PUC-Rio Socio-environmental Agenda: New Steps …
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interdisciplinary approaches to achieving sustainability; (ii) several general financial
constraints; (iii) the lack of solid and comprehensive knowledge of sustainability;
(iv) and the inadequacy of the built environment.
Therefore, the barriers to change are not primarily financial, as one might imagine,
especially in less wealthy contexts. The cultural characteristics of each group and
place, as well as the will to change, are equally important.
What is more: a consistent and permanent transformation in a complex structure
such as HEI or other collective and institutionalized structure must have its actions
and their results constantly measured and monitored. As Adams (2013) points out,
regarding the importance of the practice of periodic sustainability reports for institutions that wish to achieve effective transformation, “what gets reported, gets measured; what is not measured, is not managed; and if you are not managing sustainability performance it is difficult to improve it, or know if it has improved” (Adams
2013, p. 385).
The importance of precise indicators that can demonstrate the evolution of the
implementation of an Agenda is paramount to generate credibility for the proposed
actions and to demonstrate with precision the evolution of the achieved results. Hák
et al. (2016) carried out a critical evaluation of the proposed indicators to measure the
implementation of the action plan established to achieve the SDG during the process
of constructing Agenda 2030 indicator framework in 2015. In this paper, the author
remarked that indicators with faulty elements could generate misrepresentation of
the results and undermining of the proposed targets for Agenda 2030.
According to Berzosa et al. (2017) the tools for evaluating sustainability may
define sustainability strategies adopted and action in the institution. The authors also
point out that adequate measurement and monitoring systems and indicators that
accurately demonstrate results are useful for leaders to adopt correct strategies and
effective actions to seek sustainability, requiring less financial resources.
However, the solid basis for an effective Socio-environmental Agenda is primarily
a coherent and accurate diagnosis stage of the current scenario, which indicates the
effective level of sustainability of the institution in each aspect of the institution’s
interest and of the Agenda itself. It is the “V 0 ” of each topic to be worked by the
university to reach sustainability. The projects and goals resulting from this initial
assertive evaluation can therefore be given a correct priority and focus on the adoption
of more effective actions.
The core activities of HEI are generally teaching, research and academic extension (or the set of forms of relationship with society—individuals, groups, companies
and governments). Therefore, in order to achieve a high level of sustainability at the
University, it is paramount that these three fields of action are transformed in an
articulate way, creating a positive cycle of self-feeding among them. This presupposes the inclusion of sustainability issues in the curricula of professional training
courses, allowing them to be updated with the global concern about the durability
of the contemporary society and enabling the training of professionals prepared to
face the challenge of the global and local social and environmental crisis. It also
implies encouraging and investing in sustainability research in all areas, fostering
the interest of students in the subject, self-feeding education with innovation in the
739
interdisciplinary approaches to achieving sustainability; (ii) several general financial
constraints; (iii) the lack of solid and comprehensive knowledge of sustainability;
(iv) and the inadequacy of the built environment.
Therefore, the barriers to change are not primarily financial, as one might imagine,
especially in less wealthy contexts. The cultural characteristics of each group and
place, as well as the will to change, are equally important.
What is more: a consistent and permanent transformation in a complex structure
such as HEI or other collective and institutionalized structure must have its actions
and their results constantly measured and monitored. As Adams (2013) points out,
regarding the importance of the practice of periodic sustainability reports for institutions that wish to achieve effective transformation, “what gets reported, gets measured; what is not measured, is not managed; and if you are not managing sustainability performance it is difficult to improve it, or know if it has improved” (Adams
2013, p. 385).
The importance of precise indicators that can demonstrate the evolution of the
implementation of an Agenda is paramount to generate credibility for the proposed
actions and to demonstrate with precision the evolution of the achieved results. Hák
et al. (2016) carried out a critical evaluation of the proposed indicators to measure the
implementation of the action plan established to achieve the SDG during the process
of constructing Agenda 2030 indicator framework in 2015. In this paper, the author
remarked that indicators with faulty elements could generate misrepresentation of
the results and undermining of the proposed targets for Agenda 2030.
According to Berzosa et al. (2017) the tools for evaluating sustainability may
define sustainability strategies adopted and action in the institution. The authors also
point out that adequate measurement and monitoring systems and indicators that
accurately demonstrate results are useful for leaders to adopt correct strategies and
effective actions to seek sustainability, requiring less financial resources.
However, the solid basis for an effective Socio-environmental Agenda is primarily
a coherent and accurate diagnosis stage of the current scenario, which indicates the
effective level of sustainability of the institution in each aspect of the institution’s
interest and of the Agenda itself. It is the “V 0 ” of each topic to be worked by the
university to reach sustainability. The projects and goals resulting from this initial
assertive evaluation can therefore be given a correct priority and focus on the adoption
of more effective actions.
The core activities of HEI are generally teaching, research and academic extension (or the set of forms of relationship with society—individuals, groups, companies
and governments). Therefore, in order to achieve a high level of sustainability at the
University, it is paramount that these three fields of action are transformed in an
articulate way, creating a positive cycle of self-feeding among them. This presupposes the inclusion of sustainability issues in the curricula of professional training
courses, allowing them to be updated with the global concern about the durability
of the contemporary society and enabling the training of professionals prepared to
face the challenge of the global and local social and environmental crisis. It also
implies encouraging and investing in sustainability research in all areas, fostering
the interest of students in the subject, self-feeding education with innovation in the