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

Navigating the Necessary Evils: Contemplating the Topic of Sustainability in Study Abroad

  • School for International Training (VT)

Travel is a defining feature of education abroad, instrumental in exposing students to experiences and countries beyond their campus community. The cultural exchange implied in travel aspires to benefit both …


The Land Use Changes in the Çukurova University Campus

  • Çukurova Üniversitesi
  • Osmaniye Korkut Ata Üniversitesi
  • Niğde Ömer Halisdemir Üniversitesi

This study aimed to determine the land-use changes in the Cukurova University campus, providing ecosystem services to the city of Adana with its natural areas. Land uses of the study …


Water–energy–carbon nexus at campus scale: Case of North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power

  • North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power
  • Nanjing University

Clarifying the nexus between water, energy, and carbon has great importance regarding regional sustainable development. A university campus is a multifunctional comprehensive community attribute suitable for exploring campus–scale water–energy–carbon nexus …


A holistic sustainability assessment of a university campus using life cycle approach

  • Abdullah Gül University

The sustainability performances of campuses are of importance as it could model the effective sustainable initiatives that could be then applied to campuses by decision-makers and designers. Studies have been …


Food sustainability perception at universities: Education and demographic features effects

  • Università degli Studi di Torino
  • Università degli Studi di Palermo

The 2030 Agenda of the United Nations merged in 17 goals the strong need to change the pattern of human life on the planet in a path of strengthening sustainability …


Building capacity for socio-ecological change through the campus farm: a mixed-methods study

  • Butler University (IN)
  • Indiana University System Administration (IN)
  • Indiana University Indianapolis (IN)
  • Henry M Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine (MD)

Given the ongoing socio-ecological crises, higher education institutions need curricular interventions to support students in developing the knowledge, skills, and perspectives needed to create a sustainable future. Campus farms are …


Renewing Universities in Our Climate Emergency: Stewarding System Change and Transformation

  • University of Colorado Boulder (CO)
  • University of York
  • University of Freiburg (Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg)
  • Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) (Scotland)
  • International Futures Forum (Scotland)
  • H3Uni (Scotland)
  • Susanne Moser Research and Consulting (MA)

This paper outlines climate emergencies facing universities and, by drawing on research on system transition, provides insights about how change to overcome the challenges might be stewarded. Climate change brings …


Common features of sustainable higher education sector according to an international sustainability ranking data

  • Häme University of Applied Sciences
  • Universidade Feevale
  • National Defence University (Finland)

This case study utilized data from an international university ranking (GreenMetric World University Rankings). The data show that in 2015–17, campus greening activities were dominated by sustainable development (SD) oriented …


Development of the University Food Environment Assessment (Uni-Food) Tool and Process to Benchmark the Healthiness, Equity, and Environmental Sustainability of University Food Environments

  • Monash University (VIC)
  • University of Sydney (NSW)
  • Deakin University
  • University of Melbourne (Victoria)
  • University of Wollongong (New South Wales)
  • University of Tasmania (TAS)
  • Flinders University (South Australia)

Globally, there is increasing interest in monitoring actions to create healthy, equitable and environmentally sustainable food environments. Currently, there is a lack of detailed tools for monitoring and benchmarking university …


Sustainability based careers and graduate prospects

  • University of West London

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals aim to create a sustainable global future through seventeen inter-related objectives that encompass the environment, social justice, and good governance. Countries are deploying national …


To shift a paradigm or not: worldviews at play in responsible management education literature

  • KU Leuven
  • University of Antwerp
  • TBS Education

This study analyzes which worldviews on the interrelatedness of the economic, environmental and social systems are adopted in the literature on responsible management education (RME) and explores how this affects …


Universities and CSR Teaching: New Challenges and Trends

  • Università degli Studi di Cassino e del Lazio Meridionale

This paper aims to analyse how universities are currently improving CSR teaching, pointing out some new challenges and trends emerging from a context in which CSR issues have become increasingly …


Longitudinal analysis of the environmental literacy of undergraduate students in Eastern Taiwan

  • National Dong Hwa University

Although higher education is crucial for training future professionals to deal with environmental challenges, there have been few longitudinal studies exploring how university students’ academic major influences their environmental literacy. …


Education for sustainable development: a critical reflexive discourse on a transformative learning activity for business students

  • Università degli Studi di Torino

This paper presents in detail a critical reflexive discourse on a transformative learning activity that engaged 140 students of the “Risk Management and Green Business Strategy” module at the University …


Factors influencing tourism students’ intentions towards environmental sustainability

  • Prince of Songkla University (Songkhla)
  • Chengdu University

The study aims to examine undergraduate hospitality and tourism students’ intentions toward environmental sustainability and to compare factors (knowledge, attitudes, perceived behavioural control, and intentions) towards environmental sustainability among students …


Engineering students’ agency beliefs and career goals to engage in sustainable development: differences between first-year students and seniors

  • Virginia Tech (VA)
  • Purdue University (IN)

