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Article
Publication date: 6 March 2017

Deniz Zaptcioglu Celikdemir, Gonca Gunay, Alev Katrinli and Sebnem Penbek Alpbaz

The purpose of this paper is to define the sustainable university in Turkey, by considering perspectives of various stakeholders such as experts, intellectual, public, political…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to define the sustainable university in Turkey, by considering perspectives of various stakeholders such as experts, intellectual, public, political parties and media using public opinion formation analysis. The paper aims to re-define the “sustainable university” with all dimensions including environmental, economic and social factors in Turkey.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, the model of shaping the policy agenda and public opinion formation by certain groups, presented by Papadakis (1996), was used to determine the main characteristics of a sustainable university. Based on this model, the researchers collected data from intellectuals, experts, political parties, media and public simultaneously. Focus groups and archival search were used.

Findings

The results of the public opinion formation process presented that the definition of sustainable universities in Turkey includes the economic, ecological and social aspects and a holistic view of different groups. The findings of the study presented that the definition of sustainable universities in Turkey has many facets. Different groups in the public opinion formation process share almost similar views, though these points are usually mentioned under different headings. Thus, nearly each respondent in the public opinion formation process discusses the concept of being a “trade mark” as a university.

Research limitations/implications

The research may lack generalizability, as it takes place in Turkey, which is a non-Western country.

Practical implications

The research sheds a light for universities, which are the major cornerstones of higher education, especially in the area of sustainability and sustainable development. Also, universities have a great impact in regional development, which stresses once again the importance of sustainability in higher education. They should modify their education programs and curricula in accordance with sustainability. University–industry cooperation should be provided. They should manage to become a trademark.

Social implications

Universities being the major cornerstones of higher education play a vital role in regional development of countries; therefore, their sustainable development should be well handled to enable regional development.

Originality/value

The universities are the major actors which should pursue sustainability, as they affect society. The studies on sustainability and universities have been generally grouped under two main subjects in the literature. First group of studies highlights the support of universities for sustainability of corporations, whereas other studies stress the importance of becoming a sustainable university. There are not many studies on this subject which considers the public opinion formation process throughout the literature; therefore, this study contributes to the literature with this aspect. The study takes place in Izmir, Turkey, which is a non-Western country. Most of the studies on this subject take place in Western countries, so as the study is deployed in a non-Western country, it reflects a different point of view.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 18 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 12 March 2020

Sergio Paternostro

There are still many different theoretical approaches and practical interpretations about what an integrated report is. Starting from this premise, the overall purpose of this…

Abstract

There are still many different theoretical approaches and practical interpretations about what an integrated report is. Starting from this premise, the overall purpose of this chapter is to critically analyze the relationship between integrated reporting (IR) and social/sustainability disclosure. Indeed, although some scholars considered IR as a tool to improve the sustainability approach of the companies allowing to disclose more relevant social information, others are more critical about the potentiality of IR to improve social disclosure. Therefore, the general research question is: Is there a natural link between IR and social disclosure (true love) or is the IR a practice to “normalize” the social disclosure and accounting (forced marriage)?

In the attempt to provide a preliminary answer to the research question, the chapter analyzes what is the approach of three categories: (1) academics; (2) soft-regulators; and (3) companies. From the methodological point of view, a mixed method of analysis has been adopted.

From the analysis of the three different points of view, IR can be considered as a “contested concept” because of the heterogeneous and sometimes conflicting interpretations and implementation that are done on this type of report. This leads to relevant theoretical and practical implications.

Details

Non-Financial Disclosure and Integrated Reporting: Practices and Critical Issues
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-964-4

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 January 2014

Craig Thomson and Mohamed El-Haram

Sustainability action plans are emerging as a management tool to facilitate the delivery of sustainability objectives which are planned, measured and achievable in practice. The…

Abstract

Purpose

Sustainability action plans are emerging as a management tool to facilitate the delivery of sustainability objectives which are planned, measured and achievable in practice. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential to support an integrated approach to delivering sustainability across the phases of a construction project. A holistic approach to sustainability is promoted which aims to be understandable, managed and aligned with available sustainability assessment methods.

