Nurturing the Seeds of Sustainability
Governance: Rio+25 Brazilian Higher
Education Institution Case Study
Ursula Maruyama, Patricia Prado, Aline Trigo and Jose Trigo
Abstract Once Brazil hosted United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development in 1992 (UNCED, Rio Earth Summit), as well as Rio+20 Conference, the country has shown an important role in promoting United Nations Post2015 Development Agenda. Brazilian innovations in terms of public policies are
also regarded as contributions to economic, social and environmental dimensions in
sustainable development integration. In this context, the Brazilian Ministry of Environment created the Environmental Agenda in Public Administration—‘A3P’—to
encourage public managers to incorporate sustainable principles enhancing institutions activities. In terms of sustainability, higher education can introduce new trends
in the domains of education, research, and extension. However, understanding the
Environmental Agenda in Public Administration requires a more careful analysis of
information, stakeholder dynamics, public management and conflict of interest. To
illustrate the debate, this chapter presents Cefet/RJ, a centennial higher education
institution in Rio de Janeiro and discusses the implementation of its ‘A3P’ sustainable agenda in 2017, 25 years after Rio 92 Earth Summit. Thus, Cefet/RJ Rio+25
integrates teaching, research and extension environmental projects. This scenario
represents a set of initiatives regarding the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
to assess public governance focusing on higher education. This chapter aims to be
U. Maruyama (B)
Strategic Management Board (DIGES), Cefet/RJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
e-mail: ursula.maruyama@cefet-rj.br
P. Prado
The York Management School and Department of Politics,
University of York, York, UK
e-mail: patricia.prado@york.ac.uk
A. Trigo
Strategy Division for Institutional Environmental Sustainability (DISAI),
Cefet/RJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
e-mail: aline.trigo@cefet-rj.br
J. Trigo
School of Economics, UNESA, Nova Iguaçu, Brazil
e-mail: jose.trigo09@gmail.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Universities as Living Labs for Sustainable Development,
World Sustainability Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15604-6_10
151
Governance: Rio+25 Brazilian Higher
Education Institution Case Study
Ursula Maruyama, Patricia Prado, Aline Trigo and Jose Trigo
Abstract Once Brazil hosted United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development in 1992 (UNCED, Rio Earth Summit), as well as Rio+20 Conference, the country has shown an important role in promoting United Nations Post2015 Development Agenda. Brazilian innovations in terms of public policies are
also regarded as contributions to economic, social and environmental dimensions in
sustainable development integration. In this context, the Brazilian Ministry of Environment created the Environmental Agenda in Public Administration—‘A3P’—to
encourage public managers to incorporate sustainable principles enhancing institutions activities. In terms of sustainability, higher education can introduce new trends
in the domains of education, research, and extension. However, understanding the
Environmental Agenda in Public Administration requires a more careful analysis of
information, stakeholder dynamics, public management and conflict of interest. To
illustrate the debate, this chapter presents Cefet/RJ, a centennial higher education
institution in Rio de Janeiro and discusses the implementation of its ‘A3P’ sustainable agenda in 2017, 25 years after Rio 92 Earth Summit. Thus, Cefet/RJ Rio+25
integrates teaching, research and extension environmental projects. This scenario
represents a set of initiatives regarding the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
to assess public governance focusing on higher education. This chapter aims to be
U. Maruyama (B)
Strategic Management Board (DIGES), Cefet/RJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
e-mail: ursula.maruyama@cefet-rj.br
P. Prado
The York Management School and Department of Politics,
University of York, York, UK
e-mail: patricia.prado@york.ac.uk
A. Trigo
Strategy Division for Institutional Environmental Sustainability (DISAI),
Cefet/RJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
e-mail: aline.trigo@cefet-rj.br
J. Trigo
School of Economics, UNESA, Nova Iguaçu, Brazil
e-mail: jose.trigo09@gmail.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Universities as Living Labs for Sustainable Development,
World Sustainability Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15604-6_10
151