Advancing sustainability in higher education

The academic program is the heart of any college or university. The concepts embedded in sustainability are transferable across academic disciplines. Sustainability colors discussions from ethical philosophy and economics to the chemical properties of biodegradable plastics. In almost every subject, sustainability links academic theory to real-life application. As an interdisciplinary topic, sustainability can apply to traditional curriculum as a shared topic, accessible to students regardless of major. Likewise, majors focused specifically on sustainability can prepare learners for entry into the “green economy.”

Getting started

• Include sustainability in the curriculum: By embedding sustainability into curricula, institutions can give students the opportunity to develop fluency in a topic directly related to many industries and disciplines. As climate change spurs mass migrations and becomes central to issues from political science to agriculture, sustainability can provide a common entry point into how scientific theories relate to real world issues.
• Experiential education beyond the classroom: Institutions looking for quick progress on sustainability can start with programs that raise awareness. These can include everything from eco-rep programs, wherein learners research specific sustainability-related issues and act as ambassadors for them on campus, to experiential education programs in which learners have opportunities to understand sustainability concepts in context.
• Creating interdisciplinary courses, degree programs, and schools focused on sustainability: Institutions can imagine new curricula that span entire departments, schools, and colleges. Reinventing curricula to emphasize sustainability could involve interdisciplinary collaboration, faculty development, and pursuing new methods of course development.

Case study

The University of Vermont’s MBA program models sustainability-infused curricula: The University of Vermont’s Sustainable Innovation MBA (or SI-MBA) was created by faculty members with backgrounds in different industries across America. They wanted to re-imagine the MBA experience, incorporating the content of a traditional MBA program with a goal of producing graduates versed in sustainable business practices. The program utilizes the real-world sustainability experience of professors, the lived experience of their students, and access to the local Vermont economy.¹

¹University of Vermont Grossman School of Business, “Sustainable Innovation MBA,” 2023

Corporations once generated most commercialized research in America, but now, the vast bulk of it happens in academic research environments.² Underutilized by the private sector, researchers often gravitate toward universities for opportunities. That means institutions can set their research agenda with dollars and lab space. Funding decisions can integrate sustainability goals into the faculty recruitment process.

²David Rosowsky, “The Role of Research at Universities: Why it Matters,” Forbes, March 2, 2022

Getting started

• Embed sustainability and climate research leadership in overarching campus strategies. Establishing public commitments to sustainability research signals a new, explicit role for institutions: to challenge tough problems facing society.
• Prioritize sustainability and climate opportunities in research strategy. Administrative infrastructure can support research in emerging fields. University research strategies can prioritize sustainability and climate research.
• Encourage interdisciplinary and cross-institution research. Incentives for cross-disciplinary studies can help unite historically disconnected parts of a university. Strategies to address climate change will likely incorporate a breadth of factors, including science, technology, policy, and culture. Establishing institutional frameworks to support cross-institutional research can help.

Case study

Stanford University’s School of Sustainability fosters interdisciplinary research: Stanford University leverages interdisciplinary collaboration for climate research. Stanford’s Doerr School of Sustainability, the Woods Institute of the Environment, and the Precourt Institute for Energy engage in interdisciplinary research on critical topics such as zero-emission energy solutions, carbon capture, and the impacts of deforestation. In the coming years, Stanford plans to expand on the success of its interdisciplinary model and establish an Institute for Sustainable Societies.³

³Stanford University Doerr School of Sustainability, “History,” accessed October 25, 2023.

While climate change is a globally shared challenge, it's experienced locally. Countless variables affect communities’ lived experiences of climate change – like geography, age, socioeconomic status, and cultural beliefs. Though the array of variables complicates the challenges of climate change, it also diversifies the available toolkit of responses. As the next generation addresses these challenges, it is essential to access as many types of expertise as possible. Expanded community engagement can better equip humankind to solve complex problems.