Design/methodology/approach

The application of a sustainability action plan is explored in the Greater Middlehaven Regeneration Project (UK). Six key stakeholders were interviewed to consider the rational of its application, structure, role of sustainability assessment and contribution to project development and delivery. Two workshops involving practitioners and experts in sustainable construction explored the implications for the wider context.

Findings

A framework around which sustainability can be managed through a series of integrated tailored action plans applied across each project phase was highlighted. Clear benefits were presented in facilitating the sharing of knowledge, communicating aspirations and in providing leadership to project members.

Research limitations/implications

The case study enjoys a supportive environment to embed best practice and thus full appreciation of potential barriers to implementation in other contexts was not possible.

Practical implications

The research illustrates the need to promote a common sustainability legacy across the project phases and highlights the role of a sustainability action plan in facilitating this consistency.

Originality/value

A holistic approach founded on an understandable philosophy remains innovative in practice and explored are its value and implications.

Details

Built Environment Project and Asset Management, vol. 4 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-124X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 November 2016

Cosette M. Joyner Armstrong, Gwendolyn Hustvedt, Melody L.A. LeHew, Barbara G. Anderson and Kim Y. Hiller Connell

The purpose of this project is to provide an account of the student experience at a higher education institution known for its holistic approach to sustainability education.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to provide an account of the student experience at a higher education institution known for its holistic approach to sustainability education.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative study was conducted at Green Mountain College (GMC), an environmental liberal arts school in Poultney, VT; 55 students participated in focus group interviews.

Findings

Students articulate that the most valuable gains that manifest at GMA are a variety of new capacities for science literacy, anthropological appreciation, the triple bottom line, a sense of place, systems, empathic decision-making and reasoning, interdisciplinary collaboration, and practical techniques supporting self-sufficiency. Prompting these emergent outcomes was a philosophy of practice at Green Mountain College, which included place-based techniques, empowerment, personalization, community ecology and charting polarity. Many students described their seeming metamorphosis as uncomfortable, and some felt isolated from the outside paradigm.

Research limitations/implications

A key implication of the study’s findings is that in a holistic setting, the line between the informal and formal curriculum are significantly blurred and what is implicitly communicated through university practices and values is what most transforms the students’ explicit understanding of sustainability.

Practical implications

Sustainability education is far more than technique, far more than what a lone instructor can manifest in students. While the persistence of individual faculty members is important, this evidence suggests that the fertile conditions for transformation may be more fruitful when faculty members work together with a collective sense of responsibility and a well-articulated paradigm.

Originality/value

The advantage of the present study is that it examines the perceived impact of a focus on sustainability across curricula and school by considering the educational environment as a whole. The experiences of students from many different majors who are involved in a holistic, sustainability-infused curriculum at a university with a history of successful post-graduation job placements in the sustainability field are explored here.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 17 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 April 2013

Preeta M. Banerjee

To date, sustainability in technology firms has focused on improving outputs while maintaining the same inputs. The purpose of this paper is to propose a six‐stage model for

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Abstract

Purpose

To date, sustainability in technology firms has focused on improving outputs while maintaining the same inputs. The purpose of this paper is to propose a six‐stage model for enhancing inputs as well as outputs, named sustainable human capital. The paper extends traditional views of individuals as human capital, measured as formal education and direct experience to incorporate more holistic and humanistic views of informal education and indirectly related experience. This allows technology firms, whose lifeblood is innovation, to increase employee satisfaction and performance, quality and quantity of technology firm innovation, and societal well‐being in the form of sustainable products and services.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper extends concepts in innovation management to build a holistic model of employees as sustainable human capital. By bridging theory and practice, this paper provides a framework for knowledge‐building partnerships and, thus, relational wealth, or the value created by and for a firm through its internal relations among and with employees.

