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The concepts of sustainable development (SD) and management systems (MS) are finding increasing acceptance in a variety of fields, including academy, politics, and non‐governmental organizations. These concepts are also being used by the general population. This paper aims to describe the perception of different experts by discussing the usefulness of sustainability management systems (SMS) as holistic systems that might integrate environmental, social, and economic elements.

This research was framed by the general systems theory and its nature is totally qualitative and exploratory in order to understand the significant attributes that affect or benefit a management system to reach sustainability. A total of 14 interviews were conducted with several experts around the world. Some are professional persons in sustainability issues in general, and some in environmental, health and safety (EHS) issues in particular.

The results shows that, although there is a continuous debate on the sustainability approach, several core elements can be addressed for sustainability management systems (SMS). For instance, 71.4 percent of the interviewees agreed that management systems are useful for sustainable development, or at least potentially useful, and 42.9 percent of the experts declared that having a clear understanding of the long‐term economic benefits for the company is an important incentive for their implementation.

Interviews were conducted with a limited number of experts and there was no field verification of claims. Therefore, conclusions derived from these sources depend on the veracity of the information provided by participants. Expert bias may also have an impact on the outcomes of this research.

The findings provide management systems' practitioners with key elements when sustainability management systems are being created, maintained and evaluated.

The findings are not results from general concepts, but rather elicited from empirical data from fourteen sustainability, and health and safety experts around the world.

The purpose of this paper is to study how experts on teaching sustainability in engineering education contextualize sustainability; also to evaluate the understanding of sustainability by engineering students. The final aim is to evaluate what pedagogy experts believe provides better opportunities for learning about sustainability in engineering education.

The authors used conceptual maps (cmaps) analysis with two taxonomies of four and ten categories. The first taxonomy clusters the significance of sustainability in environmental, technological, social and institutional aspects and shows the main trends; the second (of ten categories) divides the previous categories into greater detail. To evaluate the experts' cmaps two indices were defined that provide information about what experts think sustainability is most related to and evaluate how complex they see the sustainability concept. In total, 500 students from five European engineering universities were then surveyed and the results compared with those of the experts. Finally, interviews were held with experts to try to determine the best pedagogy to apply to achieve learning around sustainability.

The results show that Engineering Education for Sustainable Development (EESD) experts consider that institutional and social aspects are more relevant to sustainability than environmental and technological ones. The results were compared with the understanding of sustainability by a sample of more than 500 engineering students who had taken courses on sustainability at five technical universities in Europe. This comparison shows a mismatch among the EESD “experts'” and the students' understanding of sustainability, which suggest that sustainability courses in engineering degrees should emphasise the social and institutional aspects versus environmental and technological ones. Moreover, courses should emphasize more the complexity of sustainability.

The paper emphasizes the lack of priority that social and institutional aspects are given in sustainability courses and promotes a discussion about how these two elements and complex thinking can increase their importance in the engineering curriculum.

A Delphi study was conducted to identify the critical variables of successful implementation of sustainable road infrastructure projects (SRIPs) in developing countries, determine the reasons for the various viewpoints held by infrastructure development professionals, determine what motivates and pushes the infrastructure sector to pursue sustainability, and determine the factors that could impact the implementation of a project for sustainable road infrastructure. Expert feedback was used to determine values for these metrics and indicators, and most of the panellists reached a consensus on the final decision. Statistical methods were used to determine whether there was a general agreement with respect to the statements and questions asked. The findings of the study were presented alongside its overarching principles. The most important criteria for SRIP implementation were socio-cultural sustainability, economic sustainability, environmental sustainability, and engineering performance, with little consensus on environmental sustainability and public participation. The primary purpose of this study was to identify the most crucial determinants of effective SRIP implementation in low-income nations. Interquartile deviation (IQD) values ranged from 7.0 to 8.1, but IQD values varied from 2.00 to 3.00. Thirty-one environmental sustainability indicators were assessed as important or very important, with 26 out of 30 having IQD values between 0.00 and 1.00. Six sub-attributes were deemed extremely significant and four important when experts examined institutional sustainability, with no consensus on the final four indications (IQD 1). Fourteen of twenty-one Public Participation Indicators were deemed ‘major’ by panellists for SRIP implementation, with consensus among experts. Ten factors contribute to diverse perceptions of sustainability, with only 2 deemed crucial and 18 deemed important. The four most essential indicators of successful SRIP implementation are VHI: 9–10). The other seven criteria were crucial because their median scores were between 7.00 and 10. The Delphi survey explained why various individuals in the infrastructure industry have divergent views on what it means to be sustainable. Twenty-one factors were identified as contributors to divergent perspectives on sustainability among infrastructure industry stakeholders. The Delphi survey also established the factors that affect the success of SRIP implementation in low-income countries, leading to the development of the conceptual SRIPI model.

