Advanced
search

To read this content please select one of the options below:

Odd couples: reconciling academic and operational cultures for whole-institution sustainability governance at universities

John Robinson (Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, School of the Environment, University of Toronto – St George Campus, Toronto, Canada)
Andi Darell Alhakim (Committee on the Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability (CECCS), University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada)
Grace Ma (Committee on the Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability (CECCS), University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada)
Monisha Alam (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada)
Fernanda da Rocha Brando (Department of Biology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil)
Manfred Braune (University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa)
Michelle Brown (Department for Social Responsibility and Sustainability, Geography and the Lived Environment Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK)
Nicolas Côté (Committee on the Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability (CECCS), University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada)
Denise Crocce Romano Espinosa (Department of Chemical Engineering, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil)
Ana Karen Garza (Committee on the Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability (CECCS), University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada)
David Gorman (Department for Social Responsibility and Sustainability, Geography and the Lived Environment Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK)
Maarten Hajer (Urban Futures Studio, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands)
John Madden (Campus and Community Planning, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada)
Rob Melnick (School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona, USA)
John Metras (Facilities – VPFO, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada)
Julie Newman (Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA)
Rutu Patel (Committee on the Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability (CECCS), University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada)
Rob Raven (Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia)
Kenneth Sergienko (Committee on the Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability (CECCS), University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada)
Victoria Smith (Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada)
Hoor Tariq (Committee on the Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability (CECCS), University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada)
Lysanne van der Lem (Sustainability Office, University Corporate Offices, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands)
Christina Nga Jing Wong (Committee on the Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability (CECCS), University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada)
Arnim Wiek (School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona, USA)

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education

ISSN: 1467-6370

Article publication date: 27 July 2023

Issue publication date: 27 November 2023

228

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore barriers and pathways to a whole-institution governance of sustainability within the working structures of universities.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws on multi-year interviews and hierarchical structure analysis of ten universities in Canada, the USA, Australia, Hong Kong, South Africa, Brazil, the UK and The Netherlands. The paper addresses existing literature that championed further integration between the two organizational sides of universities (academic and operations) and suggests approaches for better embedding sustainability into four primary domains of activity (education, research, campus operations and community engagement).

Findings

This research found that effective sustainability governance needs to recognise and reconcile distinct cultures, diverging accountability structures and contrasting manifestations of central-coordination and distributed-agency approaches characteristic of the university’s operational and academic activities. The positionality of actors appointed to lead institution-wide embedding influenced which domain received most attention. The paper concludes that a whole-institution approach would require significant tailoring and adjustments on both the operational and academic sides to be successful.

Originality/value

Based on a review of sustainability activities at ten universities around the world, this paper provides a detailed analysis of the governance implications of integrating sustainability into the four domains of university activity. It discusses how best to work across the operational/academic divide and suggests principles for adopting a whole institution approach to sustainability.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their gratitude and acknowledge the contributions of the CECCS Secretariat and members of the various universities who helped facilitate this paper including revisions and edits, and to the editors for their feedback on previous versions.

Citation

Robinson, J., Alhakim, A.D., Ma, G., Alam, M., Brando, F.d.R., Braune, M., Brown, M., Côté, N., Espinosa, D.C.R., Garza, A.K., Gorman, D., Hajer, M., Madden, J., Melnick, R., Metras, J., Newman, J., Patel, R., Raven, R., Sergienko, K., Smith, V., Tariq, H., van der Lem, L., Wong, C.N.J. and Wiek, A. (2023), "Odd couples: reconciling academic and operational cultures for whole-institution sustainability governance at universities", International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 24 No. 8, pp. 1949-1969. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-07-2022-0244

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited

Related articles

Manage cookies

We’re listening — tell us what you think

Join us on our journey