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Integrating environmental sustainability into universities
Meredith Ralph •Wendy Stubbs
Published online: 5 June 2013
Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013
Abstract Universities play a fundamental rolein addressing global environmental challenges
as their education, research and community involvement can produce long-lasting environ-
mental effects and societal change. By demonstrating best practice in their operations, research
and teaching, universities have both multiple and multiplier effects on society. For universities
to comprehensively address sustainability, a ‘learning for sustainability’ approach needs to be
embedded across every aspect of institutional operations in a synergistic way. Using semi-
structured interviews, this research explored the factors that influence the integration of sus-
tainability into the operations, teaching and research activities of universities in Australia and
England. The research found that individuals, committed to thegoal of a more sustainable world,
play a vital role in the success of integrating environmental sustainability into universities. The
factors critical to enabling universities to undertake the transformational changes necessary to
embed environmental sustainability into all university areas included: a strong policy envi-
ronment, resourcing of strategies, and encouragement of leaders and environmental sustain-
abilityadvocates. Educating and building the awareness of university staff of the importance of
environmental sustainability to future generations was key to a successful strategy.
Keywords Universities Environmental sustainability Education for sustainability
Integration Drivers Barriers
Introduction
Addressing the current state of the global natural environment constitutes one of the most
urgent and significant challenges in recent history. Mounting environmental pressures have
M. Ralph
Environmental Sustainability, Facilities and Services, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
W. Stubbs (&)
School of Geography and Environmental Science, Monash University, Building 11, Wellington Road,
Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
e-mail: wendy.stubbs@monash.edu
123
High Educ (2014) 67:71–90
DOI 10.1007/s10734-013-9641-9
arisen from population growth and from its associated economic activities and consump-
tion patterns in a world that is increasingly industrialised and interconnected. The nature of
the environmental crisis is wide-ranging as it includes increasing pollution, loss of habitat,
loss of biodiversity and diminishing resources (Sharp 2002). Increased human development
and its industrialisation has resulted in increasing levels of greenhouse gas emissions that
are a major contributor to climate change, which has a range of serious consequences for
life on earth (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2007).
The overwhelming view of scientists is that organizations, industries and governments
must adopt sustainable practices and commence mitigation action to prevent further
degradation, to decrease current greenhouse gas emissions and to prevent further increases
in emissions in order to minimise these impacts (Stern 2006). Universities play a dis-
tinctive role in addressing environmental pressures and in creating a sustainable society as
their education, research and community involvement can produce long-lasting environ-
mental effects and societal change (von Oelreich 2004). Through demonstrating best
practice, researching solutions to problems, educating future communities and leaders and
promoting sustainability, universities have both multiple and multiplier effects on the
sustainability of today’s and future society (Ferrer-Balas et al. 2008; Fisher and Bonn
2011; Tilbury et al. 2005).
In universities, the strategic implications of sustainability reach beyond individual cur-
riculum changes, isolated environmental practices and environmental policies, with adjust-
ments also required to academic priorities, organisational structures and financial systems
(Ryan et al. 2010). For universities to comprehensively address sustainability, ‘there is a need
to link campus management to research, curriculum and administrative practice, such that a
learning for sustainability approach is embedded across every aspect of institutional opera-
tions in a synergistic way’ (Tilbury and Cooke 2005: 62). Previous studies have identified
drivers and/or barriers to integrating environmental sustainability into universities but have
not explored how the factors may differ across the three facets of operations, teaching and
research activities. This paper seeks to address this gap in knowledge.
The paper first reviews the literature on sustainability in the university sector, including
the drivers and barriers to integrating sustainability into universities. The research methods
are then described, followed by a discussion of the factors influencing integration of
environmental sustainability into operations, research and education. Finally, the impli-
cations of these findings are considered.
Addressing environmental sustainability in universities
Sustainability is a paradigm for thinking about the future in which the economic, envi-
ronmental and social dimensions are intertwined, not separate, and are balanced in the
pursuit of an improved quality of life (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural
Organization 2011). In order to achieve this, the economic and ecological considerations of
institutions must be fully integrated (Brundtland 1987).
