596
E. E. Mukwevho and M. Togo
who handles energy related aspects. There is a shortage of staff and opportunities
for human capacity development in terms of skills and innovation, which influence
agency. Brinkhurst et al. (2011) noted the importance of faculty and staff in facilities
design and maintenance as this area impacts on university operations. Consequently,
if a university does not have adequate human capacity in this area, implementing
sustainability initiatives will be difficult.
An important driver which enables the success of projects is finance (at the level
of the structure). Ralph and Stubbs (2014) highlighted how financial constraints limit
the implementation of initiatives. Shortage of financial resources affects all aspects
of the university including staff procurement and skills development (hence agency).
This affects faculties as well as support departments resulting in fewer initiatives.
This was identified from interviews as well during which lack of resources were
mentioned to be a restriction in terms of what the university can do.
The University of Pretoria historically received more resources (structure). This
gave the university access to funds for various researches, partnerships in research
and also made acquisition of advanced technologies used in sustainable practices
much easier. An example is the advanced solar system mentioned before, which is
a testament of access to financial resources. A better financial position also puts
the university in a better position where staff acquisition and skills development it
concerned (agency).
Both structure and agency have played a role in influencing initiatives at the
two institutions. Within the context of the University of Pretoria, initiatives seem to
have been influenced by allowances made at the level of structure, which has then
enabled the university to employ more staff members hence structure enabled agency.
At the University of Venda, the opposite is true. Shortage of financial resources at
institutional level (structure) resulted in low investment in sustainability initiatives
as well as investment in human resources (restrictions on agency). The result is fewer
initiatives which are also taking place at a lower scale when compared to University
of Pretoria initiatives. Agency (willingness was expressed) is clearly being restricted
by structure.
5 Conclusion
The purpose of this study was to determine the sustainable development initiatives
that are being implemented at two Universities and to do a comparative analysis
of these initiatives. Results show that the University of Pretoria is involved in more
sustainability initiatives in its operations; which include installation of LED lightning,
solar heating systems, water efficient irrigation and grey water reclamation. This is
opposed to the University of Venda which has fewer initiatives which do not use
technologies as advanced as the University of Pretoria. University of Venda is situated
in a less developed context and has fewer resources in comparison, hence it has to
optimize resources use.
E. E. Mukwevho and M. Togo
who handles energy related aspects. There is a shortage of staff and opportunities
for human capacity development in terms of skills and innovation, which influence
agency. Brinkhurst et al. (2011) noted the importance of faculty and staff in facilities
design and maintenance as this area impacts on university operations. Consequently,
if a university does not have adequate human capacity in this area, implementing
sustainability initiatives will be difficult.
An important driver which enables the success of projects is finance (at the level
of the structure). Ralph and Stubbs (2014) highlighted how financial constraints limit
the implementation of initiatives. Shortage of financial resources affects all aspects
of the university including staff procurement and skills development (hence agency).
This affects faculties as well as support departments resulting in fewer initiatives.
This was identified from interviews as well during which lack of resources were
mentioned to be a restriction in terms of what the university can do.
The University of Pretoria historically received more resources (structure). This
gave the university access to funds for various researches, partnerships in research
and also made acquisition of advanced technologies used in sustainable practices
much easier. An example is the advanced solar system mentioned before, which is
a testament of access to financial resources. A better financial position also puts
the university in a better position where staff acquisition and skills development it
concerned (agency).
Both structure and agency have played a role in influencing initiatives at the
two institutions. Within the context of the University of Pretoria, initiatives seem to
have been influenced by allowances made at the level of structure, which has then
enabled the university to employ more staff members hence structure enabled agency.
At the University of Venda, the opposite is true. Shortage of financial resources at
institutional level (structure) resulted in low investment in sustainability initiatives
as well as investment in human resources (restrictions on agency). The result is fewer
initiatives which are also taking place at a lower scale when compared to University
of Pretoria initiatives. Agency (willingness was expressed) is clearly being restricted
by structure.
5 Conclusion
The purpose of this study was to determine the sustainable development initiatives
that are being implemented at two Universities and to do a comparative analysis
of these initiatives. Results show that the University of Pretoria is involved in more
sustainability initiatives in its operations; which include installation of LED lightning,
solar heating systems, water efficient irrigation and grey water reclamation. This is
opposed to the University of Venda which has fewer initiatives which do not use
technologies as advanced as the University of Pretoria. University of Venda is situated
in a less developed context and has fewer resources in comparison, hence it has to
optimize resources use.