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

3968
Total Resources
1910
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.

3968 resources

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 …


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 …


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 …


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 …


A review of responsible management education: practices, outcomes and challenges

  • Estonian Business School (Harjumaa)

Research on management education (ME) over the past 2 decades signals a growing level of concern in response to increasing societal demands for ethical, responsible and sustainable considerations in management …


Higher education students' perceptions of sustainable development in Portugal

  • Polytechnic Institute of Leiria
  • Polytechnic Institute of Santarém
  • University of Aveiro

Higher education institutions play an increasingly important role in advancing sustainable development. Various studies have demonstrated the key contribution made by teachers to achieving sustainable development. However, few works have …


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 …


A Survey of Environmental Attitudes and Knowledge of University Undergraduate Students for the Purpose of Faculty Development in Teaching and Learning for Sustainability

  • University of North Carolina, Pembroke (NC)

Because today's students will confront global climate change and its concomitant social and cultural disruption, it is vital that they graduate with ecological knowledge, environmental ethics, and civic skills commensurate …


A framework for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in university programmes

  • University of Malta (Northern Harbor District)
  • University of Coimbra
  • Hamburg University of Applied Sciences
  • University of Passo Fundo
  • University of Aveiro
  • Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Universidade federal de Santa Maria
  • University of Applied Sciences Zittau/Görlitz
  • University of Belgrade
  • University of Milano-Bicocca
  • University of Wroclaw/Uniwersytet Wrocławski (Wrocław)
  • Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador
  • Universidade Positivo

There is a perceived need to develop approaches, methods and tools that may help higher education institutions to systematically introduce the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into research and teaching as …


Drivers for Sustainability Awareness Development in Tourism Curricula: The Case of Spanish Universities

  • Universidad de Extremadura

Spain is one of the most popular tourism destinations in the world, and one of the top ten countries in terms of tourism contribution to its economy. As tourism is …


Teaching What Society Needs: “Hacking” an Introductory Marketing Course With Sustainability and Macromarketing

  • Pennsylvania State University (PA)
  • Simon Fraser University (BC)
  • Ollscoil na Gaillimhe - University of Galway (Co. Galway)
  • University of London
  • Middle East Technical University
  • IE Business School

Marketing classes are often focused on the micro level, failing to account for wider societal issues. In this article, we argue for the inclusion of a wider macro-sustainability focus, one …


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 …


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).


Teaching Environmental Sustainability while Transforming Study Abroad

  • Pennsylvania State University (PA)

Environmental issues are of especially great importance to younger individuals, such as university students. Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) are a proven methodology for transforming short-term study abroad to yield …


A data driven approach to curriculum development for responsible management education

  • Delhi Technological University

Education evolves with the changes in technological innovations. This paper aims to explore a model for curriculum development at higher education level. A curriculum which evolves dynamically taking inputs from …


Sustainable geography in theory or in practice? Reflections from a participant at NGM 2019

  • UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Academic conferences have a large carbon footprint due to long-distance travel by participants and contribute to increased consumption in other ways. With reference to Stephen Sterling’s distinction between education about …


Pedagogy for sustainable tourism: reflections on the curriculum space of a master programme in Sweden

  • Dalarna University

Tourism education has matured from vocational to more liberal education while current trends underline the importance of critical studies and the shift of curricula to more action-oriented forms of education …


Sustainable management education: insights from indigenous wisdom of Bhartiya (Indian) Gurukul philosophy

  • OP Jindal Global University (Haryana)

The purpose of the paper is to highlight the phenomenon of sustainable management education and its facilitating factors by exploring the indigenous wisdom of Bhartiya (Indian) Gurukul philosophy. The paper …


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 …


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 …


Introducing the Nitrogen Footprint in SIMAP: A Review of Improvements in Nitrogen Footprint Methodology for Institutions

  • Brown University (RI)
  • Colorado State University (CO)
  • Eastern Mennonite University (VA)
  • University of California, Davis (CA)
  • University of New Hampshire (NH)
  • University of Virginia (VA)
  • Marine Biological Laboratory (MA)

Nitrogen (N) footprint assessments have served as tools for sustainability, research, and education at institutions of higher learning by connecting institutional activities and resource consumption with environmental impacts through the …


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.


