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This case highlights the journey of the Capital University of Science and Technology (CUST) to adhere to the green organization initiatives. In 2016, the government of Pakistan announced its adherence to the United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals (SDGs) 2030 and asked the regulatory bodies to improvize accordingly. Following this announcement, the Higher Education Commission (HEC), the main regulatory body in Pakistan, instructed all universities to fulfill their responsibility toward environment and align themselves with UN-SDGs 2030. As a response to this call, in 2017, CUST decided to shift toward sustainability by making changes in its policies and strategic planning. The emphasis was vital to attract Gen Z, gain international recognition, and align with the Pakistan regulatory body of (HEC). In doing so, the management decided that the campus should go green. The installation of solar panels on campus was one such green initiative through which the university was able to produce 3,650 units per day. After a long and decisive struggle, the university has achieved eighth position in Universitas Indonesia-GreenMetric World Ranking 2020 and making the regulatory authority happier.

Over the last 30 years, the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada has advanced sustainable development on campus and created a culture of sustainability, with ambitious goals, and strong collaborative relationships. Launched in 2010, the Campus as a Living Laboratory (CLL) initiative utilizes the campus buildings and infrastructure as opportunities for research, teaching, and learning. Projects under the CLL bring together academic researchers, students, staff, and partners to demonstrate, test, research, and learn from new ideas for sustainable development. These projects range in scale from small and discrete educational or research projects, often led by students, to the design and construction of innovative buildings, with multiyear interdisciplinary research programs. CLL projects are opportunities for UBC students to engaged in applied research and learning that enhances their educational experience at the university, and may serve as models for other universities interested in expanding sustainable development on their campuses.

The new campus of Tianjin University was designed, built and now operates following a green and sustainable concept. The campus’ eco-friendly water environment was formed by establishing a water recycling system. The campus is divided into three drainage sections based on the masterplan. Each drainage section adopts different methods of collecting, utilizing and discharging water according to specific conditions, aimed at achieving both high drainage capability and the efficient utilisation of rainwater. The campus was designed so runoff pollution is reduced through the utilisation of low-impact development methods, ensuring the quality of the recharge water. Through studying the fundamentals of treatment measures and models for simulating water quality, water circulation, constructed wetlands and pollution control of rain runoff, parameters for efficient water recycling could be mathematically forecast, ensuring that stakeholders can be continuously engaged in improving and preserving the water quality of landscaped water on campus. The overall system integrates a variety of measures being implemented into one cohesive entity, which contributes to establishing the sustainable and healthy water cycling system of the green campus.

The aim of sustainable development goals (SDGs) announced in 2015 by United Nations was to ensure that all students and scholars are being able to acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development. The role of higher education is important when it comes to educating students in sustainability and sustainable developments. Universities can have a great influence on achieving social and economic progress of a country as well as protecting the environment and addressing complex issues that plague society. The role of universities is not only restricted to exchange of knowledge but also in playing a leading role as an active member of society. Universities have come out of their isolation to accommodate and be a part of social change and actively engage in community’s life and activities and not being confined to only classrooms and laboratories. Universities need to work closely with industry and non-governmental and non-profit bodies to identify the needs of society and address them productively and work toward achieving common goals and objectives. In this book, authors have explored various facets of SDGs and how well universities have been able to integrate those goals into their curriculum and to institutionalize those goals into their strategic plans and institutional culture. Authors from Nigeria, sub Saharan Africa, Italy, and Middle East have elaborated how to achieve this in the face of shifting expectations, student debt, and graduate mobility. As a result, this volume shows how some universities are cultivating SDGs both on- and off campus.

During the last two decades, there has been increasing emphasis on higher education institutions as agents promoting and advancing sustainability. This chapter addresses how sustainability is integrated into management education at higher education institutions. It is based on a systematic literature review that teases out governance, education, research, outreach and campus operations (GEROCO) as key elements for embedding sustainability in management education. In addition, it identifies the important role of having an overall governing strategic direction that serves to anchor sustainability. The chapter highlights that sustainability and responsible management education initiatives are interconnected and are complex to embed through the university system.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a well-known practice among organizations around the world. It has become a refreshing alternative of conceiving and doing business that encompasses economic, social, and environmental operations for achieving competitive advantage.

