Challenges in the development of environmental management systems on the modern university campus

Bero, Bridget N.; Doerry, Eckehard; Middleton, Ryan; Meinhardt, Christian

doi:10.1108/14676371211211827

Cited by 35 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Sustainable campuses consist of various buildings; therefore, it is imperative for all of these facilities to be sustainable. These include construction of the green buildings [17,18], alternative forms of transportation [19], waste recycling [20,21], and reduction of the resource consumption [22,23]. In addition, sustainable campus should consider the control of room temperature and humidity [24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sustainable Development in Damascus University: A Survey of Internal Stakeholder Views

2016

J Environ Stud

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In our days, the sustainable development concept has trendy become a necessity in pedagogy. The campus is not only a fashion of an engineering design but also a place for sustainable learning put into practice. In view of the fact that the United Nations Declaration on the Environment focuses on the concept of sustainability in higher education since 1972 considering a sustainable campus formulation which has been increasingly attracting international attentions. This research tries to profoundly observe the evaluation of the sustainability of a campus taking Damascus University as a case study. Semistructured interviews with key informant stakeholders were executed to define critical factors of sustainable campus development. The weightings of these key factors were established by using the analytic network process method. These findings were provided useful inputs for future endeavors of sustainable university development which would contribute towards responses to rapid urbanization. IntroductionThe higher education sector plays a significant role in achieving a more sustainable future as students become future leaders, technical staff or the backbone of social work depending on what they learned will directly affect their future decisions on social sustainable development (SD) [1]. It is not unusual that university campus occupies considerable land at either urban or regional areas. Moreover, universities play an important role in our society in terms of sustainable technology studies providing opportunities tackle environmental issues. Sustainability initiatives have been taken up by an increasing number of colleges and universities around the world [2] so many universities bear obligations to contribute toward SD [3].The Stockholm Declaration (1972) was the first attempt introducing principles of SD into the higher education sector. This was followed by constant efforts and initiatives such as the Talloires Declaration (1990), the Halifax Declaration (1991), the Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future (ULSF) (1992) and the Swansea Declaration (1993). Along with a broader coverage of topics ranging from campus operation to community engagement, all these Declarations and Initiatives served similar purposes, i.e. promoting the development of sustainable campuses [4]. In addition, a growing number of universities over the world have signed these international declarations that are then reflected in the sustainability initiatives [5].As an example in this connection, the Syrian government has released a number of policies to promote SD in the higher education sector. As specified in the Program of Action for National Environmental Publicity and Education, higher education institutions are encouraged to implement green university initiatives, e.g. incorporating environmental sustainability into curricula. A series of technical guidelines and management measures were released in order to facilitate this process. These include opinions on promoting the resource efficient campus developm...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cultural values and cultural environment are essential to sustainability [20]. Cole has developed a system, called: Campus Sustainability Assessment Framework (CSAF) to evaluate sustainable campuses which includes the aspects of education, management and planning [26].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Development in Damascus University: A Survey of Internal Stakeholder Views

2016

J Environ Stud

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“…It is thus customary for universities to disclose their efforts through sustainability reports (Barnes and Jerman, 2002;Clark andDickson, 2003a and2003b;Clark, 2007;Clarke and Kouri, 2009;Crespy and Miller, 2011;Bero et al, 2012;Madorrán-García, 2012;AlonsoAlmeida et al, 2015;Ceulemans, Molderez and Van Liedekerke, 2015), in turn basing their commitment on their openness and issuance of GRI or similar reports (Adams and Petrella, 2010;González et al, 2016). We must stress that GRIs (Global Reporting Initiatives) are non-governmental organizations based on networks aimed at the promotion of sustainability and ESG (Environment, Social and Corporate Governance) reports (GRI, 2011).…”

Section: Univvigomentioning

confidence: 99%

University Social Responsibility and the ISO 26000:2010 standard. Case study of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain)

Avilés-Palacios¹,

Moyano-Santiago²,

Santos-de-León³

2017

Eur. Account. Manag. Rev.

