Developing a Sustainability Strategy for Higher Education Institutions

How Does Sustainability Fit into Higher Education?

Our research shows that a growing number of Higher Education Institutions are unsure of how to start working towards their broad sustainability goals and integrating sustainability initiatives into their institutional operations.  In our recent Executive Briefing #009 “Measuring Sustainability in Higher Education”, the Digital Education Council addresses this area of strategic uncertainty and proposes some key considerations when mapping out an institution’s sustainability strategy. 

Firstly, institutions need to understand how sustainability initiatives can fit into their operations. We highlight  four  areas of focus, mapped to different Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from the United Nations. For instance, institutions can contribute to SDG17 through external leadership actions, such as collaborating with government authorities or engaging in sustainability policy advocacy using their expertise.

‍

‍

Institutions Should Prioritise Sustainability Initiatives Based on Complexity and Impact.

‍The next step in defining an institution’s sustainability strategy is to prioritise which sustainability initiatives should be undertaken and how they should be put into action. When choosing which initiatives to prioritise, institutions should take into account the complexity of carrying out the initiative, its impact and how the initiative aligns with their institutional sustainability goals. 

‍

‍

The complexity of sustainability initiatives can be classified by their resource intensity based on factors such as expertise,  funding and infrastructure required and the ease of implementation based on the stakeholders involved, the degree of external dependency and the changes made to existing processes.

The impact of sustainability initiatives can be determined by the direct benefits of the initiative and how relevant the initiative is to stakeholders, both of which  can be evaluated by the following factors: 

1. Environmental and societal benefits
2. Reputation and branding benefits
3. Financial benefits
4. Relevance to faculty expectations
5. Relevance to student expectations
6. Relevance to community needs
7. Regulation compliance and relevance to government priorities

‍

‍

Institutions should identify which intersection of impact and complexity is most suitable for their sustainability goals and institutional capabilities, in order to prioritise which initiatives to work on. This will help guide the direction of the institution’s sustainability strategy.

‍Measuring and Disclosing Your Sustainability Practices is Important.

Another key step in developing and executing a  sustainability strategy is the measurement of initiatives’ impact and the reporting standards an institution chooses. Measurement and disclosure can be tricky for institutions, due to the many standards in the industry, as well as general confusion and poorly-defined standards on what should be disclosed. 

This lack of clarity may dissuade institutions from taking this step, but disclosing relevant and useful information about an institution’s sustainability practices can help gather feedback to guide institutions  in the right direction and identify areas for improvement, as well as strong points that institutions can continue to focus on.

Measurement of initiatives and communicating chosen metrics to the wider institutional community can also encourage greater appreciation and adoption of sustainable practices and benchmark progress to keep the institution on track. Alongside disclosure practices, measuring impact can also help hold institutions accountable for their sustainability progress.

When disclosing your sustainability strategy institutions should consider existing reporting standards and also include factors such as the purpose of your institution’s sustainability strategy, your stakeholder engagement, the structure of your sustainability governance body, the opportunities and risks associated with your strategy, horizon setting and the ethical standards that your sustainability strategy adheres to.  

By following this guiding framework, higher education institutions can create and further develop their own sustainability strategies.