Sustainable recycling activities in higher education institutions (HEIs) are crucial as it serves as a common benchmark to a community that is socially and environmentally responsible. This chapter presents a suitable case study of HEIs in Malaysia reporting on recycling rate, monitoring the recycling patterns, and matching the significant recycling policy in the HEIs. Therefore, four HEIs including Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) were selected as the suitable case studies to examine the practices of recycling activities. These four HEIs are Malaysian research universities that are ranked in the top 300 in the UI Green Metric World University Rankings. Several findings and previous works were reviewed; further steps to set a recycling target were identified and served as a guidance of the standard recycling rate. Results showed the selected HEIs reflected the low percentage of recycling rate in the range of 0.03–29.26%, depending on its practices and policy. Three phases of planning have been structured to target the recycling rate at HEIs in Malaysia with the First Plan (2025), Second Plan (2035) and Third Plan (2040) towards the recycling rates of 20%, 30% and 40%, respectively. The recommendations for the HEIs formulate recycling policies and recycling rates, and for waste management, academia and research centres to play a more active role in increasing the efficiency of recycling activities for a positive impact on the recycling rate in HEIs.

This chapter explores sustainable development of leadership strategies as a social framework in higher education to help with defining, implementing, and envisioning a sustainable future. Leaders need to develop a sustainable approach for higher education that involves all stakeholders who benefit from having educated citizens to develop common interests that develop and promote sustainable objectives that focus on shared values. An educationally sustainable approach extends beyond a current leader’s time at the institution to continue stable growth and long-term approaches around making decisions, fostering systemic innovation, developing an engaged workforce, and providing quality services and solutions. Leaders need to link sustainable strategies to the school’s mission, values, and finances to help gain consensus and align the decision-making process. In an effort to develop leaders and programs around educational sustainability, governmental organizations have been established to help develop policies and programs to create a sustainable future. Additionally, professional organizations have formed that allow leaders a chance to connect, grow skills, and lead sustainability initiatives. And, higher education institutions have created offices focused around sustainability on campus and educational programs around sustainability leadership to help develop future leaders that are able to take action based on sustainability values and creating an inclusive and reflective process for decision-making. Sustainable leadership has the power to transform society through reorienting the educational system to help people develop knowledge, skills, values, and behaviors for an ever-changing world.

Initiating a practical model for embedding transformative learning in education that will promote sustainable development is a challenge for higher education. Siam University decided to assign a task force with the mission to work with communities in order to propose guidelines of learning for sustainability (LfS) based on real-life experiences. Selected communities which have agreed to be the community living labs for teaching and learning activities of the university were chosen based on the Bray and Thomas’ Cube Model. There are differences in sizes (number of members), locations (urban, suburban), and histories (old settlement with long history and rich culture and the newly settlement communities consisting of migrated members). Community-based participatory research (CBPR) was applied in the study. The initial model was developed from the synthesis of experiential work with communities in sustainability-related projects. After revision, the “Learning for Sustainability Action Model” was proposed. Success factors in implementing the model were also suggested.

In this chapter, the authors aimed to analyze the existing sustainability curriculum being followed by higher education institutions (HEIs) in the emerging world, and call out the underlying inadequacies within it and provide solutions for the same, by drawing insights through interviews with key stakeholders in this area. The authors planned to talk to higher education policymakers, Educational Institutional heads, researchers and faculty members and corporates (who deal in sustainable products and who will benefit from this subject). The respondents’ sample consisted of both Indian and international interviewees to help us better understand and analyze the perspective and scenario globally in terms of north-south as well as understand multiple point of views. The interview analyses were carried out using the N Vivo software tool. The expected outcome includes a curriculum contour on sustainability for the HEIs.