and from university campuses have important social, environmental and transportation impacts. Based on a questionnaire conducted with 686 students from the University of Minho, Portugal, this study …


Smart practices in HEIs and the contribution to the SDGs: implementation in Brazilian university

  • University of Passo Fundo

Smart campuses can be seen as the future of higher education efforts, especially for their contributions to sustainability and to encourage innovation. This paper aims to present the benefits of …


Pedagogies for peacebuilding in higher education: How and why should higher education institutions get involved in teaching for peace?

  • Universidad de los Andes
  • University of Sussex (Sussex)
  • University of Rwanda
  • Univerzitet u Sarajevu

This article makes the case for why higher education institutions should take the teaching of peacebuilding seriously. It is co-authored by a team from four countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda, …


Can Higher Education Institutions’ Stakeholders Drive Regional Sustainable Development? Yes, They Can?!

  • University of Beira Interior

Although Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) develop and announce actions related to sustainable development (SD), these actions and the results achieved are often not perceived by their stakeholders. This article aims …


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 …