University social responsibility and sustainability. How they work on the SDGS and how they communicate them on their websites

Abstract

This paper shows how the leading Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking communicate their environmental sustainability policies through their websites. Specifically, this paper analyses the presence of sustainability‐related sustainable development goals on the websites of the top 100 universities in the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking (2021). In the area of university social responsibility, sustainability is less commonly communicated, hence the need to delve deeper into the presence of these messages, carrying out a descriptive study using content analysis as a form of data extraction. The conclusion is that neither position in the ranking nor geographic area are decisive for developing better communication about sustainability. In terms of content, sustainability features on the websites are in three key dimensions of the communication of HEIs worldwide (Climate change, Efficiency of sustainable cities and communities and Striving for peace and justice). Thus, the areas for improvement are around the positioning of this sustainability‐related content on their home pages, improving location and format (especially video). Moreover, reinforcing reputational messages, through plans or programmes, as well as improving engagement working on the multi‐directionality to other social media, is required.