Assessing research trends related to Sustainable Development Goals: local and global issues

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd The Sustainable Development Goals agreed by the United Nations in September 2015 comprise 17 goals and 169 targets aimed at integrating matters related to sustainable development into the overall economic, environmental and social frameworks of countries. Whereas the SDGs have a global dimension, their action implementation depends on the level of priority different countries give to them, and on how sustainability issues compete with a country's main problems. The aim of this paper was to identify the main Sustainable Development Goals approached by experts from different geographic regions, according to their experience and research area, and to discuss the relation between these goals and the main local issues and challenges of each region. The methodology starts with snowball sampling to collect information from experts from all geographic regions, through contact networks of universities in different countries. With the information about the goals researched by the participating experts, an analysis of the relation between the study focus and the geographical regions of origin was conducted. A total of 266 specialists from North America, Latin America/Caribbean, Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania participated in the survey. Based on the sample used, it can be said that there is a relation between the local problems or challenges observed in some regions and the main areas of interest of the surveyed experts, with a general emphasis on the study of goals 4, 11 and 13. Based on the data gathered, the paper presents a set of examples of positive and negative situations in the various regions, and considers the extent to which some Sustainable Development Goals are being pursued by research on a worldwide basis

An analysis of the applications of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for selection of energy efficiency practices in public lighting in a sample of Brazilian cities

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd In Brazil, the public lighting sector is a responsibility of the municipal government and typically represents around 4% of the electricity consumed by cities. Considering the significant importance and functions of this service, sustainable management is necessary. The aim of this paper is to investigate the main practices used worldwide in terms of energy efficiency of public lighting and propose the use of the multi-criteria method called Analytic Hierarchy Process to choose the best options for a group of Brazilian cities, namely Passo Fundo, Santa Maria and Porto Alegre. The methodology of this paper consists of searching for best practices in public lighting, which worked as alternatives for applying the Analytic Hierarchy Process. The final step consisted of presenting the impacts of a potential implementation, through analysis of energy and financial savings. The results suggest the preferred practices to each municipality (Audit and Guide Elaboration, Retrofit, Alternative Energy and Management) and their potential implementation can promote energy and financial savings up to 6 GWh/year and 600,000.00 US$/year. The main implications of this paper are related to proposing the use of a multi-criteria method to the public lighting sector and providing useful insights for local governments and especially for developing countries

Sustainable development goals: a framework for deploying indicators for higher education institutions

Purpose: This paper aims to analyse the extent to which the sustainable development goals (SDGs) are being considered at higher education institutions (HEIs) and propose and test the possible acceptance of a list of indicators to evaluate the contribution of HEIs to the SDGs. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology consisted of the collection of indicators of sustainable development based on the existing bibliography. Afterwards, a set of indicators related to the SDGs were selected, based on the most frequent SDGs’ expressions found in the selected indicators. A sample of researchers was also asked to indicate to which extent this set of indicators is perceived as relevant. Findings: The results indicated an initial list with 432 indicators, of which 268 were selected for having at least one of the keywords searched for, related to the SDG descriptions and targets. Thus, redundant indicators were excluded and, when necessary, indicators were aggregated, resulting in a final list of 61 indicators. Originality/value: The set of indicators resulted from this analysis was considered appropriate to evaluate the contribution of HEIs towards the SDGs, demonstrating that it might not be necessary to create new indicators for that purpose

Sustainability and procurement practices in higher education institutions: Barriers and drivers

© 2019 A review of the literature reveals the scant research on sustainable procurement in the public sector, and in particular higher education institutions (HEIs). In this context, this paper aims to contribute to an emerging stream of research on drivers and challenges which higher education institutions and the extent to which they are endorsing sustainable procurement practices. The study is based on a survey of HEIs around the world, drawn from a network of sustainability practitioners and researchers at these institutions. Design of the survey drew on existing studies of barriers and enablers, the use of vignettes to provoke ideas among the research team, and a pilot study. Crucially, the study seeks to shed light on both drivers and critical barriers affecting the implementation of sustainable procurement at universities. The results and discussion identify previously unidentified barriers and enablers, and further suggest that smaller HEI have some catching up to do. Policy recommendations are presented and approaches on how to overcome barriers to sustainable procurement are set forth. These centre on the proposal that HEIs should consider developing a reflexive strategy to procurement purchasing policy, and to ensure there are suitable means for its implementation

Sustainable Development Goals and sustainability teaching at universities: falling behind or getting ahead of the pack?

The fact that the world community is engaged in pursuing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) means that an unrivalled opportunity is provided to universities, both in respect of teaching and in research, on individual SDGs, as well as in pursuing their “third mission” linking up with external stakeholders and society. However, not many universities have realised that and many are falling behind. This paper explores the many advantages of the introduction of the SDGs into teaching and suggests that it can catalyse the engagement of students in Higher Education Institutions (HEI) with the concepts of sustainability. The paper fills in a research gap by surveying the current state of the art regarding the theme, presenting current data outlining the extent to which HEI are using SDGs to support their sustainability work. The reasons why some institutions are currently not engaging is also shown. The paper, which consists of a worldwide survey deployed to collect data on the SDGs and sustainability teaching at universities, concludes by providing some recommendations aimed at encouraging further engagement of HEI in incorporatingSDGs as part of their teaching programs. This research is unique in the sense that it provides for the first time offers an overview of the level of emphasis selected universities currently place on the SDGs. Finally, it provides a contribution to current state of knowledge by outlining some actions universities may take, to move forward with their implementation

A comparative study of approaches towards energy efficiency and renewable energy use at higher education institutions

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd The potential for energy efficiency and for the deployment of renewable energy at universities is substantial, and they represent promising ways to meet an institution's energy needs on the one hand, without a large climate burden on the other. However, in order to achieve successful investment and results, it is imperative to understand the level of current commitment to energy actions. Therefore, this paper investigates the level of engagement in energy efficiency measures of a sample of 50 higher education institutions from round the world, and identifies which types of renewable energy are being used to date. Results show that in more than half of the universities only a small portion of energy consumption comes from renewable sources (1%–20%) and solar/photovoltaics is the most used source (70%). Investment in energy efficiency is more common in the sample, with 54% of the universities reporting higher levels of engagement, mainly in buildings (78%) and equipment/machineries (56%). Departing from the assumption that sustainable energy use is a pre-condition for campuses to pursue sustainability, the paper identifies current deficiencies and discusses improvements in this key area, with experiences which may be replicable elsewhere

The role of higher education institutions in sustainability initiatives at the local level

Universities are central players and important economic actors in many regions, and many of them are, in general, nationally and internationally active in respect of matters related to sustainable development. But there is a paucity of research which examines their contributions towards sustainability efforts at the local level, i.e. in the places they are situated. This paper addresses this need, by reporting on a qualitative study deploying a Matrix, which allows an analysis and reporting of regional sustainable development initiatives of a set of 22 universities in industrialised and developing countries. Recommendations to enhance their role are provided, including the importance of pursuing partnerships and joint initiatives, understanding the need of local communities, and making their know-how more widely available. The scientific value of this research is related to the understanding of how the interaction between universities and local communities happens and by shedding light to this topic, it supports universities to improve their own actions. Its implications are two-fold: it demonstrates the potential of universities as local players and outlines the range of activities they may engage with, and which may allow them to act as pillars to local sustainability initiatives