Sustainability

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THE podcast: educating our way out of the climate crisis

Two academics share strategies for advancing climate action and boosting sustainability at an institutional and individual level

Liz Price , Tripp Shealy

Manchester Metropolitan University, Virginia Tech

Rack with server data storage equipment

Developing a circular economy for the data centre industry

With collaboration and stakeholder buy-in, universities can help solve global issues such as reducing e-waste and the environmental impact of internet servers

Deborah Andrews

London South Bank University

Hands holding together a jigsaw depicting the Earth

Equitable international research collaboration is possible – find out how

Lessons on building a successful international research collaboration founded on trust and respect between partners

Manuel Barcia

University of Leeds

Young male with backpack looking up at a plane overhead

Measuring the environmental impact of student relocation

A simple but robust tool and methodology can help universities calculate the carbon emissions from student travel when they relocate for study

Roederer Rose Lyne, Fraser Lovie

University of Aberdeen

Group of students working on a modern urban architecture project with renewable green energy sources

How to embed sustainability into different curricula

A framework to support discipline-appropriate sustainability education, with discipline-specific examples

Chris Preist

University of Bristol

Plastic pollution concept

The art of change: using creative research methods to solve the plastics crisis

Incorporating theatre, music and the visual arts as research tools complements analytical and qualitative approaches to environmental challenges – and goes beyond public engagement into local and global policymaking

Cressida Bowyer

The University of Portsmouth

A schoo lof fish swimming in the ocean

Embedding the SDGs into curricula via an interdisciplinary approach

Incorporating the SDGs into teaching involves facilitating project collaboration among students from different disciplines. Here are examples of how this can work in practice

Sambit Dash, Guruprasad Rao, Preetham Kumar

Manipal Academy of Higher Education

A hand picking up a plastic bottle off the ground

Greening your university is not optional; it’s urgent

Investing in greening your institution will result in huge savings in the long run. Here are some strategies that have worked for CETYS University

Isaac Azuz

CETYS Universidad

A globe nestles in green grass

Building a sustainable future on campus

Work towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals starts from the ground up. Here’s how to cultivate a greener campus

Gerry Wee

Singapore Institute of Technology

A student presenting a green initiative in front of an audience

How to include student voices in green campus initiatives

As centres of knowledge and innovation, higher education institutions have a unique opportunity – and responsibility – to lead by example in promoting sustainability and environmental awareness. Here are ways to do it

Sowparnika Pavan Kumar Attavar

Manipal Academy of Higher Education

Young people in a meeting to discuss sustainability

Three ways universities can enhance teacher engagement with the Sustainable Development Goals

Using the UN SDGs to teach core content in a ‘real world’ context can enhance student engagement – but what about overstretched educators? Rebecca Watts Hull shares three strategies for bringing faculty on board

Rebecca Watts Hull

Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities

Green target on building blocks, sustainability

Three ways to create lasting change towards sustainability in your university

Progress towards sustainability falters when institutions don’t understand how change works. Here, Nicola Rieg explains how to apply concepts from organisational change management to integrate sustainability in higher education

Nicola Rieg

University of Surrey

Student testing out a wind turbine model

Critical approaches to incorporating the SDGs into curricula

Mapping curricula against the SDGs has become a key objective for education institutions aiming to showcase their commitment to sustainability. But we must do this through a critical lens

Sean Porter

University of Exeter

Group of people sitting around a table at a meeting

Building blocks of a successful staff-student environmental, social and governance committee

To embed sustainability across institutions can be challenging. Find out how a staff-student environmental, social and governance committee can align priorities and drive meaningful change

Emily Centeno

ESCP Business School

Student in class smiling to camera

Four ways to integrate the SDGs into English language classes

Connecting the Sustainable Development Goals with language teaching and learning can provide meaningful learning experiences, writes Chaonan Xu

Chaonan Xu

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Compass pointing to sustainability

Why visible senior leadership in sustainability matters

Successful or sustainable? Is this the biggest challenge that universities face when striving to reduce their carbon footprint? Jan Evans-Freeman explains where leadership fits into the equation

Jan Evans-Freeman

Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury

Accounting student working on a laptop

How to unpick sustainability reporting in your business teaching

In this resource, Nick Rowbottom offers ways to help students distinguish and evaluate corporate sustainability within different international reporting standards

