Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to outline a unique six-step process for the inclusion of climate change adaption goals and strategies in a University Climate Change Plan. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed-method approach was used to gather data on campus climate change vulnerabilities and adaption strategies. A literature review…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe challenges and lessons learned in the design and development of a comprehensive, flexible environmental management system (EMS) in a real university setting; also to inform development of similar systems elsewhere and provide a modular, extensible software architecture for such efforts.…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to show how industrial ecology can facilitate the achievement of sustainable development through its incorporation into an engineering curriculum. Design/methodology/approach: A model has been developed for assessing sustainability learning outcomes due to the incorporation of the concept of industrial ecology…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to argue that Richard Register's ecocity model offers a strategic framework to help guide sustainability initiatives in North American higher education (HE) institutions. Design/methodology/approach: This conceptual paper examines the theory of the ecocity and investigates the implications for its proposed…

Purpose: Michigan State University developed an undergraduate, academic specialization in sustainability based on the learning paradigm. The purpose of this paper is to share initial findings on assessment of systems thinking competency. Design/methodology/approach: The 15-week course served 14 mostly third and fourth-year students. Assessment of…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the state of sustainability reporting in Canada's higher education sector, while understanding who is reporting on sustainability performance, how is information being reported, and what is being reported. Design/methodology/approach: A framework with ten categories and 56 indicators based on the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review and assess the state of sustainability reporting in universities. Design/methodology/approach: Analysis of the performance level of 12 universities sustainability reports using the Graphical Assessment of Sustainability in Universities tool. Findings: The results show that sustainability reporting in…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to build a detailed description of the Global Seminar (GS) curricula model by exploring its on-the-ground participatory practices in America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Design/methodology/approach: Within a qualitative research design framework, the authors interviewed 20 faculty members from the…

Purpose: Implementation of a sustainability paradigm demands new choices and innovative ways of thinking. The main objective of this paper is to provide a meaningful sustainability assessment tool for make informed decisions, which is applied to higher education institutions (HEIs). Design/methodology/approach: The objective is achieved by…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a better understanding of the state of knowledge of students and faculty on the Michigan State University (MSU) campus; identify relevant gaps in knowledge and misconceptions about recycling; and provide recommendations regarding how these gaps and misconceptions may be addressed through education…

Purpose: A greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory was conducted for Yale University's procurement of goods and services over a one-year period. The goal of the inventory was to identify the financial expenditures resulting in the greatest "indirect" GHG emissions. This project is part of an ongoing effort to quantify and reduce the university's…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on efforts to develop two stand-alone subjects on sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in a mainstream business curriculum at Monash University, Australia. Design/methodology/approach: This paper presents details on the educational rationale and design of the two subjects in…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the research preferences and differences of education for sustainable development (ESD) researchers. A model with the continuums assimilation-accommodation and adaptation-agency was applied resulting in quantitative, qualitative, theoretic and participative research orientations.…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to put forth a model for implementation of an environmental management system (EMS) in institutes of higher education in India. Design/methodology/approach: The authors carried out initial environmental review (IER) and strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis to identify the major…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present a model for the analysis of business schools as creators, disseminators, and adopters of knowledge on environmental management. Design/methodology/approach: A review of the importance of higher education institutions for sustainability, and more specifically, about their relevance for the creation,…