Findings

A model of sustainable human capital starts with pre‐hiring processes (raw materials), on‐boarding (design stage), training and development (production stage), developing external partnerships and integrating individual employees with the ecosystem (distribution stage), building internal relationships through mentoring (use and maintenance stage), and employee's exit through succession planning (recovery stage).

Originality/value

Technology managers have been utilizing a lifecycle approach for product innovation, yet have de‐coupled the product from the people, the fundamental source of innovation. Thus, re‐incorporating the human aspect to the lifecycle approach offers practices for holistic engagement of employees in innovation. Just as management literature pushed economists to shift their views of employees from homogeneous units of human capital to heterogeneous individuals, sustainability literature must evolve in its approach to start thinking of employees as discrete individuals with differentiated skills that change over time.

Details

Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-7606

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 January 2015

Maria Cadiz Dyball, Andy F. Wang and Sue Wright

The purpose of this paper is to explore how the lack of staff engagement with a university’s strategy on sustainability could be an enabling lever for organisational change. It…

1351

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how the lack of staff engagement with a university’s strategy on sustainability could be an enabling lever for organisational change. It examines the attitudes and views of employees of a business faculty at an Australian metropolitan university as it attempts to adopt a holistic approach to sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper opted for a case study using data from an on-line survey, semi-directed interviews with key management personnel and archival material. Responses were analysed using Piderit’s (2000) notion of ambivalence.

Findings

The paper provides empirical insights into why staff lacked engagement with the university’s strategy on sustainability. It suggests that staff were ambivalent, displaying dissonance in their personal beliefs on sustainability, the university’s strategy and the extent of their intentions to support the university. Staff were willing to offer ideas on how the university could, in the future, change towards sustainability. These ideas allow the possibility for the university to learn to adjust the scope of the implementation of its sustainability strategy.

Research limitations/implications

The research results may lack generalisability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to further examine staff attitudes on sustainability in higher education using Piderit’s notion of ambivalence. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions could allow a better understanding of harmony and dissonance in cognition of and intention for university sustainability strategies and initiatives by academic, professional and sessional staff.

Practical implications

The paper includes implications for staff engagement with sustainability in higher education.

Originality/value

This paper fulfils an identified need to study how staff engagement with sustainability in higher education can be enabled for organisational learning.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 28 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2022

Atif Saleem, Sarfraz Aslam, Guoyuan Sang, Philip Saagyum Dare and Tianxue Zhang

This study aims to understand the practices and perceptions of education for sustainable development (ESD) in the university classrooms of Malaysia, exploring how holistic

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to understand the practices and perceptions of education for sustainable development (ESD) in the university classrooms of Malaysia, exploring how holistic, pluralistic and action-oriented approaches to ESD were linked to their knowingness, attitudes and behavior regarding sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

The perceptions of 2,678 students and 1,013 teachers from a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses at four Malaysian universities were surveyed. Their views of ESD and sustainability consciousness (SC) were recorded on five-point Likert-type scales, and the resulting data was investigated using descriptive and analytical statistics.

Findings

Holistic, pluralistic and action-oriented approaches to ESD teaching and learning were widespread in Malaysian universities, with significant associations found between ESD approaches and SC. While all three approaches enhanced each aspect of SC, the results indicated the need to develop action-oriented approaches more fully.

Originality/value

This research underlines the importance of sustainability education in the context of higher education. It provides empirical evidence for developing action-oriented approaches to ESD and confirms the utility of holistic content and pluralistic pedagogy to the teaching and learning of sustainability.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 24 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 30 October 2023

Albert Anton Traxler, Daniela Schrack, Dorothea Greiling, Julia Feldbauer and Michaela Lautner

Companies must no longer just report on corporate sustainability (CS) performance but also demonstrate that they are aligning their strategies with sustainability. However…

Abstract

Purpose

Companies must no longer just report on corporate sustainability (CS) performance but also demonstrate that they are aligning their strategies with sustainability. However, suitable management control systems (MCS) are required to implement a sustainability strategy. Thereby, sustainability reporting (SR) can also be employed for control purposes. On the other hand, existing MCS can be used to develop SR that goes beyond accountability. Accordingly, this paper explores how this interplay can be designed.