Nick Rowbottom

University of Birmingham

Dictionary definition of assets and accounting

Embrace broader definitions of accounting to help your students operate sustainably

Broader definitions of accounting help students redirect their energies and draw on broad-scope approaches to dealing with challenging issues to help shape a better world

Jennifer Rose, Garry Carnegie

University of Manchester, RMIT University

Two accountants calculate the carbon footprint of a factory

The climate crisis heralds an imperative for sustainable accountancy practices

Finance and accounting educators have a moral obligation to embed the principles of the SDGs into their courses. Thankfully, it’s easier than ever to do, write Shona Russell and Ian Thomson

Shona Russell, Ian Thomson

University of St Andrews, University of Dundee

Students discussing sustainability

Sustainability accounting is coming: here’s how to navigate it

We can expect radical changes in sustainability accounting over the next few years. Developing a sustainability mindset for yourself and your students seems like a good place to start, write Sulaiman Aliyu and Toby York

Sulaiman Aliyu, Toby York

Middlesex University

Small business owner working in inventory

Teaching business students how to prepare sustainability reports for SMEs

In engaging with small and medium-sized enterprises, universities can raise SMEs’ awareness of their own climate impacts. Here, Ven Tauringana shares a model for teaching accounting students how to produce sustainability reports

Ven Tauringana

University of Southampton

Couple planting a tree

Making sustainability part of university DNA

Meaningful change comes from embedding green practices into every aspect, and every member, of the institution, starting from induction training

Thomas Menkhoff, Kevin Cheong

Singapore Management University

Environmental considerations for businesses

Accounting for sustainability: we need to change how we teach

Accountants of the future will need to respond to as yet unknown sustainability reporting standards. Freirean dialogic teaching where lecturers learn alongside students through discussion helps build the skills to respond to such change

Jennifer Rose

University of Manchester

sustainability

A whole-university road map to sustainability impact

Top-ranked Western Sydney University combines immediate action with long-term planning to drive progress in achieving impact aligned with the SDGs. Here, Deborah Sweeney and Kevin Dunn share insights learned from their institution-wide approach

Deborah Sweeney, Kevin Dunn

Western Sydney University

Hands holding seedling surrounded by sustainability icons

A holistic blueprint for sustainability

Instead of compartmentalising decisions about infrastructure or resource allocation, universities need a whole-system approach to sustainability that shifts attitudes and behaviour, writes Lily Kong

Lily Kong

Singapore Management University

Deforested rainforest now used for cattle farming

We’ve engaged 250 student volunteers to hold climate emitters to account

The Net Zero Tracker taps into students’ passion for climate action, teaches them net-zero literacy and builds their employability. Here’s how we work with them

Camilla Hyslop

University of Oxford

Image of someone picking up a plastic bottle from a beach

From personal to professional: incorporating sustainability into your university work

Practical advice for embedding sustainability issues into broader professional practice, taking lessons from teaching English language that are applicable across other disciplines

Peter Buckley

The University of Edinburgh

Image of a sustainable city

Transformative not transmissive education for sustainability

The teaching of sustainability and the SDGs needs to equip graduates with the skills to bring about transformative change for a better future. Jen Dollin, Brittany Hardiman and Susan Germein explore what this means for universities

Jen Dollin, Brittany Vermeulen , Susan Germein

Western Sydney University

The different steps to improved sustainability

To offset or not to offset – that is the question

Carbon offsetting is a hotly debated issue, with critics positing that it distracts from real efforts to reduce emissions. David Duncan explains why a compromise position in which offsetting is used to complement focused efforts at carbon reduction may be needed

David Duncan

University of Glasgow

Robot art holding a green shoot

Go green, AI!

Can artificial intelligence be as green as it is integral to solving complex problems? As universities integrate courses on AI into different fields, they also need to show students its risks and costs, particularly for the environment

Inès Chihi, Inma Peral

University of Luxembourg

People learning in a public library

Five tips to enhance your institution’s civic engagement by working with public libraries

Advice to help universities work in partnership with public libraries to reach wider audiences and enhance their civic engagement

Marge Ainsley, Rachel Heydecker

Carnegie UK

We must consider the SDGs in local contexts and universities can help

We won’t get anywhere without placing the SDGs in local contexts

Applying the SDGs looks vastly different in a Western city from how it does in a rural Asian village. Su Li Chong explains how universities can help us get past a one-size-fits-all approach

Su Li Chong

Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP)

Universities and higher education institutions need to sever ties with oil companies and get their ethics in order if they want to tackle the SDGs

Universities aren’t walking the walk on sustainability – not even close

While HEIs continue to take tens of millions of pounds from oil companies, their integrity and commitment to the SDGs looks shaky at best, says James Derounian

James Derounian

Visiting professor

International HE collaborations can help progress towards the SDGs in this Decade of Action

International partnerships drive SDG progress – how do we support them?

