Campus sustainability in the Australian higher education sector: divergence and convergence in planning, reporting and tactics

Abstract

Purpose This study provides a country-specific and sector-wide study of campus sustainability. Campus sustainability is a key consideration for the higher education (HEI) sector, and campus sustainability officers and managers manage its reporting and planning. Global and country-specific studies to date have focussed on individual organisation narratives, interviews with faculty and management and content analysis of reports and plans. Findings show wide divergence on scope and scale of formalised planning and reporting, few references to sustainability officers and managers’ perspectives and limited reference to organisational theory to explain tactics and strategies adopted. As a result, there are a few country-specific and sector-wide studies. The purpose of this paper is to address the scarcity of country-specific and sector-wide studies into campus sustainability practices in HEI by combining qualitative and quantitative analysis. Design/methodology/approach The authors provide the first sector-wide overview of formal campus sustainability commitments for the Australian public sector HEI (n = 41) in terms of several key indicators – plans, reports and other indicators. Second, the authors use reflexive thematic analysis of interviews (n = 21) with current and former sustainability officers and managers to examine sector organisational reasons for such variation. Third, the authors analyse HEI sector isomorphism and divergence on planning and reporting of campus sustainability from the perspective of institutional theory of organisations. Findings This study finds some convergence on the need for plans, reporting and other engagement elements, albeit without any sector-wide standards being followed. The authors observe a trend towards carbon-neutral (CN) declarations before 2030 although with nuances on emissions scope and increasing inclusion of renewable energy. Interviews identify a range of strategies and tactics adopted for campus sustainability relative to internal and external organisational pressures. Overall, the sector still exhibits weak institutionalisation of sustainability. Research limitations/implications This study interviews a specific and limited cohort (n = 21) and presents an overview of sector reporting, planning and target setting although not a detailed content analysis. Other interview cohorts may have different views on the strategic and tactical purposes of reporting practices, and more in-depth analysis of formal plans and reports should be conducted in the future. Practical implications This study concludes that the Australian HEI sector should consider greater public transparency of its data and reporting actions. Common standards and a benchmarking platform for the sector would improve overall engagement with all internal and external stakeholders. At present, the HEI sector’s message to its key internal and external stakeholders is mixed and needs to change towards a more in-depth institutionalisation of sustainability on campus. Originality/value Particular insights are the value of organisational strategies and tactics as an interpretive framework for HEI campus sustainability and how interviewees attribute sector competitors and self-different motives and tactics. Albeit limited, this is the first mapping of sector approaches to sustainability reporting and planning.

A systematic review of the trends and patterns of sustainability reporting in universities

“…Furthermore, studies indicated several national instruments that should be followed to obtain better reports. In Australia, there is an Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability, a non-profit organization that drives change toward sustainability (Melles et al , 2022). China has the Instruction on Social Responsibility Report of Shanghai’s Civilized Organizations (Yalin et al , 2019).…”

“…Overall, there are many benefits resulting from the adoption of sustainability reporting, such as the internationalization of the institution (Calitz et al , 2018; Hassan et al , 2019; Kräusche and Pilz, 2018; Sassen et al , 2018; Zorio-Grima et al , 2018), attraction for the best stakeholders to be a part of the university (engaged employees and students) and improve interest for external investors (Hassan et al , 2019; Kräusche and Pilz, 2018; Trireksani et al , 2021; Zheng et al , 2020), better communication related to corporate social responsibility (Calitz et al , 2018; Hassan et al , 2019; Klußmann et al , 2019; Kräusche and Pilz, 2018; Larrán Jorge et al , 2019; Melles et al , 2022; Moggi, 2019; Nicolò et al , 2021; Sepasi et al , 2018; Yáñez et al , 2019; Zheng et al , 2020), contribution for the sustainable development issues, acquirement of better processes and greater visibility for the community.…”

“…The nexus between stakeholders' materiality and sustainable development goals: evidence from higher education institutions (Aras et al, 2021) Turkey Extent of sustainability disclosure by Australian public universities: inclusive analysis of key reporting media (Trireksani et al, 2021) Australia Innovations and challenges in SDG integration and reporting in higher education: a case study from the University of South Florida (Hansen et al, 2021) USA Campus sustainability in the Australian higher education sector: divergence and convergence in planning, reporting and tactics (Melles et al, 2022) Australia Source: Authors' own work Search Results…”

Fostering a Whole-Institution Approach to Sustainability through Systems Thinking: An Analysis of the State-of-the-Art in Sustainability Integration in Higher Education Institutions

“…The proposed University Food Environment Assessment tool was assessed as reliable, and a pilot test identified moderate diversity in food environments in Australia. Melles et al [87] aimed to provide a country-specific but sector-wide study of campus sustainability in the case of Australia as portrayed in reports, plans and targets and found that higher education institutes present weak institutionalization of sustainability and sector benchmarking could be beneficial.…”

Exploring the relationship between the urbanization, higher education and female labor force with sustainable development

“…A sustainable lifestyle is associated with green and environment-friendly society (Qazi et al ., 2021; Gigauri and Djakeli, 2021; Khan et al ., 2021). Studies show that sustainability in the higher education sector still lacks institutionalization and formalization of planning and reporting, although trends towards the usage of renewable energy and decrease of emissions are visible (Melles et al ., 2022). The experience of commercial companies regarding the reporting of social and environmental performances could also be a source of inspiration for universities considering the complexity of the phenomenon but also the need to publish data as detailed and structured as possible to ensure proper information of stakeholders.…”