Generally, the higher education sector has lagged behind government and business
sectors in rising to the environmental challenge, but over the last decade universities have
demonstrated increasing initiative in applying sustainability principles (Merkel and Litten
2007). Significant numbers of senior university leaders have signed one or more interna-
tional declarations that promote sustainability in higher education. The translation of
signing these non-binding commitments into effective action, however, rarely results in
lasting institutional transformation (Bekessy et al. 2007).
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123
Recognising their large environmental impact in energy used and waste generated,
increasing numbers of universities have improved the environmental management of their
campuses to reduce their ecological footprint (Corcoran and Wals 2004; Tilbury et al.
2005; Wals and Blewitt 2010). Urgent environmental issues led to the inclusion of envi-
ronmental topics in the curriculum of higher education institutions in the 1970s (Wals and
Blewitt 2010). However, the extent of curriculum ‘greening’ appears to be limited by
internal, interdisciplinary barriers, requiring governmental assistance and student pressure
to effect greater change (Haigh 2005). Full integration of sustainability into the overall
curriculum is progressing more slowly than ‘greening’ of campuses, with the emergence of
a ‘third wave of sustainability’ in higher education now focusing on teaching and learning
(Wals and Blewitt 2010). The numbers of higher education institutions undertaking sus-
tainability reporting, and the level of that reporting, is still in its early stages compared to
corporations (Lozano 2011).
Large-scale changes to institutional culture are necessary to embed sustainability into
universities so that it influences decisions, management procedures, curricula and research
(Tilbury et al. 2005). A university that has comprehensively integrated sustainability can
been described as displaying the following characteristics (Clugston and Calder 1999;
Tilbury et al. 2005; Ferrer-Balas et al. 2008):
•Leadership and vision that expresses commitment to, and promotes, sustainability;
•Incorporation of the concepts and practices of sustainability into the teaching and
research of all academic disciplines;
•An emphasis on fostering the inter- and trans-disciplinary teaching and research needed
to provide solutions to sustainability challenges;
•Recognition of the ecological footprint of the institution, together with sustainable
policies and practices in operations, support and services that minimise this footprint;
and,
•Engagement in community outreach that enhances environmental sustainability.
Drivers for integrating sustainability into universities
The requirements of international and national policy directives and statements are external
drivers for universities to adopt sustainability (Wright 2002). A number of sustainability
declarations relevant to higher education have been developed since the Stockholm Dec-
laration in 1972, which recognised the need for environmental education (Wright 2002).
Over 400 university presidents and chancellors in over 50 countries have signed the
Talloires Declaration (TD). The TD is a ten-point action plan for incorporating sustain-
ability and environmental literacy in teaching, research, operations and outreach at colleges
and universities (University Leaders for a Sustainable Future 2008).
The United Nations (UN) Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 placed education for
sustainable development on the global agenda and as one of the top priorities in national
policy documents (Anderberg et al. 2009). The Kyoto Declaration of 1993, adopted by 90
universities across the globe, also challenged higher education to take on sustainability in
the education of students and in public outreach activities to the broader community
(Anderberg et al. 2009). UN-sponsored initiatives have continued to strengthen and focus
global efforts in this area, culminating in the current Decade of Education for Sustainable
Development (2005–2014). These international declarations have been implemented, both
at a national and at an organisational level, through legislation (Sammalisto and Lindhqvist
2008; Niu et al. 2010), government policy (Nomura and Abe 2010), government funding
High Educ (2014) 67:71–90 73
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initiatives (Scott and Gough 2006) and through partnerships with non-governmental
organizations (Wright 2002; Nomura and Abe 2010).
One of the most compelling internal drivers for integrating sustainability into univer-
sities is the ethical obligation to address this significant global challenge. Given their
collective knowledge and research capacity, there is a moral responsibility for universities
to educate future leaders and to advance knowledge that can lead to the creation of a
sustainable environment (Moore 2005; Nicolaides 2006). In addition, universities, as large
greenhouse gas emitters with significant financial influence, should also provide leadership
for the broader society (Sharp 2002) by setting an example in their own operations (Kirwan
2010).
