Higher Education Institutions as Drivers of Sustainable …
811
3.2 Higher Education Institutions as Drivers
of the Sustainable Development Goals
The United Nations’ SDGs were adopted September 2015, starting the most ambitious development project in world history (Herrera 2019). SDGs were first discussed
by countries in 2012 as a project to build on successes and address shortcomings of
the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), a project with a people-based approach,
widely seen as a roadmap to progress for low-income countries (Plum and Kaljee
2016). SDGs offer a wider approach, considering planetary problems and they seek
to address what literature calls the triple bottom line for human welfare: economic
development, social inclusion and environmental preservation (Sachs 2012). For that
end, the United Nations have highlighted their focus on people, planet and prosperity,
as well as peace and partnerships (United Nations 2015a).
SDGs are considered to be indivisible and universal (Plum and Kaljee 2016) with
synergies to be found among them (Timko et al. 2018). SDGs are integrated by design
and using them together is the key to harness them to their full potential (International
Council for Science 2017). SDGs have global relevance, since all continents deal
with problems related to sustainable development: air quality in Asia, food security
in Africa, clean energy generation in Europe and worldwide climate change and
poverty. However, SDGs must be addressed locally (Salvia et al. 2019).
In this context, the links between sustainability and HEIs are well-documented
in literature (Leal Filho et al. 2015). HEIs have been seen as important actors for
implementing and enhancing sustainable development since the concept was created
(Friman et al. 2018), since they are centres of knowledge and innovation and have
the potential to be key drivers in changing society. As Sustainable Development is
becoming increasingly important (Yáñez et al. 2019), it would deeply benefit from
involving students and young population in the discussions about the leaders in a
time when SDGs will shape political decision-making (Gusmão Caiado et al. 2018),
as well as helping to prioritize needs and allocate resources in communities (Plum
and Kaljee 2016).
It is believed that HEIs are the best places to start environmental-friendly activities, since they can teach principles of understanding and management and are
places where the best environmental practices can be demonstrated (Freidenfelds
et al. 2018). Sustainable development can be adapted to all areas within HEIs: in
education, research and outreach, but also in their own administrative management,
since they can be seen as mini-cities (Parvez and Agrawal 2019). Some frameworks
for sustainable development within HEIs have emerged and the first of them was
the Talloires Declaration, in 1990 (Ramísio et al. 2019). The Talloires Declaration’s
10-point plan focus on public awareness (points 1, 3, 4 and 6); institutional awareness (points 2, 5 and 7); and cooperation with other institutions (points 8 and 10)
(ULSF 1990). As of March 2019, 507 HEIs around the world had signed the Talloires
Declaration, including Unisul (ULSF 2019).
811
3.2 Higher Education Institutions as Drivers
of the Sustainable Development Goals
The United Nations’ SDGs were adopted September 2015, starting the most ambitious development project in world history (Herrera 2019). SDGs were first discussed
by countries in 2012 as a project to build on successes and address shortcomings of
the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), a project with a people-based approach,
widely seen as a roadmap to progress for low-income countries (Plum and Kaljee
2016). SDGs offer a wider approach, considering planetary problems and they seek
to address what literature calls the triple bottom line for human welfare: economic
development, social inclusion and environmental preservation (Sachs 2012). For that
end, the United Nations have highlighted their focus on people, planet and prosperity,
as well as peace and partnerships (United Nations 2015a).
SDGs are considered to be indivisible and universal (Plum and Kaljee 2016) with
synergies to be found among them (Timko et al. 2018). SDGs are integrated by design
and using them together is the key to harness them to their full potential (International
Council for Science 2017). SDGs have global relevance, since all continents deal
with problems related to sustainable development: air quality in Asia, food security
in Africa, clean energy generation in Europe and worldwide climate change and
poverty. However, SDGs must be addressed locally (Salvia et al. 2019).
In this context, the links between sustainability and HEIs are well-documented
in literature (Leal Filho et al. 2015). HEIs have been seen as important actors for
implementing and enhancing sustainable development since the concept was created
(Friman et al. 2018), since they are centres of knowledge and innovation and have
the potential to be key drivers in changing society. As Sustainable Development is
becoming increasingly important (Yáñez et al. 2019), it would deeply benefit from
involving students and young population in the discussions about the leaders in a
time when SDGs will shape political decision-making (Gusmão Caiado et al. 2018),
as well as helping to prioritize needs and allocate resources in communities (Plum
and Kaljee 2016).
It is believed that HEIs are the best places to start environmental-friendly activities, since they can teach principles of understanding and management and are
places where the best environmental practices can be demonstrated (Freidenfelds
et al. 2018). Sustainable development can be adapted to all areas within HEIs: in
education, research and outreach, but also in their own administrative management,
since they can be seen as mini-cities (Parvez and Agrawal 2019). Some frameworks
for sustainable development within HEIs have emerged and the first of them was
the Talloires Declaration, in 1990 (Ramísio et al. 2019). The Talloires Declaration’s
10-point plan focus on public awareness (points 1, 3, 4 and 6); institutional awareness (points 2, 5 and 7); and cooperation with other institutions (points 8 and 10)
(ULSF 1990). As of March 2019, 507 HEIs around the world had signed the Talloires
Declaration, including Unisul (ULSF 2019).