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Implementation of a sustainability paradigm demands new choices and innovative ways of thinking. The main objective of this paper is to provide a meaningful sustainability assessment tool for make informed decisions, which is applied to higher education institutions (HEIs).

The objective is achieved by developing a quantitative tool for sustainability assessment using a driving force‐pressure‐state‐exposure‐effect‐action (DPSEEA) framework. The DPSEEA framework considers environmental, social, economic, and educational performance as main dimensions of sustainability. The proposed model is called DPSEEA‐Sustainability index Model (D‐SiM). The D‐SiM is a causality‐based model in which the sustainability index (SI) is an outcome of nonlinear effects of sustainability indicators in various stages of DPSEEA. To have an improved understanding of input factors (driving forces) and their impact on sustainability, a simplified empirical model is developed and applied to HEIs to determine the percent contribution of various driving forces on sustainability.

The study reveals that economic development, social equity, and education in sustainability are the major drivers for achieving sustainability in HEI, while health and safety issues, energy requirements, institutional enhancement, and international research and development trends are the less significant driving forces.

The indicators connected in DPSEEA framework through causal relationships lead to the quantitative assessment of sustainability, which provides a unique approach for informed decision making.

The extent to which research into the design and development of environmental health indicators (EHIs) has translated into operational programmes is unclear. The purpose of this paper is to identify EHI initiatives worldwide, distil the EHIs and draw lessons from the experience.

A systematic internet-based review was undertaken. Programmes were selected for inclusion if they: first, had the ability to monitor both the physical environment and associated health outcomes; and second, the parent agency had the ability to influence policies related to the environment and health.

The small number of eligible programmes indicates EHI initiatives are not yet well established, especially in developing countries. The use of indicators was also limited by uncertainties in the exposure-response relationships that they implied, and the consequent inability to translate the indicators into a common measure of health impact. In addition, there is no information on the extent to which the indicators have been applied in decision making, nor on the policy implications of using indicators.

More effort is needed to encourage the development and use of more balanced and informative sets of indicators, and to evaluate their use and outcomes in terms of health benefits.

The time is right for a substantial review paper on EHIs as they are now being used by a number of organisations and to the knowledge this is the first review of operational EHI programmes worldwide.

The purpose of this paper is to review, from a sustainable management perspective, a range of conceptual frameworks; determine the efficacy and utility of three different data sources in generating indicators collectively; and consider the utility of a single index of total ecosystem services (TESI). The ecosystem service (ES) concept has been discussed as an important model to aid sustainable land-use management.

The historical development and the relative merits of sustainable management frameworks which can be implemented in a decision-making context were examined. The efficacy of a single index TESI was examined considering three data sources for 11 contrasting sites within the UK.

The choice of conceptual framework and data source depends on the specific question and scale being addressed. Publicly available data through the Eurostat route is primarily limited to the assessment of the provisioning services.

Limitation of the study is that both bottom-up and top-down sourcing of data to conduct an ES assessment were considered.

The scale of enquiry when conducting ES assessment to aid sustainable management dictate the most useful data source. If conducting local assessments that give local data is more appropriate while conducting European Union (EU)-wide assessment gives less local precision, it does provide some insight when conducting larger-scale regional assessment which cannot otherwise be achieved.

The various data set analysed in this study all provided insight for sustainable management.

Climate change can affect public and individual health through many causal pathways. Climate impacts such as meteorological phenomena, extreme weather, disturbances of air quality, impact of environmental contaminants and other risk factors such as sanitation and access to clean water can affect health both directly and indirectly. Notable findings of health outcomes include infectious diseases, mortality through extreme environmental patterns as well as respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological disorders. Temperature and humidity are most often related etiologically with outcomes as mentioned above. Nevertheless, temperature is associated with adverse nutritional outcomes, skin diseases and allergies. A thorough overview of the research already conducted with regard to health impacts of climate change is crucial in order to move human behaviours towards sustainability in energy, mitigation and adaptation responses that support climate and consequently health.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how education for sustainable development (ESD) was measured in the taught curriculum at the University of Bristol (UoB), providing comparison to other methods of measurement and how measurements were used to engage academics in considering the visibility of the penetration of sustainable development into their teaching.