Increasingly, universities are being pressured by their staff and students to address
sustainability by providing solutions to the global crisis and by using their knowledge to
add a voice to national and international policy development (Helferty and Clarke 2009;
Sharp 2002). The enhanced public image resulting from environmental leadership within
the sector can also provide universities with improved financial viability through increased
student recruitment and through the financial savings achieved from environmental effi-
ciencies (Nicolaides 2006; Nomura and Abe 2010).
Barriers to integrating environmental sustainability into universities
The barriers to integrating sustainability into universities identified in the literature are
predominantly internal. Financial constraints can limit the implementation of sustainability
initiatives at universities due to competing priorities for limited resources and because the
long term savings of these projects are not accounted for in budget modelling (Wright
2010). Within university communities, there is often a lack of understanding and aware-
ness of sustainability issues, resulting in confusion and a lack of staff commitment to
implementing sustainability programs (Evangelinos and Jones 2009; Wright 2010). As in
all large organizations, there can be resistance to change, particularly when imposed from
another area or discipline of the university—all levels of stakeholders must be engaged in
the decision-making process and initiatives in order to ensure their long-term success
(Sharp 2002; Nicolaides 2006). The most significant challenge to integrating sustainability
into universities is to achieve a coherent institutional approach, where operations, teaching,
research, and outreach are synergised (Tilbury et al. 2005; Nomura and Abe 2010).
Research methods
The case study method was used to guide this research study. Case study research
‘investigates a contemporary phenomenon in depth and within its real-life context’, using
multiple sources of evidence such as archives, interviews and observations as well as
numerous levels of analysis, often combining qualitative and quantitative data (Yin 2009,
p. 18). This study utilised interviews and universities’ websites, combining qualitative and
quantitative data, to investigate how universities were integrating environmental sustain-
ability into operations, teaching and research. Whilst acknowledging the three dimensions
of sustainability (economic, environmental and social), this research focused on the
environmental dimension, in particular, actions taken by universities to address the chal-
lenge of climate change, because it is considered to be a ‘super wicked’ problem (Levin
et al. 2009).
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The study examined four English and four Australian universities. The dissimilarity in
the policy, regulatory and climate change actions of these countries provides contrasting
contexts to analyse the factors influencing environmental sustainability integration. Eng-
land is world leading in its approach to climate change with advanced climate change
legislation setting challenging, legally binding emissions targets (Fankhauser et al. 2009).
Higher education institutions in England have specific governmental requirements to
address these targets, which include measurement and reporting processes, together with
linking of capital funding to reductions in carbon emissions (Hopkinson 2011; Tilbury
2011).
Australia’s higher education policy for environmental sustainability has focused on
systemic change rather than direct governmental regulation, with the national action plan
emphasising the role of education in addressing sustainability throughout society
(Chambers 2010). National research funding is available to address environmental sus-
tainability issues and to inform policy and practice (The Australian Research Institute for
Environment and Sustainability 2012). In contrast to English universities, Australian
universities have indirect incentives to reduce operational carbon emissions in order to
avoid paying a carbon tax introduced in 2012.
Four Australian universities were selected using the Sustainable Campus Group Report
(Sustainable Campus Group 2011) and from an assessment of the presence and depth of
environmental sustainability information on the university’s website. Four English uni-
versities were selected using the People and Planet (2010) Green League tables, the results
of which are increasingly important in the planning and strategies of universities
(Breakwell and Tytherleigh 2010). The universities selected were:
•publicly funded;
•generalist, not specialist, universities. From their public websites, it was ascertained
that each university had at least three faculties/schools covering at least three
disciplines, e.g. humanities, science and business;
•of comparable size, as determined from student numbers; and,
•had general university statistics and environmental sustainability information available
on their website.
Semi-structured interviews were supplemented by secondary data from universities’
websites. Eighteen interviews were conducted from the eight participating universities,
either face-to-face (thirteen), or by phone (five). Each 1–2 h interview was audio taped.
Transcripts were sent to all interviewees for confirmation, enhancing the validity of the
data (Yin 2009). While an interviewee was sought from operations, teaching and research
areas at each university, some universities were unable to provide all three representatives
(see Table 1).