Studies on sustainability in energy transition in the electricity sector require a new approach of modifying the indicators from the energy trilemma index. The cocreation variable was used as a mediator to promote collaborative engagement of all stakeholders in the electricity sector to achieve energy transition sustainably. This study aims to investigate the arguments presented above.

This study adopted a quantitative method that combined structural equation modeling and partial least squares analysis. ADANCO was used to analyze the data gathered from power system expert engineers through an online questionnaire survey.

Power system expert engineers play an important role in collaborative stakeholder engagement and cocreation as mediators for achieving sustainability. The expert engineers were willing to collaborate with stakeholders, while ensuring an engaging learning experience. Notably, dialogue that provides mutual access and transparency in assuming risk strengthened the cocreation effect.

The mediating effect of cocreation becomes important when there are antecedents related to stakeholder collaboration. Studies that used data from expert engineers having more than ten years of experience used cocreation as an antecedent, either independently, through mediation or by depending on the sustainability goals.

This study has implications on the power sector in Indonesia, which relies on coal-fired power plants. This study proposes empowering expert engineers to collaborate with stakeholders to achieve energy decarbonization.

Aspects of the energy trilemma index were used to investigate the expert engineers’ perspective regarding energy security, energy equity and environmental sustainability, parameters which were modified to reflect their behavioral tendencies to achieve sustainability in the electricity sector.

While sustainability experts point to interrelated social, economic and environmental goals, students may think about sustainability primarily as natural resources. To prepare students to tackle global challenges to well-being, this paper aims to show that educators need to assess and address students’ shortcomings in considering socioeconomic dimensions.

This study coded essays on the meaning and components of sustainability written by 93 undergraduate and graduate students in environmental policy, business and engineering courses at US and Austrian universities. Then, the study reviewed a teaching strategy using diverse experts, case studies and assignments. Finally, the analysis evaluated students’ final projects proposing sustainability legislation with social, economic and environmental dimensions.

Students usually connect sustainability with limited natural resources affecting current and future generations, but seldom think that sustainability means acting on prominent socioeconomic challenges like poverty, food insecurity, pandemics and violence. Teaching in diverse courses through multidimensional case studies and legislation broadened and deepened students’ understanding and preparedness to act.

Despite experts’ attention to the interconnected Sustainable Development Goals, educators and policymakers need information on whether students associate sustainability with socioeconomic challenges. Open-response questions can reveal gaps in the respondents’ sustainability beliefs. In a wide range of courses, teaching can use diverse experts and multidimensional case studies and legislative assignments.

The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that contribute to the successful implementation and management of sustainable innovation in research-intensive sectors such as the life sciences industry.

The study was conducted through a combination of two methods. The first was qualitative interviews of 21 sustainability experts and leaders in the life sciences industry who were responsible for implementing sustainable innovation. They were selected through nonprobabilistic purposive sampling. The second method was thematic content analysis using the MAXQDA software.

The study identified that successful implementation of sustainable innovation in research-intensive firms begins with the alignment of the executive vision for sustainability with the business objectives of the research-intensive firm. Furthermore, implementation of sustainability practices is identified as a function of organizational reconfigurations that facilitate purposeful inflow and outflow of ideas and knowledge between internal firm resources and external stakeholders, anchored by the objectives of the research-intensive firm.

The study explicated factors only within life sciences industry based on qualitative interviews. The study offers scope for cross-sector quantitative evaluation.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first studies to systematically delineate the underlying factors that govern successful implementation of sustainable innovation in research-intensive industries, through integration of the resource-based view and stakeholder theory and thereby provide a framework for research-intensive organizations to implement sustainable innovation practices.

The purpose of this paper is to understand both the facts and the values associated with the breadth of issues, and the principles related to sustainable real estate for institutional investors. Sustainable real estate is a growing sector within the commercial real estate industry, and yet, the decision-making practices of institutional investors related to sustainability are still not well understood. In an effort to fill that gap, this research investigates the post-global financial crisis (GFC) motivations driving the implementation of sustainability initiatives, the implementation strategies used, and the predominant eco-indicators and measures used by institutional investors.

