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Sustainability Reporting in Higher Education Institutions: What, Why, and How

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International Business, Trade and Institutional Sustainability

Part of the book series: World Sustainability Series ((WSUSE))

Abstract

The main purpose of this research is to address three important questions concerning sustainability reporting in universities: what to report, why reporting is necessary, and how reporting should be carried out. A desk study method was used to systematically review key peer-reviewed scientific articles as well as sustainability reports of higher education institutions. The paper discusses theoretical and empirical research of sustainability reporting in the higher education sector. The paper shows that there is a focus on the widely used criteria of sustainability, which are in line with the literature. The study also illustrates how universities can report their sustainability advancement through highlighting the type of data collected, process of preparing the report, the parties involved, and channels where reports can be submitted to. Ultimately, this paper seeks to justify the significance of such reporting and why all higher education institutions should develop and regularly review the reporting of their sustainability performance. The added value of this research is that higher education institutions, particularly those at the early stages of assessing, documenting, and reporting sustainability practices, can be greatly assisted.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Architecture and Building Science (DABS), College of Architecture and Planning (CAP), King Saud University (KSU), King Abdullah Road, P.O. Box 230670, Riyadh, 11321, Saudi Arabia

    Naif Alghamdi

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  1. Naif Alghamdi
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Correspondence to Naif Alghamdi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. European School of Sustainability Science and Research, HAW Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. College of Business, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    Paulo R. Borges de Brito

  3. Universidade Positivo, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil

    Fernanda Frankenberger

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Alghamdi, N. (2020). Sustainability Reporting in Higher Education Institutions: What, Why, and How. In: Leal Filho, W., Borges de Brito, P., Frankenberger, F. (eds) International Business, Trade and Institutional Sustainability. World Sustainability Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26759-9_57

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