Each staff member interviewed was an authority in implementing environmental sus-
tainability programs in their area of expertise of operations, teaching or research, as well as
being in a position of sufficient seniority to provide an overview of the university’s
programs in that area of expertise. Interviewees were asked about: their university’s
environmental sustainability activities; the drivers and barriers to integrating environ-
mental sustainability into their area of responsibility; how they ranked the importance of
the drivers and barriers; their view on how successful their university had been in inte-
grating environmental sustainability into their area of expertise; and, the key success
factors. To maintain anonymity of the research participants, the names of the universities
and interviewees are not identified in this paper.
High Educ (2014) 67:71–90 75
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The activities were scored against a comprehensive list compiled from the literature, as
a measure of environmental sustainability activity (see Table 2). Each response was given
a score, with the presence of the activity given a score of 1, the absence of an activity given
zero, and partial development of an activity given 0.5.
The interview transcripts were coded (Gagnon 2010) to draw out the drivers, barriers
and key success factors. As patterns emerged within the data the codes were grouped
together under sub-themes, which were combined into themes of like categories (see
Tables 2and 3).
Findings
Figure 1summarises the environmental sustainability activities across operations, teaching
and research areas. The scores achieved by each university are summarised in Fig. 2,
expressed as a percentage of the maximum possible score from Table 2(Operations =32,
Teaching =6, Research =7). The data showed similar levels of integration in Australia
and in England, particularly in the operational areas of the university, where five of the
eight universities achieved scores of greater than 60 %. The results confirm previous
findings that universities are concentrating on, or finding it easier to, ‘green’ the opera-
tional areas of their campuses, rather than undertaking transformational change across all
university activities (van Weenen 2000; Dahle and Neumayer 2001; Noonan and Thomas
2004; Tilbury 2010).
Although integrating environmental sustainability into teaching in Australia lagged
English universities, environmentally sustainable research activities at Australian
Table 1 Summary of interview
participants University Role at university Type of position
Australian universities
1 Operations Professional
1 Research Professional
2 Operations Professional
2 Teaching Academic
2 Research Academic
3 Operations Professional
3 Teaching and research Professional
4 Operations Professional
4 Teaching Academic
4 Research Professional
English universities
1 Teaching Academic
2 Operations Professional
2 Operations Professional
2 Teaching and research Academic
3 Operations Professional
3 Teaching Academic
3 Research Academic
4 Operations Professional
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Table 2 Key to the environmental sustainability activities at universities, graphed in Fig. 1
Area of
university
Number of
activity
Environmental sustainability (ES) activity
Operations 1 Publicly available ES policy published in the last 5 years
2 Externally audited environmental management system
3 Publicly reports on ES annually
The university engages with the university community through:
4 ES awards to staff and/or students
5 ES awareness-raising campaigns
6 Staff training in ES
7 A staff engagement scheme (green representatives, eco-champions)
8 Staff inductions include ES policy and issues
9 ES newsletter
10 Student representation on ES committees
11 Student involvement (course work, volunteering) in ES projects
12 Student inter-halls competitions
13 Availability of funds for student or staff-led ES projects
14 Provision of land for student/staff food-growing projects
The university sets targets to reduce environmental impact in the following areas:
15 Waste management
16 Transport
17 Water
18 Construction and refurbishment
19 Emissions and discharges
20 Biodiversity
21 Sustainable procurement
22 Publicly available carbon management plan published in the last 5 years:
23 With a specific carbon reduction target within a specified time frame
The carbon management plan includes:
24 Energy
25 Procurement
26 Staff and student business or study trips, for example, flights to
conferences and field trips
27 Staff and students commuting to university on a daily basis
28 Carbon emissions associated with the travel between students’ homes and
the university (including international students’ travel to and from their
home country)
The university invests in renewable energy, including:
29 Green energy or GreenPower
30 On-site renewable energy
31 Publicly-available Sustainable Food Policy published in last 5 years
32 Accredited Fairtrade University with the Fairtrade Foundation
High Educ (2014) 67:71–90 77
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universities were more advanced. This finding suggests that, in the absence of direct
governmental regulation, programs or funding, Australian universities have been driven by
other factors to adopt environmental sustainability as a guiding principle, particularly in
operational and research areas.
