Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how universities can play a pivotal role in implementing sustainable development goals (SDGs). It recognises the advantage that universities have in responding to social challenges through their functions and operations, mainly through research and innovation and academic prowess. Not much…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the learning outcomes of the project-based learning in a Master Class programme on sustainability carried out in collaboration by the University of Helsinki and a private company operating in global mining technology. The following two questions were addressed: Q1. What kind of sustainability…

Purpose: Proposing an integrated model based on multiple theoretical approaches, such as the theory of planned behavior, the model of goal-directed behavior and self-determination theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine factors influencing college students' campus recycling intention and actual recycling behavior.…

Purpose: Students' simplistic observations and uninspired solutions for social-ecological dilemmas were the motivation for this study. The purpose of this paper is to foster systemic thinking in students and study the role of the lecturers. Design/methodology/approach: The research was designed as a self-study action-research (AR), which was…

Purpose: Universities can do more to deliver against the sustainable development goals (SDGs), working with faculty, staff and students, as well as their wider stakeholder community and alumni body. They play a critical role in helping shape new ways for the world, educating global citizens and delivering knowledge and innovation into society.…

Purpose: As one of the five concrete actions recommended for implementing sustainable development at universities (internal operations, institutional framework, research, education and capacity building), capacity building has received the least research attention. Although capacity building can be a tangible implementation of outreach that offers…

Purpose: Management education trainers are increasingly called upon to train students to devise interventions for sustainable development in business settings. Due to the dominant reductionist paradigm, these interventions may lead to unwanted side effects. Teaching students about unacknowledged feedback loops in complex systems should prevent…

Purpose: This paper aims to explore a single-institution case study of partnership working between students, the University and Students' Union, through four student-led sustainability projects. The paper analyses the role and value of these partnerships and provides advice for other institutions on effective partnership working between these…

Purpose: This paper aims to explain the student-led environmental management system (EMS) based on ISO14001 which Chiba University has continued for 15 years. It describes its structure "Chiba University Method", the students' activities and their collaboration with companies. It also analyzes the advantages and the issues. Readers can…

Purpose: Many higher education institutions are committed to developing students as skilled professionals and responsible citizens for a more sustainable future. In addition to the formal curriculum for sustainability education, there is an increasing interest in informal learning within universities. This paper aims to extend the current…

Purpose: This study examines a general education, hands-on and 100 per cent online laboratory course to better understand the prospects for fostering green building literacy through experiential online education. Design/methodology/approach: The mixed-methods research design included pre- and post-course surveys (n = 42) together with…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential for environmental and social impacts from university-level educational travel programs. Design/methodology/approach: This study analyzes the sites visited by 17 education travel programs to the Westfjords (Iceland) from 2014 to 2016. It uses a geographic information system (GIS)…

Purpose: This paper aims to clarify the differences between students' travel behaviours in Australia and China and the association between students' environmental attitudes and their travel behaviours in both countries. Design/methodology/approach: The paper extensively reviewed most of existing literature work on commuting patterns of higher…

Purpose: Climate change is the greatest threat to global health today and it challenges professionals in many disciplines. Most American university programs lack courses covering the rising deaths and illnesses from climate change. Consequently, graduates in health and other disciplines are underprepared for providing services in a world affected…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to provide more information about the effectiveness of the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) approach in textiles and apparel by applying it to a semester-long sustainability course. Design/methodology/approach: A University-level course was re-designed using the ESD concepts. The course was taught…