Introduction
There is increasing pressure on universities as higher education institutions to embrace sustainability to minimise their costs, come in line with government and UN ambitions, and future-proof their operations. On top
of that, students and staff members are demonstrating high expectations
on their university to work actively with sustainability.
Studies looking at student and staff attitudes towards, and skills for, sustainable development in the UK consistently show that a large majority of students believe that it is an important part of a university and want their institution to do more on sustainability.
As sustainability is becoming increasingly recognised within businesses and workplaces, with often mandatory requirements for organisations to meet specific sustainability criteria and/or report on their impacts, employers are looking for graduates to leave universities with an understanding of sustainability, and the skills to support the business to thrive into the future.
The degree of engagement with sustainability within the university itself can vary, perhaps creating more focus on operations (eg food, water, energy) or teaching (eg with a sustainability programme) or student action (eg with a funded student project). Some universities respond by forming separate sustainability departments, others attempt to integrate sustainability within already existing structures. Having a good engagement with educational sustainability does not necessarily mean operational sustainability works well, and vice versa.
A ‘sustainable university’ strives for change in all areas, creating a space for transformation, reflection and critical debate on broad societal and planetary issues through scholarship - learning and research:
• A ‘sustainable university’ contributes actively to its local community as well
as to global knowledge.
• A ‘sustainable university’ provides leadership in sustainable practice through
its estate and processes.
• A major aspect of a sustainable university is encouraging everyone in the
university to explore what they think sustainability might look like, to critically
debate this and to act in what they believe to be sustainable ways.
• A sense of community within the university helps to generate collective
action towards sustainability.
Transition Universities can help institutions in the journey towards more sustainable universities by encouraging a university community response to sustainability challenges, enabling all students and academic and non academic staff to contribute together, often linking the different areas of sustainability and in some cases assisting the university community to work better with the wider community. Not only does this improve environmental sustainability, but also provides a platform for social sustainability and justice to be addressed.
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