Management research and the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs): A bibliometric investigation and systematic review

  • University of Trento (Trentino)
  • University of Lincoln
  • Università di Foggia
  • Università del Salento

The comprehension of the businesses’ impact to sustainable development requires consideration of the different factors that affect firms’ behavior, such as corporate governance, non-financial regulation, and the external environment. The …


Reimagining Internationalization in Higher Education Through the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for the Betterment of Society

  • University of Saskatchewan (SK)
  • UNICA—Network of Universities from the Capitals of Europe

Higher education institutions (HEIs) play a critical role in creating and distributing the knowledge required to tackle the complex global challenges faced by society today. This role is frequently linked …


Social Work and the Sustainable Development Goals: A Student Placement Model

  • RMIT University

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a blueprint to address urgent global challenges, with a clear role for social workers. This paper explores a Sustainable Development Goal’s focused …


Managing campus parking demand through course scheduling – an approach to campus sustainability

  • University at Buffalo (NY)
  • University of Louisville (KY)

Using the University of Louisville as a case study, this study deploys a three-step analytical process to examine the correlation between parking demand and course enrollment, estimate parking demand based …


A cost-minimizing approach to eliminating the primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions at institutions of higher education

  • University of Massachusetts Amherst (MA)
  • University of Massachusetts Boston (MA)

Many institutions of higher education have committed to carbon neutrality. Given this goal, the main economic issue is minimizing cost. As for society as a whole, dominant decarbonization strategies are …


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 …


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.


Sustainability Governance at Higher Education Institutions: Equipped to Transform?

  • University of Vechta
  • Freie Universität Berlin

In this opinion paper, we reflect on selected literature as well as on specific research we have conducted into sustainability governance at German HEIs. We then provide answers to the …


Educating for the Environment: The Role of the Host Destination in Education Travel Programs

  • Franklin University Switzerland (Ticino)

The benefits from educational travel programs (ETPs) for students have been well-documented in the literature, particularly for programs looking at sustainability and environmental issues. However, the impacts the ETPs have …


Designing a model to estimate the level of university social responsibility based on rough sets

  • University of Southern Denmark
  • University of Tehran
  • Yonsei University
  • Shanghai Maritime University
  • Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VILNIUS TECH)

The social responsibility of universities is conceived as an ethical and integral administration model that promotes a mutual benefit for both universities and societies. Despite the scholars and decision-makers acknowledging …


Integrating global sustainability into social studies teachers' education: a collaborative self-study

  • Kennesaw State University (GA)

There have been increasing calls for social studies educators to engage issues of sustainability. Proponents argue that the very survival of the planet depends on the degree to which teachers …


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 …


Engaging students in education for sustainable development: The benefits of active learning, reflective practices and flipped classroom pedagogies

  • University of Edinburgh

Effective Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) requires appropriate pedagogies that engage learners in transformative learning. These pedagogies include reflective and active learning, involving experiential, collaborative and learner-centred activities. This paper …


How to Bring About Change – A Literature Review About Education and Learning Activities for Sustainable Development

  • University of Gothenburg

Sustainable development and transformational change have become more critical thanever in the era of climate change. The aim of this literature review was to increase know-ledge on education and learning …


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 …


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 …


Provision of education for sustainability development and sustainability literacy in business programs in three higher education institutions in Brazil, Colombia and Peru

  • Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Centro Universitário Municipal de Franca
  • Universidad Nacional Jorge Basadre Grohmann
  • Universidad Externado de Colombia

This paper aims to report on the status and the development of education for sustainable development (ESD) and sustainability literacy (SL) in three Latin American (LA) higher education institutions (HEIs) …


Sustainability teaching using case-based debates

  • University of Amsterdam

Given today’s pressing societal challenges, business schools are increasingly expected to incorporate sustainability in their curricula. Yet, while research on corporate sustainability is on the rise, there is less innovation …


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 …


Towards Sustainable Development through Higher Education Quality Assurance

  • Quality Assurance Agency For Higher Education (--None--)
  • Dnipro University of Technology

This study aims to identify the role of higher education quality assurance in achieving sustainable development goals. To support this aim, the following objectives were formulated: to discuss and summarize …


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 …


Community-responsive scholar-activist research: conceptualizing capacity building and sustainability in a Northern California community-university partnership

  • Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick Campus (NJ)
  • University of California, Davis (CA)
  • University of California, Merced (CA)

We critically examine the ongoing development of a collaborative, responsive, activist research process between academics and farmworkers. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with community-based researchers and scholar-activists, we assess our team’s …


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 …


Climate Emergency: UK Universities' Declarations and Their Role in Responding to Climate Change

  • Cardiff University

On April 17, 2019, the University of Bristol became the first university in the United Kingdom (UK) to declare a climate emergency. Against a backdrop of high visibility and public …


Cultivating a Collaborative Culture for Ensuring Sustainable Development Goals in Higher Education: An Integrative Case Study

  • Mount Mercy University (IA)
  • Wingate University (NC)

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are not insulated from the challenges facing the planet and have been tasked as key stakeholders in sustainable development (SD). The preliminary data presented in this …


Pathways to eliminate carbon emissions via renewable energy investments at higher education institutions

  • Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Newark Campus (NJ)

Higher education institutions are among the many public and private sector entities that have committed to long-term sustainability goals in response to the threat of climate change. A key challenge …


The impact of peer learning on student performance in an architectural sustainability course

  • University of Texas at San Antonio (TX)
  • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (CA)
  • Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya

The importance of sustainability in architecture currently necessitates the integration of innovative teaching strategies on the subject into architecture programs. This study aims to introduce and examine peer learning pedagogy …