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Governance and sustainable development at higher education institutions

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Abstract

Governance issues, here interpreted as the provisions of adequate policy frameworks characterized by reliability and accountability, coupled with resources to support their implementation, are known to be the basis for the implementation of sustainable development measures. This paper discusses the influence of governance in the ways sustainability is perceived and practiced in a higher education context. Apart from due considerations to the role of governance as the basis for regulation and institutional actions and management decisions, this paper reports on an empirical study undertaken in a sample of higher education institutions. This study entailed an analysis of sustainable development policies, certification, organizational structure, budget, reports, team for sustainability, staff training, and challenges for the integration of sustainability and governance. The results suggest that even though there are different opinions and attitudes on the role of governance, it is regarded as an important component in supporting efforts by higher education institutions to include considerations on sustainable development as part of their strategies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. European School of Sustainability Science and Research, Faculty of Life Sciences, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Ulmenliet 20, 21033, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. Department of Natural Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Chester Street, Manchester, M1 5GD, UK

    Walter Leal Filho

  3. Graduate Program in Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Passo Fundo, BR 285, Passo Fundo, RS, Brazil

    Amanda Lange Salvia

  4. Business School, Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (PUCPR) and Universidade Positivo (UP), Curitiba, Brazil

    Fernanda Frankenberger

  5. Centre for Global Sustainability Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang, Malaysia

    Noor Adelyna Mohammed Akib

  6. Indian Institute of Management, Shillong, India

    Salil K. Sen

  7. Sustainability Management School, Geneva, Switzerland

    Salil K. Sen

  8. Institut Mines-Telecom Business School, Evry, France

    Salil K. Sen

  9. NIDA Business SchoolMT-BS, Bangkok, Thailand

    Salil K. Sen

  10. Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETaL), Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610, Bandar Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia

    Subarna Sivapalan

  11. EDaSS Research Group on Economic Development and Social Sustainability, Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universidade da Coruña, A Coruña, Spain

    Isabel Novo-Corti

  12. Department of Economics, Northeastern University, 301 Lake Hall, Boston, MA, USA

    Madhavi Venkatesan

  13. Worcester Business School, University of Worcester, Castle Street, Worcester, WR1 3AS, UK

    Kay Emblen-Perry

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  1. Walter Leal Filho
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  2. Amanda Lange Salvia
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Correspondence to Amanda Lange Salvia.

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Leal Filho, W., Salvia, A.L., Frankenberger, F. et al. Governance and sustainable development at higher education institutions. Environ Dev Sustain 23, 6002–6020 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-00859-y

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