This paper aims to explore the differences in first-year and senior engineering students’ engineering agency beliefs and career goals related to sustainable development. The authors also sought to understand how …


How university students are taught about sustainability, and how they want to be taught: the importance of the hidden curriculum

  • University of Plymouth (Devon)
  • NITTE University

India is unique, having enshrined in law the teaching of sustainability education (SE) within all levels of formal education. This study aims to examine the integration and perceptions of SE …


The Literacy-Based Scale for Measuring Reflections on a University Social Responsibility Curriculum: Development and Validation

  • Chung Shan Medical University

University Social Responsibility (USR) enhances educational development and the impact of universities on society. As a stakeholder in USR, it is imperative to develop a comprehensive literacy scale that reflects …


UC Merced Through a Socio-Environmental Imagination Lens

  • University of California, Merced (CA)

The socio-environmental imagination will be applied to the University of California, Merced, in hopes to understand the connection between society and UC Merced. UC Merced is located in Merced, California. …


A Mixed Methods Case Study: Effects of Instructors’ Beliefs on Incorporation of Sustainability Curriculum at a Midwestern University

  • University of Nebraska - Lincoln (NE)

The degree to which sustainability is taught is often varied and inconsistent across colleges, departments, and higher education institutions. However, educating students and future generations regarding the different pillars of …


Sustainability through a Phenomenon-based learning approach : A study of student reflections

  • University of Helsinki

The purpose of this thesis is to study on how a phenomenon-based approach might evoke critical reflection on sustainability. By using the phenomenon-based learning (PhBL) approach, the aim of the …


Learning from the Dirt: Initiating university food gardens as a cross-disciplinary tertiary teaching tool

  • Macquarie University (NSW)

Food gardens are an underdeveloped resource for teaching and research in Australian universities. While some campuses have food or botanical gardens, outside the biological or physical sciences food growing is …


The development and evaluation of interdisciplinary STEM, sustainability, and management curriculum

  • Montana State University - Billings (MT)
  • Murray State University (KY)
  • RAND Corporation (CA)

There is an increasing need in the workforce for STEM and sustainability literate graduates. In practice, however, it is difficult to enact interdisciplinary STEM and sustainability curriculum, particularly in business …


The relationship between the incorporation of sustainability in higher education and the student’s behavior: self-reported sustainable behavior scale

  • Universidade Municipal de São Caetano do Sul (SP)

This study aims to describe the development and validation of a scale that measures the self-reported sustainable behavior of students in higher education institutions (HEIs) regarding their knowledge on incorporating …


Setting the Direction for a Sustainable Future? A Critical Review of University-Enterprise Partnership Evaluation

  • Lancaster University

University–enterprise partnerships foster great opportunities for sustainable development by enabling the translation of research into viable commercial solutions. However, how do we measure the relative “success” of such a partnership? …


How to Repurpose the University: A Resilience Lens on Sustainability Governance

  • Blekinge Institute of Technology
  • Keele University

Universities have an important role in moving society towards a more sustainable future. However, this will require us to repurpose universities, reorienting and refocusing the different university domains (education, research, …


Rethinking of higher education institutions as complex adaptive systems for enabling sustainability governance

  • Banaras Hindu University (Uttar Pradesh)

Education in particular Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are considered pivotal in promoting and implementing the targets of the United Nations-Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs). However, frameworks, curriculums, pedagogies and governance policies …


Meaning-making in higher education for sustainable development: undergraduates’ long-term processes of experiencing and learning

  • Leuphana University of Lüneburg

Despite the increase in teaching approaches designed to integrate sustainability into higher education, the connection between students’ learning experiences and their learning outcomes remains incompletely understood. The present multi-case study …


Increasing rates of convenience food packaging use at HEIs: a case study of the Neelsie student centre, Stellenbosch University

  • Stellenbosch University (Western Cape)

Food packaging waste from Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) is a significant management concern. Waste minimisation is critical to reduce the pressures on already stretched municipal infrastructure. This is set against …


Science with society: Challenges of early-stage researchers engaging with transdisciplinary research in sustainability science

  • Utrecht University
  • University of Hull

The ongoing social and ecological crises create urgency in academia and elsewhere to devise actionable problem-solving knowledge to tackle sustainability challenges. Transdisciplinary research (TDR) represents a problem-solving methodology for sustainability …


Principles for responsible management education - PRME: Collaboration among researchers

  • Universidade Municipal de São Caetano do Sul (SP)

This study characterizes as a systematically reviews literature on the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) through bibliometric research. The research maps and analyzes scientific research networks of PRME by …


Development of the biotic impacts of climate change core concepts (BIC4) framework

  • Lamar University (TX)
  • University of Colorado Boulder (CO)
  • University of Northern Colorado (CO)

The ability of living organisms to respond and adapt to a changing climate is an urgent concern. However, current educational efforts aimed at increasing US undergraduate student climate literacy primarily …


GIS and Sustainability Engagement in Higher Education

  • University of Maryland, Baltimore County (MD)

