What Does Sustainability Mean? Perceptions of Future Professionals across Disciplines

D’Amico, A.; Aulicino, José María; Pasquale, Jorgelina Di

doi:10.3390/su14159650

Cited by 13 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 22 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…It turned out that the words associated with the environmental dimension were the options selected by most respondents (47%), followed by crosscutting words (37.1%). Note: (*) The list of words was chosen based on a previous study by the authors [44]. (**) Crosscutting words may refer to two or three aspects.…”

Section: Perception Of Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptions and Attitudes of Argentine Zoomers towards Sustainable Food Production

D’Amico

Vecchio

Masi

et al. 2023

Foods

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Young people are concerned about climate change. Their activism has attracted the attention of the media and politicians. Some of them are entering the market as consumers for the first time and can express their preferences without parental guidance: they are the Zoomers. Do these new consumers have enough knowledge about sustainability to be able to make choices in line with their concerns? Are they able to push the market towards change? A sample of 537 young Zoomer consumers were interviewed face-to-face in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires. They were asked to indicate their level of concern for the planet and the first word they associated with sustainability, to rank in order of importance sustainability-related concepts and to indicate their willingness to buy sustainable products. The results of this study underline a high concern for the health of the planet (87.9%) and for unsustainable production methods (88.8%). However, the respondents perceived sustainability as consisting of a single main pillar, the environmental dimension (with 47% of the terms referring to sustainability), and two accessory pillars, the social (10.7%) and economic (5.2%) dimensions of sustainability. Respondents also showed a high interest in products obtained through sustainable agriculture, with a high percentage of them willing to pay for these products (74.1%). However, a substantial correlation was found between the ability to comprehend the notion of sustainability and the determination to purchase sustainable items, and vice versa, between those who reported difficulty comprehending the concept and their determination not to purchase these products. Zoomers believe that the market must support sustainable agriculture through consumer choices without paying a premium price. Clarifying the concept of sustainability, enhancing knowledge and assisting consumers in identifying sustainable products, as well as marketing them at reasonable prices, are essential actions for fostering a more ethical agricultural system.

show abstract

Section: Perception Of Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptions and Attitudes of Argentine Zoomers towards Sustainable Food Production

D’Amico

Vecchio

Masi

et al. 2023

Foods

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Nonetheless, diverse attitudes among professionals towards sustainability have also been documented. For instance, a study at the National University of Lomas de Zamora, Buenos Aires, aimed to gauge the perception and knowledge of sustainability among university students, future Argentinian professionals (Damico et al, 2022). The research highlighted a gap in sustainability education within higher education institutions, indicating the need for further integration of sustainability topics into curricula to better equip graduates for future challenges.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Green Perspectives: Future Technology Professionals' Views on Sustainability Practices

Iatrellis,

Samaras,

Kokkinos

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The increasing focus on sustainability and the adoption of green practices across industries underscore the necessity of equipping future professionals with competencies in implementing sustainable solutions. This study explores the perceptions of former students from two departments within the technological sector towards sustainability practices. A cross-sectional online survey was carried out among alumni from two programs at the University of Thessaly, a university recognized for its commitment to sustainability and green initiatives as a member of the INVEST European University alliance. The survey questionnaire included background inquiries and 16 statements designed to gauge alumni perspectives towards sustainability practices. Specifically, it aims to assess their views through self-assessment and compare differences between the two alumni groups. Responses were collected on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. A total of 300 graduates from the Computer Science and Telecommunications as well as Electrical Engineering undergraduate programs were encouraged to take part in the survey, achieving a response rate of 69%. Of those who responded, 61% (n = 126) represented the Computer Science and Telecommunications group, while 39% (n = 81) were from the Electrical Engineering program. Our findings indicate a generally positive attitude towards sustainability, with statistically significant differences in perspectives on the implementation of sustainable technologies and stakeholder engagement. These results underscore the necessity of integrating sustainability education deeply within the curricula of technological programs to cultivate a workforce capable of addressing future environmental challenges. This study illuminates the critical role of educational frameworks in shaping the sustainability competencies of technology professionals.

show abstract

“…There are deficits in the areas of social and economic sustainability literacy and practice, as well as compartmentalization of environmental sustainability as discrete and disconnected from social and economic systems. Which is not uncommon, as many people perceive sustainability as only environmental sustainability [35]. These survey findings are also at odds with indigenous relationships with the environment, a conflict that is gaining additional attention at the university as a result of the formal recognition and acknowledgement that the land the University is built on was taken from the Ho-Chunk nation after the treaty of 1832 [36,37].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability infrastructure insights from a campus sustainability survey

Hicks

Nergard²

2023

Environ. Res.: Infrastruct. Sustain.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The physical and social infrastructure of an environment influences the ability of that place to be sustainable. To evaluate the sustainability culture and literacy of a university environment, a campus sustainability survey was deployed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison). This inaugural survey provided a snapshot in time of the sustainability literacy and culture of the university during the Fall 2021 semester. Results of the survey found a high level of sustainability literacy, however the awareness of social and physical infrastructure which support the campus sustainability culture was largely based on environmental actions and concerns. The survey results also reaffirmed the challenge of what actions are perceived to be sustainable and urgent by the campus community, versus which have real and measurable impact. There is also an unsurprising tension between what is desired by the campus community and what is achievable in the same resource constrained environment of the survey respondents. The survey also identified a need to further increase communication channels of the actions which are already occurring on the UW-Madison campus. Acknowledging that in a mesocosm the size and scale of the UW-Madison campus, and its overwhelming amount of general communication, that targeted communications plans are necessary to reach more of the information channels of the campus community.

show abstract

What Does Sustainability Mean? Perceptions of Future Professionals across Disciplines

Cited by 13 publications

References 22 publications

Perceptions and Attitudes of Argentine Zoomers towards Sustainable Food Production

Perceptions and Attitudes of Argentine Zoomers towards Sustainable Food Production

Green Perspectives: Future Technology Professionals' Views on Sustainability Practices

Sustainability infrastructure insights from a campus sustainability survey

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About