Design/methodology/approach

For the study, 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted with persons from ATX and DAX companies. Since the interplay should be examined from a holistic control perspective, the authors used the MCS package of Malmi and Brown as an analysis framework.

Findings

Nowadays, merely focusing on reporting is too narrow a view. It is therefore not surprising that the investigation was able to reveal various possible linkages between MCS and SR that span the full range of the MCS package of Malmi and Brown.

Research limitations/implications

Future research should also consider non-listed companies to investigate potential differences and take a closer look at the proposed reciprocal nature of the interplay.

Practical implications

The findings expand the knowledge of how companies can use SR for control purposes and how existing MCS can help develop a reporting that goes beyond accountability.

Originality/value

The study contributes by highlighting the potential of SR to control CS performance from a holistic MCS perspective and likewise the impact of existing MCS on reporting. In addition, different theoretical perspectives are used to explain why the interplay can be designed differently in practice.

Details

Journal of Applied Accounting Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0967-5426

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 July 2014

Susan A. Brown

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the need for integrating a focus on digital literacies and digital ethics into sustainability education, proposing a conceptualization of…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the need for integrating a focus on digital literacies and digital ethics into sustainability education, proposing a conceptualization of these for sustainability education.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on relevant literature in the field of sustainability education and in the field of digital literacies and digital ethics. It synthesizes perspectives in both fields to form a conceptualization of digital literacies and digital ethics for sustainability education.

Findings

The paper conceptualizes “digital literacies” as a capacity to reflect on the nature of digital space in relation to sustainability challenges and “digital ethics” as a capacity to reflexively engage with digital space in ways which build rich discourses around sustainability. Critically reflective and exploratory activities in digital space are a means of developing these capacities.

Originality/value

The conceptualization allows sustainability education to account for the increased role digital space plays in shaping views of sustainability challenges. It proposes a pedagogical approach to doing this.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 15 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 March 2020

Ann-Marie Kennedy, Cathy McGouran and Joya A. Kemper

The authors do not claim that the following represents the views of any one tribe but instead the culmination of the academic literature written on the topic. Marketing’s current…

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Abstract

Purpose

The authors do not claim that the following represents the views of any one tribe but instead the culmination of the academic literature written on the topic. Marketing’s current Western dominant social paradigm (DSP) is said to perpetuate “green”, yet unsustainable practices. The DSP does not support strictly pro-environmental practices and its proposed alternative, the new environmental paradigm (NEP), lacks in-depth conceptualisation, especially concerning business and marketing activities. However, the two paradigms contrast so much that a shift from one to the other is vehemently argued against and conceptually rife with problems. This paper aims to expand upon the merits of the NEP using indigenous people’s environmental philosophies [1] – as examples of historically supported and successful sustainable philosophies. It conceptualises a Relational view to provide a more practical alternative to the DSP and includes propositions for marketing implementation of this perspective.

Findings

By explicating both the DSP and NEP and reflecting on each through an indigenous Māori view, this paper provides propositions for a broadened paradigm that supports sustainability and its application for sustainable marketing.

Research limitations/implications

The implications of this research are in the area of paradigm development and in providing an alternative paradigm to that of the DSP. This paper is the first to fully explicate parts of the NEP and considers a solution to the problems of changing the current DSP so drastically by broadening the NEP using a Relational worldview.

Practical implications

The propositions and examples provided in this work give practical application of the newly presented paradigm for marketers influenced by indigenous belief systems.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to explicate parts of the NEP and broaden its reach by integrating a Relational worldview as an alternative to drastically changing the current DSP. It does so by proposing that marketers embrace a middle ground that is influenced by indigenous belief systems.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 54 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

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