Does the use of an interactive GIS web map significantly influence the level of sustainability stakeholder engagement at institutions of higher education? With over 1,000 institutions of higher education across …


Information Disclosure and Climate-Friendly Consumption: Assessing the Impact of Carbon Labelling at a University Dining Hall

  • University of California, Berkeley (CA)

Global dietary patterns are increasingly reliant on animal products, which are highly carbon intensive and significantly contribute to climate change. While transitioning towards plant-based diets is regarded as an important …


Geothermal District Heating Feasibility Study for Duke University

  • Duke University (NC)

Recognizing the importance of renewable energy in combating climate change, Duke University has set a goal to become carbon neutral by 2024 from a 2007 baseline. To fulfill the goal, …


UM Scope 3 Purchased Goods & Services Emissions Footprinting

  • University of Michigan (MI)

This project was conducted to address recommendations from the University of Michigan’s President’s Commission on Carbon Neutrality by footprinting the institution's Scope 3 purchased goods and services greenhouse gas emissions. …


An analysis of building energy submetering and its uses for colleges and universities

  • Kansas State University (KS)

The intent of this report is to cover the topic of building energy submetering. Utilizing submeters to quantify building and sub-building energy usage can lead to reduced utility consumption, increased …


Universities as Change Makers Sustainability Initiatives from Across the Globe

  • Freie Universität Berlin
  • Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú

“Universities as Change Makers: Sustainability Initiatives from Across the Globe” is the result of a cooperative effort of two HEI-focused international projects based at Freie Universität Berlin: trAndeS – Postgraduate …


Higher education's response to the Covid-19 pandemic - Building a more sustainable and democratic future

  • Council of Europe

Public health was the immediate concern when the Covid-19 pandemic struck in Asia, then in Europe and other parts of the world. The response of our education systems is no …


Mapping and Critical Synthesis of Current State-of-the-Art on Community Engagement in Higher Education

  • Global University Network for Innovation

This publication defines the concept of community engagement in higher education and its role in contemporary debates about the role of higher education in the 21st century and maps international …


What are the motivations for and obstacles to disclosing voluntary sustainability information by U.S. universities in STARS reports?

  • Johns Hopkins University (MD)
  • Technische Universität Dresden (Dresden)

This study investigates voluntary sustainability reporting by U.S. universities. Using a structural equation modeling approach and Poisson regression, this analysis explores the relevant motivations for and obstacles in disclosing sustainability …


Education for Sustainable Development in Higher Education Rankings: Challenges and Opportunities for Developing Internationally Comparable Indicators

  • University of Twente

As more higher education institutions strive to embed sustainable development principles in their teaching, it becomes increasingly important to identify indicators that can measure institutional contribution in a meaningful and …


Education on the Sustainable Development Goals for nursing students: Is Freire the answer?

  • Curtin University
  • University of Wollongong (New South Wales)

Significant global events in recent years have had a substantial impact on the nursing profession. The COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and systemic racism are a few of the many complex …


The Planetary Health Report Card: a student-led initiative to inspire planetary health in medical schools

  • University of California, San Francisco (CA)
  • University of Hawaii Honolulu Community College (HI)
  • University of Oxford

The warming of our planet and destruction of our ecosystems have created grave new threats to human health, such as food insecurity, physical and mental trauma from extreme weather events, …


Higher Education for Sustainability: A Bibliometric Approach—What, Where and Who Is Doing Research in This Subject?

  • University of Aveiro
  • University of Minho

Contextualization: From a very early age, assuming more prominence over the last decades, issues related to sustainability have been taking on a particular interest in the field of research. Although …


Education for Sustainable Development in Foreign Language Learning

  • George Washington University (DC)

This books uses the UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development framework to help educators integrate sustainability education in foreign language learning at the college level. The chapters are all written by …


Are LEED campus buildings universally designed? Assessments at Virginia Tech

  • Virginia Tech (VA)

Purpose

As many of the next generation leaders are currently on college campuses, endorsing green buildings can foster environmental stewardship among the student body. However, marshalling in the social sphere …


Art and higher education for environmental sustainability: a matter of emergence?

  • Aalborg Universitet

This study aims to contribute to the exploration of inter-disciplinary approaches in higher education for sustainability. It is a reflection on a case study linking students in the arts and …


Defining a Pedagogical Framework for Integrating Buildings and Landscapes in Conjunction with Social Sustainability Discourse in the Architecture Graduate Design Studio

  • Girne American University
  • Arkin University of Creative Arts and Design

The primary objective of this research is to define a pedagogy framework for architecture Graduate Design Studio. The proposed pedagogy framework pursues the following three principal objectives: The first objective …


Developing Ethical Future Managers Embracing Sustainability: Case Study of Budapest Business School

  • Budapest Business University

The paper describes and evaluates how a higher education institution (Budapest Business School - BBS), aspiring for AACSB accreditation, co-created innovative tools, based on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and …