The marked variability in the extent of integration of environmental sustainability
between operations, teaching and research suggests that transforming different areas of the
university occurs at different rates and/or that different factors contribute to the success of
the integration in each of these areas. The factors were found to differ between countries as
well as between the operational, teaching and research areas of universities.
Drivers, barriers, key success factors: Australia and England
Table 3summarises the three most frequently cited drivers, barriers and key success factors
for integrating environmental sustainability into Australian and English universities.
Drivers
Previous studies have focused primarily on the barriers to integrating environmental sus-
tainability into the curriculum or campus operations, rather than the drivers (Lang et al.
2006; Sharp 2002; Sterling and Scott 2008). This study found that in Australian univer-
sities, policy/programs and leadership and support, particularly of senior management and
individuals, were the most cited drivers for integrating environmental sustainability. It was
predominantly policy/programs at a university level, rather than at state, national or
international level that were driving integration. Pressure applied by both internal and
external stakeholders was the second highest driver, supporting previous studies (Lang
Table 2 continued
Area of
university
Number of
activity
Environmental sustainability (ES) activity
Teaching 1 Policy for integrating ES into the curriculum
2 Co-ordination body (for example, a committee) for integrating ES into the
curriculum
3 Plan for integrating ES into the curriculum
4 Target for integrating ES into the curriculum
5 Economic incentives for faculties/schools to integrate ES into the
curriculum
6 Professional development to assist staff to integrate ES into the curriculum
Research 1 Group(s), centre(s) or institute(s) dedicated to sustainability/environmental
research
2 Policy for integrating ES into research
3 Coordination body (for example, a committee) for integrating ES into
research
4 Plan for integrating ES into research
5 Target for integrating ES into research
6 Economic incentives for faculties/schools to integrate ES into research
7 Professional development to assist staff to integrate ES into research
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Table 3 The three most frequently cited factors for integrating environmental sustainability (ES) into Australian and English universities
Australian universities English universities
Theme Sub-theme Citations Theme Sub-theme Citations
Drivers 1. Policy/programs University 4 1. Financial incentives Financial savings 2
State/County 1 Provision of funding 6
National 1 2. Policy/programs University 3
International 1 National 3
1. Leadership and support (equal 1st) Individuals 2 3. Pressure Internal Staff 2
Senior management 4 Students 3
University 1
3. Pressure -External Community 2
Employers 1
Government 1
Potential students 1
3. Pressure -Internal Staff 2
(equal 3rd) Students 3
Barriers 1. Academic silos Threat to academic freedom 2 1. Resource constraints Insufficient funding 2
Relevance to discipline 2 Insufficient people 2
Working across disciplines 2 Insufficient time 2
Separation of academic and operational areas 2
1. Lack of knowledge and/or
understanding of ES (equal 1st)
Lack of understanding 5 2. Academic silos Threat to academic freedom 1
Lack of expertise 2 Relevance to discipline 2
Lack of understanding of significance 1 Working across disciplines 2
3. Competing priorities Curriculum 1
Resources 1 2. Lack of leadership and
support (equal 2nd)
Senior management 2
Time 2 University 3
Not high priority 1
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Table 3 continued
Australian universities English universities
Theme Sub-theme Citations Theme Sub-theme Citations
Key success factors 1. People Committed individuals 3 1. People Committed individuals 3
Dedicated resources 1 International standing 1
Desire to see work used effectively 1
International standing 2
Key people 1
Quality of staff 2
2. Policy/programs Strategic direction 2 2. Policy/programs Implementation strategy 1
University 2 National 1
Strategic direction 1
3. Leadership and support Senior management 2 2. Demonstrable achievements 3
University 1 (equal 2nd)
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et al. 2006; Sharp 2002; Sterling and Scott 2008). Although university and national policy/
programs were also important drivers for English universities, the financial incentives
arising from national funding schemes [e.g. Higher Education Funding Council for Eng-
land (HEFCE)] to support environmental sustainability initiatives and the financial savings
arising from environmental efficiencies were found to be the most important drivers.
English universities were also subject to pressure from their staff and students.