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Social Responsibility Universities are universities that acknowledge endeavors inUniversity Social Responsibility as part of a strategic plan. This study shows how one of the Schools of the University Politécnica of Madrid in Spain has implemented and validated ISO 26000 as a way to extend its commitments to university social responsibility. It is the first Spanish university institution to implement ISO 26000:2010 on social responsibility with the aim of being externally audited, and it is also the only institution to do this internationally. This School is now supported with evidence that can be verified by interest groups and by academic institutions that apply social responsibility as a strategy through governance and performance. In turn, the School has taken further strides toward the University's commitments to society. This case study could help other universities towards the University Social Responsibility.

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“…É possível identificar, igualmente, as dificuldades da adoção desse sistema em Instituições de Ensino Superior: complexidade na sensibilização do nível estratégico, que muitas vezes não percebe as questões ambientais como relevantes ao planejamento estratégico; competição, para investimentos, com áreas de interesse que possuam retornos mais atrativos; desinteresse dos níveis tático e operacional na participação de programas ambientais, já que a comunidade acadêmica é bastante diversa e nem todas as áreas do conhecimento possuem as mesmas percepções sobre o tema [8,19].…”

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“…As iniciativas ambientais das Instituições de Ensino Superior variam desde programas formais que podem conduzir à certificação ambiental (NBR ISO 14.001/2015 ou similares), até programas informais com complexidade e resultados variáveis [19,20,21]. Embora a organização de um sistema não conduza, obrigatoriamente, à certificação ambiental, a NBR ISO 14.001/2015 [20] tem sido amplamente utilizada como modelo para estruturação dos sistemas de gestão ambiental das mais variadas organizações, incluindo as Instituições de Ensino Superior.…”

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Boas práticas em gestão ambiental de Instituições de Ensino Superior: o caso da Universidade de Turku de Ciências Aplicadas

Motta

Schneider²,

Gimenez

et al. 2017

Sci. cum Ind.

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A indicação de que parte do atual cenário ambiental é resultante das atividades humanas tem gerado um aumento da pressão política e social sobre as organizações, para que essas adotem práticas ambientais eficazes. Essa pressão atualmente atinge aos mais diversos setores, inclusive o educacional. Dessa forma, a incorporação das questões ambientais ao planejamento estratégico, denominada estratégia ambiental, demonstra ser uma oportunidade de gerenciar, de forma eficaz, as diversas pressões e desafios da atualidade. As Instituições de Ensino Superior, em especial, possuem uma grande responsabilidade de executar aquilo que ensinam. Assim, o presente artigo tem por objetivo avaliar a gestão ambiental e a incorporação dos temas ambientais ao planejamento estratégico de uma Instituição de Ensino Superior internacional, por meio da percepção de seus colaboradores. Os resultados demonstram que a estratégia ambiental adotada pela Instituição possui natureza reativa, contrariando em partes sua responsabilidade de instituição promotora do conhecimento. Verifica-se, igualmente, que a Instituição possui um sistema de gestão ambiental informal, composto por diversas ações que possuem exigência legal. Identifica-se, por fim, inúmeras possibilidades de melhoria dos processos de gestão ambiental da organização. Palavras-chave Estratégia ambiental, Gestão ambiental, Instituições de Ensino SuperiorGood practices in environmental management at High Education Institutions: the case of University of Applied Science AbstractThe signal that part of current environmental scenario is resulted by human activities has generated an increase in political and social pressure on organizations to adopt effective environmental practices. This pressure now affects the most diverse sectors, including education. In this way, the incorporation of environmental issues into strategic planning, called environmental strategy, proves to be an opportunity to effectively manage various pressures and challenges. Higher Education Institutions, in particular, have a great responsibility to carry out what they teach. Thus, the objective of this article is to evaluate environmental management and the incorporation of environmental themes into the strategic planning of an International Higher Education Institution, through the perception of its employees. The results show that the environmental strategy adopted by the Institution is reactive, by nature, contradicting in part its responsibility as an institution that promotes knowledge. It is also verified that the Institution has an informal environmental management system, composed of several actions that have legal requirements. Finally, it identifies innumerable possibilities for improving the organization's environmental management processes.

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Challenges in the development of environmental management systems on the modern university campus

Cited by 35 publications

References 13 publications

Sustainable Development in Damascus University: A Survey of Internal Stakeholder Views

Sustainable Development in Damascus University: A Survey of Internal Stakeholder Views

University Social Responsibility and the ISO 26000:2010 standard. Case study of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain)

Boas práticas em gestão ambiental de Instituições de Ensino Superior: o caso da Universidade de Turku de Ciências Aplicadas

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