12
C. Shiel et al.
It is incumbent on each signatory to bring the goals to life; nothing will be achieved
without action on multiple fronts. While governments need to develop national strategies and approaches for realising the goals, all organisations in society have a role
to play in contributing to their achievement. Higher education institutions (HEIs), in
particular, should be taking a leading role, through research (Leal Filho et al. 2017a);
they should also be educating students in relation to the goals and, inspiring engagement within their communities. Just as the role of HEIs has been made quite clear
in relation to sustainable development, with a need for integrative approaches (Leal
Filho et al. 2015), the role of universities in relation to the SDGs is obvious, albeit not
explicit. What is less clear however, is whether universities will fully appreciate their
responsibility for the SDGs. History shows that their response to calls to engage with
sustainable development was not only notably slow (Tilbury 2013), but has rarely
been holistic, or very strategic (Leal Filho et al. 2015). Thus, is it likely that they
will respond to the SDGs with greater speed or effectiveness? Will it be the case that
many universities endorse the SDGs publically but beyond that, will not regard them
as a central agenda for strategic planning and action? Signing up to accords and making declarations is common place within the sector but will education strategies be
transformed as consequence? Past performance does not allow for optimism. Ensuring that higher education addresses the SDGs may involve the same challenges that
implementing sustainable development has faced, with similarly slow responses and
partial outcomes. On the other hand, a more optimistic view, would be that the SDGs
serve to inspire engagement in ways that sustainable development might not have
previously, thus, some institutions will recognise their potential to catalyse change
and to reinvigorate sustainable development initiatives. If a few universities take this
approach and lead by example, then others will follow.
This paper offers a case study of how one institution has seen the SDGs as a
catalyst, offering insights into how the SDG framework might serve as a vehicle to
step-up engagement with education for sustainable development, and to take institutional strategy further.
2 Universities, Sustainable Development and the SDGs
The critical role of universities in relation to sustainable development has been consistently articulated over recent decades (see for example, ‘The Sustainable University’,
Sterling et al. 2013). Sustainable development (in higher education) has become a
significant field of research (Barth and Rieckmann 2013), to the extent that examples
of what constitutes effective engagement and the many hurdles to progress, are now
well documented.
As far as universities’ practical engagement with sustainable development, considerable progress has been achieved in a sector that was described as notoriously resistant to change (Wals and Blewitt 2010) and where, for many years, engagement with
sustainable development was deplored as both slow and inadequate (Tilbury 2013).
In 2018, most universities now address environmental sustainability and/or sustain-
C. Shiel et al.
It is incumbent on each signatory to bring the goals to life; nothing will be achieved
without action on multiple fronts. While governments need to develop national strategies and approaches for realising the goals, all organisations in society have a role
to play in contributing to their achievement. Higher education institutions (HEIs), in
particular, should be taking a leading role, through research (Leal Filho et al. 2017a);
they should also be educating students in relation to the goals and, inspiring engagement within their communities. Just as the role of HEIs has been made quite clear
in relation to sustainable development, with a need for integrative approaches (Leal
Filho et al. 2015), the role of universities in relation to the SDGs is obvious, albeit not
explicit. What is less clear however, is whether universities will fully appreciate their
responsibility for the SDGs. History shows that their response to calls to engage with
sustainable development was not only notably slow (Tilbury 2013), but has rarely
been holistic, or very strategic (Leal Filho et al. 2015). Thus, is it likely that they
will respond to the SDGs with greater speed or effectiveness? Will it be the case that
many universities endorse the SDGs publically but beyond that, will not regard them
as a central agenda for strategic planning and action? Signing up to accords and making declarations is common place within the sector but will education strategies be
transformed as consequence? Past performance does not allow for optimism. Ensuring that higher education addresses the SDGs may involve the same challenges that
implementing sustainable development has faced, with similarly slow responses and
partial outcomes. On the other hand, a more optimistic view, would be that the SDGs
serve to inspire engagement in ways that sustainable development might not have
previously, thus, some institutions will recognise their potential to catalyse change
and to reinvigorate sustainable development initiatives. If a few universities take this
approach and lead by example, then others will follow.
This paper offers a case study of how one institution has seen the SDGs as a
catalyst, offering insights into how the SDG framework might serve as a vehicle to
step-up engagement with education for sustainable development, and to take institutional strategy further.
2 Universities, Sustainable Development and the SDGs
The critical role of universities in relation to sustainable development has been consistently articulated over recent decades (see for example, ‘The Sustainable University’,
Sterling et al. 2013). Sustainable development (in higher education) has become a
significant field of research (Barth and Rieckmann 2013), to the extent that examples
of what constitutes effective engagement and the many hurdles to progress, are now
well documented.
As far as universities’ practical engagement with sustainable development, considerable progress has been achieved in a sector that was described as notoriously resistant to change (Wals and Blewitt 2010) and where, for many years, engagement with
sustainable development was deplored as both slow and inadequate (Tilbury 2013).
In 2018, most universities now address environmental sustainability and/or sustain-