0
1
2
3
4
1
23
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31 32
Operations
Australian universities
English universities
0
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
5
6
Teaching
0
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
45
6
7
Research
Fig. 1 Environmental
sustainability activities in
operations, teaching and research
at Australian and English
universities. The number of
universities undertaking the
activity is shown on the radial
axis, with the activity number on
the periphery of the chart (see
Table 2)
High Educ (2014) 67:71–90 81
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Barriers
With increased specialisation in universities, academics no longer talk, share ideas or work
together, particularly across different disciplines (Thomas 2004; Krizek et al. 2012).
Teaching and research in the area of environmental sustainability is inherently problem-
based, engaging a multidisciplinary approach that is quite alien to university structures,
staff, funding and incentive mechanisms (Sherren 2006; Tilbury 2011; Krizek et al. 2012).
The presence of academic silos can prevent the systems-level integration required to
embed sustainability (Krizek et al. 2012). Reinforcing this perspective, the presence of
Environmental sustainability activities of universities
(% of maximum possible score)
Australian universities English universities
Fig. 2 Environmental sustainability activities at participating universities
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Table 4 The three most frequently cited factors for integrating environmental sustainability (ES) into the
operational, teaching and research areas of universities
Theme Sub-theme Citations
Drivers
Operations 1. Financial incentives Financial savings 5
Provision of funding 1
1. Pressure Internal Staff 3
(equal 1st) Students 3
3. Legislative compliance 4
Teaching 1. Policy/programs University 3
National 1
International 1
2. Leadership and support Individuals 1
Senior management 2
University 1
2. Moral/ethical obligation Provide leadership to society 2
(equal 2rd) Educate future leaders 2
2. Pressure Internal Staff 1
(equal 2rd) Students 3
Research 1. Policy/programs University 3
State/County 1
National 1
2. Financial incentives Provision of funding 3
2. Inherent research capacity 3
(equal 2rd)
Barriers
Operations 1. Lack of leadership and support Senior management 3
University 1
Government 1
1. Resource constraints (equal 1st) Insufficient funding 1
Insufficient people 3
Insufficient time 1
3. Academic silos Threat to academic freedom 1
Separation of academic and
operational areas
2
3. Lack of knowledge and/or
understanding of ES
Lack of understanding 1
(equal 3rd) Lack of expertise 2
Teaching 1. Academic silos Threat to academic freedom 1
Relevance to discipline 3
Working across disciplines 1
2. Competing priorities Curriculum 2
Time 2
2. Lack of knowledge and/or
understanding of ES (equal 2nd)
Lack of understanding 2
Lack of expertise 1
Lack of understanding of significance 1
High Educ (2014) 67:71–90 83
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academic silos and working across disciplines were major barriers in Australian and
English universities. Academic staff saw having to integrate environmental sustainability
as a threat to their academic freedom, and as not relevant to their discipline, supporting
previous studies (Noonan and Thomas 2004; Nicolaides 2006; Hopkinson et al. 2008;
Justice et al. 2009).
Despite the presence of formal commitments and action to embed sustainability into
education institutions in Australia, the lack of knowledge or understanding of environ-
mental sustainability was also found to be a major barrier to integrating environmental
sustainability. Further, a general lack of understanding of environmental sustainability
issues, which often results in a perceived lack of expertise, is consistent with previous
findings (Nicolaides 2006; Reid and Petocz 2006; Wright 2010). This may be explained by
the lack of clear public policy and direction in the area of climate change in Australia
(Daley et al. 2011).
Perversely, in England where there is directed funding and programs, the resource
constraints of insufficient funding,people and time were the most commonly cited barriers.