This paper presents the results of a three-round modified Delphi study conducted in the USA in 2011-2012 investigating the nature of performance measurements and reporting requirements in sustainable commercial real estate and their impact on the real estate decision-making process used by institutional investors. Two rounds of in-depth interviews were conducted with 14 expert panelists. An e-questionnaire was used in the third round to verify qualitative findings.

The key industry drivers and performance indicators influencing institutional investor decision making were associated with risk management of assets and whether initiatives can improve competitive market advantage. Industry leaders advocate for simple key performance indicators, which is in contrast to the literature which argues for the need to adopt common criteria and metrics. Key barriers to the adoption of sustainability initiatives are discussed and a decision framework is presented.

This research aims to help industry partners understand the drivers motivating institutional investors to uptake sustainability initiatives with the aim of improving decision making, assessment, and management of sustainable commercial office buildings.

Building on the four generations of the sustainability framework presented by Simons et al. (2001), this research argues that the US real estate market has yet again adjusted its relationship with sustainability and revises their framework to include a new, post-GFC generation for decision making, assessment, and management of sustainable real estate.

The surging cost of living and shortage of affordable and sustainable homes fuel the global housing crisis. Earthship buildings are marketed as the epitome of affordable and sustainable alternative housing. This paper aimed to elicit the perception of Earthship buildings among youngsters in the United Kingdom using immersive virtual reality technology. Additionally, the impact of virtual reality on perception compared with two-dimensional drawings was investigated in the study.

A three-phase, experiment-based survey was adopted: Phase 1: literature review, Earthship house model conception and the virtual environment creation; Phase 2: two-dimensional drawing-based pre-visualisation survey; Phase 3: virtual reality–based post-visualisation survey.

The findings indicated that youngsters had a remarkable, positive change in attitude towards the uptake of the Earthship houses after virtual reality visualisation. In contrast, sustainability experts shared more concerns regarding the concept's viability in the United Kingdom, even after the virtual reality visualisation. However, both youngsters and experts agreed with the pre-eminence of virtual reality over two-dimensional drawings.

The lack of awareness about Earthship buildings for posterity was noted in previous studies, which could be attributed to there being very few Earthship buildings in the United Kingdom. The importance of this awareness among youngsters cannot be over-emphasised since youngsters are affected most by the shortage of affordable and sustainable homes. This gap was addressed by enlightening the youth about Earthship houses and imparting awareness through near-real-life virtual reality visualisation.

Research on sustainability in higher education institutions (HEIs) is unequally distributed globally. The existing publications on sustainability in HEIs have largely focussed on the Global North. Meanwhile, little is known about the state of sustainability in HEIs located in the Global South, and within African HEIs in particular. This study aims to fill this gap and investigates the status of sustainability activities in participating African HEIs.

A Delphi study involving 32 experts from 16 African countries and a total of 29 HEIs was conducted between December 2017 and May 2018. Experts were asked to share their insights on sustainability and Africanisation through an online questionnaire in two rounds.

Although 30 of the 32 participants agreed with the provided definitions of sustainability and sustainable development (two participants did not answer), 11 of the participants commented that important issues such as governance and culture were missing. This trend indicates that the sustainability discussion is still led from a western vantage point. Nevertheless, Africanisation plays a role in around two-thirds of participating HEIs’ sustainability activities, with the language factor representing the most pressing issue.

The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the current state of sustainability activities and Africanisation of participating African HEIs, and the importance of language and culture in this process.

This study is one of few works that have investigated the state of sustainability activities in African HEIs. Furthermore, it adopts a positive stance on sustainability in Africa, rather than focussing on negative circumstances.

A growing number of companies are measuring the sustainability performance of their businesses. Some companies are using pre‐existing sustainability indicator systems to assess their performance. Other companies are looking beyond measurement of impacts to create their own system of indicators to measure sustainability. Formulating relevant indicators of sustainability performance is a difficult task for any organization, but especially for small/medium enterprises (SMEs) that often lack financial, knowledge, and labor resources. The purpose of this paper is to consider two different sustainability assessment approaches undertaken by a single case study company, a start‐up SME.

The authors developed a method for an SME, Ecologic Designs, Inc., a self‐identified green business that reclaims materials to make bags and accessories, to create its own sustainability indicators without outside expert help. This research chronicles the struggles and triumphs of the SME in measuring its sustainability performance using a pre‐existing system and then using the developed method.

The SME's managers applied the developed method to create, select, and weight sustainability indicators to help answer a strategic planning decision – where to locate operations and facilities in an expanding supply chain.

The paper describes the struggles and triumphs of a start‐up SME in measuring its sustainability performance using a pre‐existing system and then using the developed method.