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Universities strategically organize themselves around sustainability, including transformative goals in teaching and learning. Simultaneously, the role of online education has become more prominent. This study aims to better understand the purpose and process of creating online sustainability education (OSE) and to identify challenges and opportunities for implementing these courses and programs to achieve universities’ broader transformative sustainability goals.

This study uses a multiple case study design to research three universities in diverse geographical and institutional contexts (Finland, the USA and Colombia). Qualitative data was collected by interviewing program-related experts (n = 31) and reviews of universities’ strategic documents.

The findings suggest that despite important advances, further attention is merited regarding aligning the purpose of OSE with student learning outcomes, clarifying the values underlying the process of online program/course creation and developing transformative and process-oriented approaches and pedagogies to implement OSE. The authors also highlight emerging challenges and opportunities in online environments for sustainability education in different institutional contexts, including reaping the benefits of multilocality and diverse student experiences regarding sustainability issues.

There is a paucity of studies on university-level sustainability education in relation to online environments. This research expands on the existing literature by exploring three different geographical and institutional contexts and shedding light on the relationship between the practical implementation of OSE and universities’ broader sustainability goals.

Facilities management (FM) as a strategic management tool has been an attractive research topic among scholars and practitioners alike for decades. The primary purpose of this paper is threefold: to assess the extent of use of FM roles (strategic, tactical and operational); to examine user satisfaction of service quality performance; and to analyse the influence of FM roles on service quality performance using data from Nigeria’s banking sector.

Relying on exploratory cross-sectional survey, 350 copies of a structured questionnaire were purposively distributed to senior management staff, bank staff, FM supervisors and bank customers in Lagos, Nigeria. One hundred and forty valid responses were returned to give a response rate of 40%. Data collected were analysed using descriptive, Spearman rank correlation and Kruskal–Wallis tests.

It was discovered that strategic facilities planning, IT planning strategy and real estate decisions are the most important FM roles at the strategic level; resource management, data control and planning change at the tactical level; and implementations, building operations and emergencies at the operation level. Findings equally revealed that visual appealing of materials associated with services (tangibles), insisting on error-free records (reliability), willing to help (responsiveness), having the knowledge to answer questions (assurance) and giving individualised attention (empathy) were the most important service quality performance indicators. Furthermore, the study revealed that strategic FM roles significantly influenced tangibles, reliability and responsiveness of staff and the services. Besides, tactical FM roles significantly influenced all service quality indicators except assurance, while operational FM roles had significant influence on tangibles, responsiveness and empathy.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study has provided first ever insight into the extent of FM strategic roles in the banking sector and influence of FM roles on service quality performance.

Work-study programmes aim to support young adults transitioning from tertiary education to work and contribute to enhancing their employability. The purpose of this study is to provide a detailed analysis of the learning experiences of trainees in work-study programmes within the broad field of engineering.

The data gathering procedures used interviews with participants of a specific work-study programme and conducting thematic analyses to identify and understand the motivations of these adults for enrolling in work-study programmes and their associated workplace learning experiences. Fifty-two alumni of electrical and logistics engineering programmes completed 12 months of a separate work-study programme and consented to participate in an hour-long interview. They elaborated upon their work-learn experiences to explicate their work-learn needs and challenges in those interviews.

Findings include workplaces facilitated skills development through providing combinations of work tasks comprising both routine and novel work assignments; challenging circumstances at the workplace provided trainees with opportunities to develop adaptive capacities; and engaging in non-routine work processes fosters integration into the engineering workplace community.

The findings contribute to the existing literature by exemplifying how routine engineering activities are practical affordances through which engineering trainees construct knowledge and dispositions for engaging in challenging, non-routine engineering work. Such experiences are crucial in preparing trainees for advanced roles in logistics or electronic sectors.

Environmental philosophies have guided cultures throughout history and continue to do so. This paper uses a framework of environmental philosophies drawn from history and the present, to analyse contemporary corporate environmental reporting. The purpose of this paper is to interrogate the philosophical underpinnings of corporate reporting allows for a nuanced understanding of the relationship between corporate activities and nature, and in so doing demonstrates the moral practices of accounting for nature.

Three themes are extracted from a historical review of western environmental philosophy: dualism, transcendence and interconnectivity. These themes are applied to a sample of corporate environmental reports through discourse analysis, enabling the illustration of otherwise obscured moral characteristics of the corporate relationship with the natural environment.

This paper uses environmental philosophies to better understand some of the implicit messaging of corporate environmental reporting. Evidence of each of the three themes is found in a sample of environmental reports, predominantly dualism and interconnectivity.

Understanding that accounting is not just a technical, but also a social and moral practice expands the way the authors can interpret the outcomes of accounting. By presenting an exemplar of how accounting practice such as the corporate sustainability report can be analysed through a moral lens, this paper offers new insights intentioned to inform a more meaningful approach to environmental reporting.

A novel framework to explore the corporate sector’s relationship with the natural environment is presented. In light of current and predicted environmental changes, much of which has been attributed to the impact of corporate activities, the importance of a detailed explication of this relationship – such as the one proposed here – becomes imperative.

