Sustainability Assessment in Higher Education: Evaluating the use of the Auditing Instrument for Sustainability in Highe
Assessing the integration of sustainability in higher education can be a powerful lever for organisational change in higher education institutions. When comparing the available tools and instruments for assessment of sustainability in higher education, th
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AISHE instrument
Sustainability in
Introduction Since the 1990s, many higher education institutions (HEIs) worldwide signed sustainability charters and declarations—of which the Copernicus Charter (1994) is one of the most cited—thus accepting an active role in promoting sustainable W. Lambrechts (&) Department of Business Studies (ECHO), KHLeuven-Leuven University College, Hertogstraat 178 B-3001 Leuven, Belgium e-mail: [email protected] K. Ceulemans KU Leuven–University of Leuven, Centre for Economics and Corporate Sustainability, Warmoesberg 26 B-1000 Brussels, Belgium e-mail: [email protected]
S. Caeiro et al. (eds.), Sustainability Assessment Tools in Higher Education Institutions, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-02375-5_9, Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2013
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lifestyles (Lozano et al. 2013; Wright 2004). Throughout the years, the societal appeal to contribute to the transition process towards sustainability became more urgent, and HEIs were blamed for responding too slowly to this appeal. An analysis of 11 main declarations, charters, and partnerships for higher education by Lozano et al. (2013) pointed out that the majority of them addressed initiatives for the integration of sustainable development (SD) in higher education in all four major functions of HEIs—i.e., education, research, community outreach, and university operation, as defined by Cortese (2003). Nevertheless, this does not imply nor insure that the signatories actually integrate SD in their institutions (Lozano et al. 2013). Although many examples exist of concrete actions for SD integration within the four functions of HEIs, ranging from the development of SD courses, teacher trainings on SD, or student competency schemes for SD—all of them being ‘‘curriculum’’ initiatives—to typical ‘‘operations’’ initiatives, e.g. energy and waste management programs or staff/student diversity policies, it is clear that the integration of sustainability in higher education still deals with a broad range of fundamental barriers (Ceulemans et al. 2011a; Lozano 2006a; Thomas 2004; Velazquez et al. 2006), preventing or holding HEIs back from implementing sustainability initiatives in their institution. These barriers are, amongst others, related to the lack of awareness among university leaders, teachers and researchers, the disciplinary structure of higher education, and the lack of funding. Furthermore, there is a conceptual problem we have to deal with: SD is often perceived as a vague and complex concept, thus making it difficult to implement and integrate in specific courses (Lambrechts et al. 2008, 2009). Finally, the lack of suitable indicators and instruments to monitor and assess the efforts undertaken by HEIs complicates the assessment process, resulting in the lack of a clear view on the current situation of sustainability integration in higher education worldwide (Lambrechts et al. 2009; Lozano et al. 2013). Many tools for SD management, assessment, and reporting have been
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