Table 4 continued
Theme Sub-theme Citations
Research 1. Academic silos Threat to academic freedom 1
Relevance to discipline 1
Working across disciplines 3
2. Difficulties of interdisciplinary
research
Funding 2
Recognition 2
3. Lack of knowledge and/or
understanding of ES
Lack of understanding 2
3. Resource constraints Insufficient funding 1
(equal 3rd) Priority of funding 1
Key success factors
Operations 1. People Committed individuals 4
Dedicated resources 1
2. Demonstrable achievements 3
2. Funding Government 1
(equal 2nd) University 2
Teaching 1. People Committed individuals 2
International standing 1
Key people 1
Quality of staff 2
2. Policy/programs Implementation strategy 1
University 2
3. Demonstrable achievements 2
3. Leadership and support (equal 3rd) Senior management 2
Research 1. People Desire to see work used effectively 1
International standing 2
1. Sustainability Centre/Institute
(equal 1st)
3
3. Policy/programs Strategic direction 2
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English universities also talked about the lack of leadership and support, particularly at
senior management and university level, despite the leadership being shown by HEFCE at
the national level. In Australian universities, competing priorities, either within the cur-
riculum or for the resources or time required, limited the integration of environmental
sustainability (Dahle and Neumayer 2001; Wright 2010).
Key success factors
There was considerable consensus between Australian and English universities in the key
success factors for integrating environmental sustainability into universities. The contri-
bution of people and the presence of policies and programs were most frequently cited. In
both countries, policies at a strategic, university level were important. Committed indi-
viduals at any level of the university, together with the involvement of academic staff of
international standing, were important integrating factors. Leadership and support was
also important in Australian universities, with demonstrable achievements important in
English universities.
Drivers, barriers, key success factors: operations, teaching and research
Previous studies have not addressed how the drivers, barriers and key success factors differ
between the operational, teaching and research activities in universities. The three most
frequently cited drivers, barriers and key success factors for each area are summarised in
Table 4.
Drivers
Although common drivers existed across operations, teaching and research at universities,
each of these areas also had a unique set of drivers explained by the clear differences in
their roles. Operational areas were found to be driven by the financial incentives to manage
the resources of the university prudently, and by their role in maintaining legislative
environmental compliance for the university (Sterling and Scott 2008). Where students and
staff were able to see the results of environmental efforts, such as in the operational areas
of waste management and energy efficiencies, they applied pressure for environmental
improvements (Sharp 2002; Lang et al. 2006; Sterling and Scott 2008).
Changing the curriculum is a complex, resource-intensive task for teaching staff,
requiring university policies/programs and senior management leadership to drive the
integration of environmental sustainability. Integration into teaching was also driven by
student interest in environmental matters and by staff, who saw a moral/ethical obligation
to provide an appropriate education for future generations (Moore 2005).
Integrating environmental sustainability into research activities required a strategic
policy direction from the university, together with funding support and an inherent
research capacity.
Barriers
Except for the research-specific theme of the difficulties of interdisciplinary research, the
interviewees from the teaching and research areas of the university identified similar
High Educ (2014) 67:71–90 85
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barriers. The presence of academic silos was the most significant barrier to integrating
environmental sustainability for the interviewees from the teaching and research areas, but
was also ranked third in operational areas. Teaching and research in environmental sus-
tainability needs a holistic approach, rather than a narrow disciplinary approach, requiring
staff to work across the boundaries of their academic disciplines to integrate a range of
issues outside their normal subject areas (Tilbury 2011). Research staff further discussed
the difficulty of working across disciplines, with teaching staff not seeing the relevance to
(their) discipline.
The key barriers for operational areas were lack of leadership and support from senior
management within the university and resource constraints, particularly people.Insuffi-
cient funding was not a barrier for operations, as operations can realise financial savings
from environmental efficiencies. The difficulties of finding sufficient resources, particu-
larly with competing priorities, together with the lack of knowledge/understanding of
environmental sustainability, were barriers in all areas of universities.
Key success factors
People, in particular committed individuals, was a key success factor for operational and
teaching areas. People provided dedicated resources and quality work above the
requirements of their substantive role to further the aims of environmental sustainability.
Interviewees described the contribution from staff as ‘fabulous staff’, ‘local leadership’
and, ‘key people in the right place at the right time’. In research areas, critical success
factors were found to be researchers of international standing in the field, committed to
seeing their research used effectively, with their work supported by a sustainability
research centre working under a strategic university direction.
While individual commitment is identified as a key success factor, commitment at a
university level wasn’t explicitly identified as a success factor by the interviewees.