Diverse partnerships encompassing various sectors and organisations help mobilise resources and encourage collaboration that can address societal challenges more efficiently

Joanna Newman, Maddalaine Ansell

The Association of Commonwealth Universities, British Council

Advice on collaborating with student activists to improve institutional sustainability

Working with student activists to speed up progress towards a sustainable future

Jaime Toney explains how working with grassroots student activists can help accelerate institutional action towards the Sustainable Development Goals

Jaime Toney

University of Glasgow

Advice on bringing institutions together in international collaborations designed to address the SDGs

‘Embrace messiness’: how to broker global partnerships to tackle the Sustainable Development Goals

Annelise Riles and Meghan Ozaroski share advice on bringing universities around the world together to address global problems, such as climate change, by investing in relationships, thinking long-term and working around inevitable bumps

Annelise Riles, Meghan Ozaroski

Northwestern University

Advice on embedding sustainable development into university curricula by aligning it with core subject learning outcomes

Match sustainability learning outcomes to specific curricula to achieve SDG 4.7

Ron Johnston provides a guide to embedding education for sustainable development into university courses by linking it with the learning outcomes of the core subject being taught

Ron Johnston

UNESCO

Advice on creating short online courses that help drive progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals

Three steps to designing online learning that supports a sustainable future

Lizzy Garner-Foy offers practical guidance on how to plan, design and develop open, accessible online learning materials that support work towards the SDGs

Lizzy Garner-Foy

The University of Edinburgh

Advice on using online tools to teach students about sustainability

Supporting student action on sustainability

Students want opportunities to develop skills and knowledge to address sustainability issues. Matthew Lawson describes how sustainability can be embedded into the student experience

Matthew Lawson

The University of Edinburgh

Sustainability needs to be taught but also embraced by universities as students become ever more concerned

Prepare for student sustainability demands to go through the roof

Students will be the driving force behind universities finally being held accountable and made to practise what they preach on climate change, says Andreas Kaplan

Andreas Kaplan

ESCP Business School

Webinar discussion how to reduce student drop out rates in the context of the pandemic and online learning

Behavioural change for sustainable development

Four European academics explore how universities can encourage positive behaviour change among students in line with the Sustainable Development Goals

Thijs Bosker, Khatereh Ghasemzadeh, Marc Le Menestrel, Jakob Stoustrup

Leiden University, University of Bologna, INSEAD , Aalborg University

Advice on fostering interdisciplinary research collaborations early in your academic career

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: investing in early career interdisciplinarity

Three PhD students share tips for embracing an interdisciplinary approach to research from the start of one’s academic career to aid progress towards tackling the Sustainable Development Goals

Roxanne Keynejad, Poushali Ganguli, Manisha Yapa

King’s College London, UNSW Sydney

Webinar discussion how to reduce student drop out rates in the context of the pandemic and online learning

How to embed the SDGs into your online teaching and learning

Academics and experts in sustainability look at how universities can harness online teaching to advance the aims of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals

Fernando Reimers, Natalie Kopytko, Tara Ivanochko

Harvard University, University of Leeds, University of British Columbia

How online education platforms can facilitate progress to address the sustainability development goals

How to ensure online education is a clear win for the SDGs

Online teaching offers many opportunities to drive education and awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals. Ellen Touchstone explains how

Ellen Touchstone

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Using the SDGs as a lens through which to teach multiple topics and subjects

How to teach through the lens of the Sustainable Development Goals

Terry Sunderland offers insight on how the Sustainable Development Goals can provide a useful framework to guide students’ learning across multiple disciplines

Terry Sunderland

University of British Columbia

How to use group participation activities which are used in stakeholder engagement projects in order to teach a better understanding of sustainability issues

We are not alone: using participatory group activities to engage students in sustainability

Natalie Kopytko and Susannah Sallu detail how participatory activities used for stakeholder engagement can help motivate students to learn about sustainability online

Natalie Kopytko, Susannah Sallu

University of Leeds