The process of designing a quantitative and comparative method of reviewing ESD utilising a reflective process at the UoB is considered, which can be applied by other institutions. The UoB decided on an in-house method of assessment using the Unit and Programme Catalogue, a list of all taught units. Initially this revealed that some information relating to ESD was not clearly articulated. A school ESD review refined the data along with the release of key information set data, a nationally published data set which identifies mandatory, typical and optional diets taken by students on programmes.

Text-based methods of assessing ESD penetration into programmes of study have limited use as direct measures of sustainability visibility in programmes, but can be improved by using interpretative methodologies. The combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies can produce data, which is a useful catalyst for academic reflection. Most importantly, it provides a tool for engagement while also enabling the targeting of resources and support. The UoB has avoided the pitfalls of manipulatable text count methods, and shown that comparative methods can be combined effectively with real engagement with academics and students for a measurement method that showcases good practice.

Increasingly, universities and the higher education sector more widely are looking to embed ESD. To assess progress, systems of measurement and monitoring are required. This case study shares a replicable methodology combining quantitative and qualitative methods developed at the UoB which has been used by academics as a reflective tool to change their practice.

As one of the buzzwords in the present age with considerable impacts in tertiary institutions, social media use in online teaching, learning and information dissemination have been extensively discussed in extant literature. This paper aims to explore the existing campus sustainability appraisal (CSA) tools to identify the length at which social media has been used, especially in environmental sustainability indicators’ selection and empirical verification.

The methodology is mainly based on a desktop study involving comprehensive review and content analysis of existing CSA tools’ documents. Webpage content analysis of selected sustainability monitoring and tracking system in higher education institutions was also conducted.

The tools' content analysis reveals insufficient utilization of social media data and platforms in campus sustainability environmental-dimension indicators selection. To bridge this identified research gap, social media user-generated content for appraising the campus-wide environmental sustainability indicators preference in tertiary institutions was proposed.

The adoption and modification of this study’s proposed approach by tertiary institutions, especially in sub-Saharan African countries, could help address most campus-wide environmental challenges raised, commented on and discussed on social media.

This study contributes to knowledge gaps by revealing the extent of social media utilization in extant tools. With the expanding utilization of different social media platforms by various tertiary institutions worldwide, their administrators' responsibility is to put these social media data into fair use.

Enterprises face the wrath of the government for taking part in environmental conservation and adoption of sustainable initiatives along with customer demands. Therefore, enterprises are forced to adopt sustainable supply chain practices (SSCPs), which leads to competitive advantage. Now, sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) is a management process that promotes the adoption of eco-friendly activities in conventional supply chains (SCs). Enterprises in India are under tremendous pressure to include SSCPs into their conventional SCs. The goal of this paper is to evaluate the barriers for the implementation of SSCPs into Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

This study aims to identify critical barriers for adoption of SSCPs in the textile MSME SCs located in Eastern India, Odisha with the help of interpretive structural modeling (ISM).

The paper develops a framework for the evaluation of barriers to the adoption of SSCP in the textile SC. This paper also provides appropriate suggestive measures to deal with the barriers and overcome the same to attain a sustainable textile SC.

Opportunities exist for extension of this research on wider geographical area. In addition to this, some other quantitative modeling approaches can be applied, like analytical hierarchy process, to prioritize the barriers.

The framework offers help to SC managers in their decision-making process by enabling them to analyze the barriers and ways to overcome them.

The paper deals with a particular geographical area where such kinds of studies are rare. The proposed framework provides a foundation for further research.

The business enterprises are increasingly focusing on buying and supplying of products and services in a manner to reduce the adverse impacts on the environment, society, and economy. In view of the above, the concept of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) has received attention of the industry and academia due to its importance on environmental, social and corporate responsibility through economic performance. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The structured literature review attempts to map the various theories in the SSCM literature from the perspectives of economic performance, environmental dimensions, and social values and ethics.

As supply management is vital for enhancing organizational competitiveness, the present work attempts to investigate the theoretical perspectives in SSCM to develop an understanding of the current research activities and future potentials.

This work aims to gain a number of valid insights for the practitioners and the researchers. It also focuses on the perspectives of governance mechanisms for successful implementation SSCM practices in the business enterprises.

As the theory building initiatives with implications on the conceptualization of SSCM is limited in literature, this work has also been able to identify the trends and relevant research gaps to define the potential areas for future research.