However, university commitment is an important driver as demonstrated by the high
number of citations (see Table 3) for sustainability policies and programs and senior
management leadership and support.
In operational areas funding is a key success factor, although not a driver to integrating
environmental sustainability. To enable teaching areas to embed sustainability across a
range of disciplines, university policy/programs and leadership and support of senior
management were key success factors, which is consistent with the key drivers. Demon-
strable achievements in operations and teaching were also important.
Conclusion
Although universities have recognised the importance of their role in leading societal
change for a more sustainable world for more than twenty years, they have not achieved
whole-of-institution change themselves. Drawing on case studies of universities in England
and Australia, this study identified the drivers, barriers and key success factors that
facilitate, and inhibit, the organisational changes required to integrate environmental
sustainability into operations, teaching and research.
Whilst there were many similar factors influencing the integration of environmental
sustainability into universities, this study highlighted factors that differed between the
English and Australian universities. Although national funding and policies, where they
exist, were important drivers, university policies, leadership and engagement of the
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university community could replace these. The study also suggests that overcoming the
barriers will need clear leadership in a number of areas: prioritising interdisciplinary
collaboration; providing resources to undertake the work required; and providing the
university community with the necessary information, skills and knowledge. The impor-
tance of engaging, informing and resourcing university staff of the university is critical to
the success of integrating environmental sustainability into all areas.
Previous studies have identified drivers and/or barriers to a single aspect of integrating
sustainability at universities. In contrast, this study compared the relative importance of
these factors across the three major university activities of operations, teaching and
research, finding that the factors varied according to the nature of the tasks required for the
particular activity. Operational areas were driven by the practical fiscal and legislative
requirements of the university, requiring senior management support to provide the
resources to implement programs. University leadership via an over-arching university
strategic direction or policy that prioritised integrating environmental sustainability was a
significant driver for the multi-disciplinary collaboration and resourcing required in
teaching and research activities. The commitment and expertise of individuals of inter-
national standing, often working together in a dedicated institute, was also of key
importance in integrating environmental sustainability into teaching and research. These
differing priorities may help explain the inability of universities to drive comprehensive
institutional change.
The findings draw attention to the need for universities to implement a multi-faceted
approach to integrating environmental sustainability, supported by their respective gov-
ernments. Extrapolating these findings, a multi-faceted approach would include:
•Development of national policies and/or programs by governments to enhance and
support the strategic directions of universities to integrate environmental sustainability;
•Targeting funding to provide the resources necessary to embed sustainability into
university curricula and to develop interdisciplinary research programs;
•Engaging with both leaders and environmental sustainability advocates within the
university sector to support universities in providing leadership and support to their
communities (Ferrer-Balas et al. 2008; Justice et al. 2009; Lozano 2006); and
•Providing information, training and skills to leaders, environmental sustainability
advocates and staff to improve their understanding of current environmental
sustainability principles, direction and policy.
The university that displayed the highest degree of integration of environmental sus-
tainability (English university 3; Fig. 1) confirms that the existence of multiple factors has
been important to this success. A coordinated approach to integrating environmental
sustainability into all university activities has been part of this university’s tradition and
vision since inception. Sustainability research is coordinated through a sustainability
institute and is strongly related to the local environment. The university has had strong
strategic policy direction articulated at the highest level and has received significant
government investment to advance education for sustainable development nationally.
Internationally recognised teaching and research staff committed to advancing the sus-
tainability of the world have provided inspiration at all levels of the organisation. Together,
these initiatives can help transform universities into leaders that demonstrate environ-
mental best practice across all aspects of their activities, ‘‘…because its about changing
the way we do things in the world, changing where we are in the world and changing with
the way we see the world’’ (English university 3 interviewee).
High Educ (2014) 67:71–90 87
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The authors acknowledge that there are limitations to this research study. Organisational
factors such as size, location and orientation (generalist or specialist) of the universities
could influence the level of integration of environmental sustainability into universities.
The influence of these attributes was not considered in this study as universities were
chosen that were of similar size and orientation. Future research studies could explore how
size, location and orientation influence the key success factors identified in this study.
Acknowledgments The authors thank Monash University for financially supporting this research.
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