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Towards sustainable development: a systematic review of the past decade’s literature on the social, environment and governance and universities in Latin America

Clayton dos Santos Lima (Department of Accounting, Federal University of Santa Maria – UFSM, Santa Maria, Brazil)
Debora Londero Kieling (Department of Accounting, Federal University of Santa Maria – UFSM, Santa Maria, Brazil)
Lucas Veiga Ávila (Department of Academic Coordination Cachoeira do Sul Campus, Federal University of Santa Maria – UFSM, Santa Maria, Brazil)
Arminda Paço (Department of NECE, University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal)
Vinícius Costa da Silva Zonatto (Department of Accounting, Federal University of Santa Maria – UFSM, Santa Maria, Brazil)

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education

ISSN: 1467-6370

Article publication date: 21 March 2022

Issue publication date: 24 January 2023

622

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse through a systematic literature review the evolution of the theme of environmental social and governance (ESG) in universities, correlating variables and presenting a panorama for Latin American universities.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses a systematic literature review approach. The Web of Science database was used for data collection, and a set of keywords (Environmental, Social and Governance × Universities) and a classification method were used, resulting in 111 articles classified in the Zotero software. After classification, these publications were analysed in the VOSviewer software.

Findings

The main evidence about ESG and universities shows that its relevance has been growing worldwide with an emphasis on England, the USA, Spain, followed by Brazil in fourth place regarding the number of papers published worldwide. The most representative areas identified were governance, sustainability, higher education, sustainable campus, environmental science, ecology, science and technology. The journals presenting more published papers under the topic are International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Journal of Cleaner Production and Sustainability. As for the most relevant authors, the Europeans Lozano and Leal Filho, Velasquez from Mexico and Brandli from Brazil were identified. As for institutions, the University Durham, State University System of Florida and State University of Campinas do Brazil stand out.

Research limitations/implications

As the main limitation of the study is related to the sample of articles. This study is focused on the analysis of publications from the last decade, presenting only 111 results. However, this restriction in the timeline is justified as it is a new topic; this study was also limited to the use of a single database; in this sense, future research can carry out a more comprehensive review of the sustainability literature covering periods prior to a decade and an analysis in other databases.

Originality/value

These results provide a basis for improving sustainability in universities and ESG in Latin America. It also allows to explore and reflect on several indicators, enabling the evaluation and planning of actions to improve competitiveness.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível – CAPES and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – CNPQ.

Funds: FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology under the project UIDB/04630/2020; CNPq – National Council for Scientific and Technological Development under the Project 436444/2018–6; FAPERGS – Recent PhD Project – Sustainability recovery and ESG (Environmental Social and Governance): The case of Brazilian Universities.

Citation

Lima, C.d.S., Kieling, D.L., Veiga Ávila, L., Paço, A. and Zonatto, V.C.d.S. (2023), "Towards sustainable development: a systematic review of the past decade’s literature on the social, environment and governance and universities in Latin America", International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 24 No. 2, pp. 279-298. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-09-2021-0394

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited

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