Getting started

• Connect students with sustainability professionals: Numerous institutions have an office of sustainability that serves some engagement function, whether tabling at campus events, organizing group service opportunities, or providing internships on campus.
• Look to the community when defining sustainability goals: Sustainability is a chance for productive collaboration.⁴ Sustainability initiatives can engage community members meaningfully as peers. The approach can help inform sustainability goals and strengthen relationships.
• Expand the function of the campus sustainability office beyond campus operations: Though many institutional offices of sustainability were created to address the sustainability of the campus physical footprint, it has become increasingly common—even expected—for the campus sustainability office to serve as a community engagement hub. The Sustainability Tracking and Rating System (STARS) gauges success in several engagement and inclusion categories. A widely used sustainability scoring framework for higher education institutions, STARS even offers measurement tools for such fields as support for underrepresented groups, student life, and participation in public policy.⁵
• Incorporate a broad range of views in decision-making: Traditionally, the board of trustees holds the highest level of decision-making power at an institution. Boards may take advice from committees composed of stakeholders. Incorporating input from campus communities into sustainability goals can result in not only more-informed decision-making but also stronger buy-in.

⁴Terri Matthews and George Smith, “‘Town + Gown’ and CCNY’s sustainability in the urban environment program,” Current Opinion in Environment and Sustainability 17 (2015): pp. 42–47.
⁵UC Berkeley, “Sustainability and Carbon Solutions – Campus performance overview,” updated July 2023.

Case study

Baltimore City and Johns Hopkins University’s sustainability planning process: In 2019, the city of Baltimore published the Baltimore Sustainability Plan, a road map that implements a racial equity lens in its program design.⁶ In alignment with the Baltimore plan, Johns Hopkins University created a community advisory group for sustainability.⁷ The advisory group serves to strengthen relationships between stakeholders, while the community helps develop plans that respond to the concerns of both the institution and the community.

⁶City of Baltimore Office of Sustainability, “Sustainability Plan,” accessed November 27, 2023.
⁷Johns Hopkins University, “Climate Action & Sustainability Plan,” accessed November 27, 2023.

Campus operations offer perhaps the most direct opportunity to demonstrate commitment to sustainability. From how energy is sourced to how natural light reaches new buildings to how the vehicle fleet is powered, campus operations can reduce an institution’s carbon footprint. There is no one prescription for how to reach carbon neutrality goals. Institutions across the country have found creative ways to tackle emissions reduction while adding to the richness of their academics and culture.

Getting started

• Target building operations emissions: To target Scope 1 and 2 emissions, institutions may explore an array of carbon neutrality projects: modernizing building systems (such as HVAC), finding sustainable alternatives for campus vehicles (e.g., police cars, maintenance vehicles), using sustainable fuels and electricity sources (e.g., geothermal, biofuels, and solar), and exploring opportunities to green IT infrastructure (e.g., energy-efficient data centers, cloud computing/virtualization, life cycle management).
• Audit IT practices: Sustainability considerations in IT reduce the cost of almost every department. They can include procurement (e.g., biodegradable toner ink, Energy STAR-rated products); energy-efficient data centers, including cloud-based operations to reduce an institution’s physical infrastructure footprint; and efficient and responsible hardware life cycle management.
• Find creative ways to address emissions resulting from campus supply chain and culture: Addressing Scope 1 and 2 emissions can be straightforward. Scope 3 is murkier. Assessing Scope 3 emissions requires a more comprehensive analysis of institutional activities. To tackle these emissions, institutions need to consider their entire supply chain, targeting procurement, travel, and waste.
• Building sustainability-focused collaborations: Tackling Scope 3 emissions is often a journey undertaken alongside key partners. For example, some vendors are adjusting their portfolios to offer sustainable options at reasonable cost. This can be a win-win for institutional clients. At the moment, cutting emissions in supply chains is more easily said than done. Supply chains are notoriously opaque. Vendor claims of sustainable practices can be difficult to verify. Assessing sustainable practices and procurement is complex and time consuming, something even major corporations don’t always have the resources to pursue. Despite these difficulties, centering sustainability goals during vendor selection can help provide an important foundation for the future.

Case study

Dickinson College’s farm bio-digestor project: To address their food waste, Dickinson College invested in an advanced composting method. An EPA grant supported their bio-digestor project, which converts farming and food waste into electricity using anaerobic digestion. This project was designed to reduce their Scope 3 emissions, but it also contributes to improved water quality, community engagement, cost savings, and educational opportunities.⁸

⁸Dickinson College, “Dickinson’s College Farm receives EPA funding,” October 5, 2020.