Sustainable higher education institutions: promoting a holistic approach
Sustainability, including climate change has been recognised as a potential threat to our ecosystem; a realisation that is not new (Revkin, 2018). The last decade has seen the most progressive ideas and solutions available for climate change resilience, mitigation and adaptation (Holloway Houston Inc. [HHI], 2018; Pitt et al., 2009; Pramanik et al., 2019). Climate change impacts have been drastically elevated in the last two decades due to rapid globalisation and urbanisation, making the built environment sector one of its biggest contributors (International Energy Agency [IEA], 2019). Buildings in general, being responsible for one- third of global greenhouse gas emissions, are also extremely vulnerable to climate change in terms of operations, health and performance (United Nations Environment Programme [UNEP] and IEA, 2017). As the impacts of climate change are mounting over the building sector, the role of design and construction has now, more than ever, put even greater pressure on sustainable practices in terms of building design, operations and end of life. While the building and construction sector has had to contend with sustainability issues in the past, now climate change and its associated impacts also need to be considered. As a result, the challenges faced are also greater.
A deep dive into the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a backdrop to understanding where sustainable development practices in HEIs have headed follows. Next, potential opportunities for HEIs to engage with holistic sustainability outcomes are discussed. Student and staff awareness/understanding of sustainability issues, governance models to incorporate sustainable practices and sustainable campus operations are all considered before presenting the discussion and conclusions. This research is directly related to the work of the SBC programme.
