Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to draw lessons for developing community-university partnerships from experiences in promoting coastal education for sustainable development (ESD). Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative data collected from two coastal community outreach projects were analyzed. Findings: The outreach projects improved the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how a cohort of university faculty leaders in Canadian universities conceptualize sustainable development, sustainable universities, the role universities play in achieving a sustainable future, key issues facing the university, and the barriers to implementing sustainability initiatives on campus.…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to address the issue of managing the major environmental costs from an accounting perspective. The current state of practices for managing the costs associated with the consumption of electricity, water and paper, as well as the generation of wastes within three universities in Taiwan, was investigated. The…

Purpose: This article aims to provide an overview of Texas State University's Common Experience, an innovative initiative that engaged tens of thousands of people in shared consideration of sustainability as a single topic during academic year 2010-2011. Design/methodology/approach: The discourse begins with an overview of the Common…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to determine what factors contributed to three universities achieving environmental sustainability. Design/methodology/approach: A case study methodology was used to determine how each factor contributed to the institutions' sustainability. Site visits, fieldwork, document reviews, and interviews with…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study how experts on teaching sustainability in engineering education contextualize sustainability; also to evaluate the understanding of sustainability by engineering students. The final aim is to evaluate what pedagogy experts believe provides better opportunities for learning about sustainability in…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to prepare for a campus sustainability audit at the main campus of Brock University, St Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Design/methodology/approach: An inductive, qualitative approach was undertaken with data comprised of analyses of key stakeholder interviews, a review of literature, and a systematic collation…

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the possibilities and problems with engaging in effective communication about sustainability in higher education (SHE) institutions. Design/methodology/approach: Using a case study of a new (post-1992) university in the UK, the research investigated the ways in which sustainability issues were communicated with…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the evolution of a sustainability network at a large California public university, as an example of organizational change. Design/methodology/approach: The paper combines participant observation and case study techniques over a three-year period. From 2007 to 2010, the author helped found the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how a cohort of university presidents and vice-presidents in Canadian universities conceptualize sustainable development, sustainable universities, the role universities play in achieving a sustainable future, key issues facing the university, and the barriers to implementing sustainability…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the development and implementation of how a greenhouse gas GHG reduction target at Yale University has resulted in broad and long-term institutional commitment. Design/methodology/approach: Interviews are conducted with key individuals representing those most directly involved in developing and…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce green chemistry experiments as laboratory-based pedagogy and to evaluate effectiveness of green chemistry experiments in delivering sustainable development concepts (SDCs) and traditional environmental concepts (TECs). Design/methodology/approach: Repeated measure design was employed to evaluate…

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the challenges of volunteer-driven college campus sustainability projects through a case study of the development of an urban native plant species garden on the College of Charleston campus in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. Design/methodology/approach: The research used participant observation as the primary…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate issues and concerns associated with sustainable development SD in Italy for different stakeholders, with a focus on the role of education. Cognitive maps for 49 individuals living in Italy have been developed and their differences analyzed and discussed with the aim of designing a seminar to…

Purpose: Research at agricultural universities often generates food crops that are edible by-products of the research process. The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors that affect decision-making around the disposal of these crops. Understanding decision-making suggests how universities might include food crop production into campus…