The authors mobilise stewardship theory, which delves into trust and collaboration dynamics, advocating for long-term gains through actions beneficial to the broader community. Used as a fundamental framework to conceptualise the model, stewardship theory enhances the understanding of the effect of purchasing social responsibility (PSR) practices to foster innovativeness and performance through the supply chain (SC). This study aims to examine the relationship between PSR, SC innovativeness (SC-INNO) and SC operational performance (SCOP). In addition, the moderating effect of sustainability labels on these relationships will be studied.

Based on survey data from 177 organisations analysed through partial least square structural equation modelling, the results suggest that PSR has a positive and significant effect on SC-INNO and SCOP. In addition, SC-INNO plays a partial mediation role since the direct effect between PSR and SCOP is validated. Furthermore, the moderating effects of holding a sustainability label and industry type about PSR and SCOP are supported.

The results indicate a significant positive influence of PSR on both SC-INNO and operational performance. SC-INNO is found to partially mediate the PSR–SCOP relationship. Moreover, sustainability labels and industry type significantly moderate the effects of PSR on SCOP.

The findings extend stewardship theory into the sustainable purchasing and supply management field by providing empirical support for PSR as a reflection of stewardship behaviours by fostering innovation and performance throughout the SC.

In recent times, stakeholders have called on corporate organizations especially those charged with governance to embrace full disclosure on non-financial issues, especially sustainability reporting. Based on this premise, this study aims to examine the influence of corporate board and assurance on sustainability reporting practices (SRP) of selected 80 firms from 8 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

To measure the corporate board, the authors use both board variables and audit committee variables. Also, the authors adapted the sustainability score model as used by previous authors in the field of sustainability disclosure to measure SRPs. The analysis was done using both ordered logistic regression and probit regression models.

The results show that the combination of board corporate and assurance has a positive and significant impact on the sustainability reporting practice of selected firms in sub-Saharan Africa.

The study places emphasis on the need for strong collaboration between the corporate board and external assurance in evaluating and enhancing the quality of sustainability disclosure.

The study bridged the gap in the literature in the area of corporate board, assurance and SRP of corporate firms which has received little attention within sub-Saharan Africa.

The purpose of this paper is to systematically review authenticity in the branding context and suggest avenues for future research.

This study applies a systematic literature review process and analyzes a total of 171 articles published from 1988 to 2021 and three items that are books or book chapters.

Brand authenticity has several definitions and dimensions. Although some common ground can be found among researchers, the study of authenticity is very fragmented. Even so, brand authenticity is often associated with a brand being genuine, real, true to itself and its consumers, and with consistent behavior, reflecting its values. A growing number of studies about the topic have been published, most of them empirical, applied in different industries and different geographical contexts. The authors also present several constructs associated with the topic (antecedents and consequences). Finally, this study shows paths for scholars to build on.

The main limitations are associated with the inherent subjectivity related to the inclusion and exclusion criteria defined to select articles for the analysis.

This systematic review maps the past, structures existing knowledge about authenticity in the branding context, and sheds light on what could be future research in this field.

The credibility crisis of science is a growing topic of investigation. This study approaches the problem from the sustainability of the scholarly communication system by merging argumentation with information science.

Coding and content analysis drawing from a well-established textual argumentative tradition; a novel non-textual approach to complex communication and, an overlooked definition of sustainable information, were applied to 34 research works. The retrieval was carried out using Inciteful, a tool exploring literature networks. Additional information, such as keywords, mapping to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and citations were acquired through the OpenAlex API. Operationalisation of concepts from the theoretical framework underpinned the selection and analysis of documents.

Scholars virtually involve peers, funding agencies, research councils, policymakers, experts, practitioners and representatives of the public in their formal written production. The described coalitions are occasional, while the needed ones are deep. Three forms of scholarly communication were found: traditional, dialogical and complex depending on the involved audiences. The sample tells us about the sustainability of the scientific communication system and the impact it may have on the public construction of imaginaries of science.

This investigation frames scholars, their products and societies as intertwined dialogical entities constantly communicating and impacting each other. Direct and indirect forms of scholarly communications are addressed too, showing how poor sustainability in these processes may entail a failure to reach different layers of societies.

Nuclear energy is a contested topic, requiring trade-offs in energy independence, ethicality and uncertainty. Anthropogenic climate change complicates these decisions further, with nuclear energy competing with other low-carbon and sustainable energy sources. Decisions about nuclear energy’s role, as part of a sustainable energy system, must be made in cooperation with all stakeholders. However, it is unclear how the public is involved in these decisions in the UK. This study aims to address this gap, exploring the degree to which public participation has occurred in the UK.

This paper conducted a scoping review of public participation in UK nuclear energy decision-making in the context of sustainable energy transitions, where the government retains and promotes nuclear energy as part of a sustainable energy system. Following a systematic literary search, this paper reviewed 28 academic and grey literature documents.

Public participation has primarily been conducted as consultations rather than active participation. There is limited evidence that consultations have meaningfully contributed to politically and socially responsible (i.e. individuals and groups working together for community benefit) decision-making, with public opinion on nuclear energy’s role being divided and is influenced by how it is framed.

Social aspects of nuclear energy development have historically received less attention than environmental and economic elements; the role of engagement and participation is relatively rare. Modern literature reviews in this context are largely absent, a gap this paper originally contribute to. This paper suggest ways in which how effective, inclusive engagement process could contribute to a fairer, responsible decision-making process and energy system in the UK.