154
M. C. D. S. e Benevides et al.
• Energy: There is no doubt that the EAC models for energy usage on campus have
evolved out of a need to reduce costs and emissions from fossil fuel generated
power. Conversely, the Brazilian national power generation has, already, a large
contribution from renewable sources making this a near sustainable source of
energy. Nevertheless, cost remains a principal driver to applying energy saving
measures for the SCCs.
• Water conservation and protection: Concern about water usage is common in
all the institutions but it is not clear that the SCC campuses uses any systematic
approach to measurement of this and establishing goals and targets in order to
minimize water consumption or avoiding waste.
• Travel and transport: Unlike the EACs, the SCCs do not appear to address this
theme by, for example, developing policies in partnership with local authorities
and private transport services to minimize journeys and encourage ecofriendly
modes of transport with less pollution in the movement of people and goods to
and from their campuses.
• Biodiversity: The SCCs efforts appear to exceed those of the EACs in this theme
through initiatives to protect natural systems and direct interventions to control
invasive species.
• Living Labs: SCCs are highly active in promoting a culture of innovation,
entrepreneurship, intellectual property, technology and knowledge transfer in
their internal and external communities. An approach to share user-centered,
co-creation methodology happens through innovation, research and programs
developed with companies, research centers in Brazil and abroad.
• Economic and socioenvironmental sustainability for society initiatives: All
institutions have research groups dedicated specifically to sustainability and
community engagement services. EACs research efforts tend to bias towards innovation, environmental management and sustainable development, SCCs appear
to place more emphasis on social inclusion, health, education, art, culture, sport,
science and the promotion of citizenship.
This study provides only the initial framework for much benchmarking activity.
Nevertheless, this simple attempt at benchmarking HEIs in Santa Catarina with
respect to their sustainability has revealed some significant differences in the performance between the institutions and with the activities of like institutions in Europe
and North America. It is not clear why some of these differences exist, but more
significant information is yet to be gained from understanding and refining the process
of benchmarking. More importantly, it lays the groundwork for the exchange and
evaluation of ideas between HEIs for the development of greener campuses in general.
Acknowledgements This study integrates the project BRIDGE - Building Resilience in a Dynamic
Global Economy: Complexity across scales in the Brazilian Food-Water-Energy Nexus. BRIDGE
is under the responsibility of the Centre for Sustainable Development (Greens) of the University of
Southern Santa Catarina (Unisul). The following institutions are responsible for BRIDGE’s funding:
• Newton Fund.
• Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Estado de Santa Catarina (FAPESC)—the
Santa Catarina State Research and Innovation Support Foundation.
M. C. D. S. e Benevides et al.
• Energy: There is no doubt that the EAC models for energy usage on campus have
evolved out of a need to reduce costs and emissions from fossil fuel generated
power. Conversely, the Brazilian national power generation has, already, a large
contribution from renewable sources making this a near sustainable source of
energy. Nevertheless, cost remains a principal driver to applying energy saving
measures for the SCCs.
• Water conservation and protection: Concern about water usage is common in
all the institutions but it is not clear that the SCC campuses uses any systematic
approach to measurement of this and establishing goals and targets in order to
minimize water consumption or avoiding waste.
• Travel and transport: Unlike the EACs, the SCCs do not appear to address this
theme by, for example, developing policies in partnership with local authorities
and private transport services to minimize journeys and encourage ecofriendly
modes of transport with less pollution in the movement of people and goods to
and from their campuses.
• Biodiversity: The SCCs efforts appear to exceed those of the EACs in this theme
through initiatives to protect natural systems and direct interventions to control
invasive species.
• Living Labs: SCCs are highly active in promoting a culture of innovation,
entrepreneurship, intellectual property, technology and knowledge transfer in
their internal and external communities. An approach to share user-centered,
co-creation methodology happens through innovation, research and programs
developed with companies, research centers in Brazil and abroad.
• Economic and socioenvironmental sustainability for society initiatives: All
institutions have research groups dedicated specifically to sustainability and
community engagement services. EACs research efforts tend to bias towards innovation, environmental management and sustainable development, SCCs appear
to place more emphasis on social inclusion, health, education, art, culture, sport,
science and the promotion of citizenship.
This study provides only the initial framework for much benchmarking activity.
Nevertheless, this simple attempt at benchmarking HEIs in Santa Catarina with
respect to their sustainability has revealed some significant differences in the performance between the institutions and with the activities of like institutions in Europe
and North America. It is not clear why some of these differences exist, but more
significant information is yet to be gained from understanding and refining the process
of benchmarking. More importantly, it lays the groundwork for the exchange and
evaluation of ideas between HEIs for the development of greener campuses in general.
Acknowledgements This study integrates the project BRIDGE - Building Resilience in a Dynamic
Global Economy: Complexity across scales in the Brazilian Food-Water-Energy Nexus. BRIDGE
is under the responsibility of the Centre for Sustainable Development (Greens) of the University of
Southern Santa Catarina (Unisul). The following institutions are responsible for BRIDGE’s funding:
• Newton Fund.
• Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Estado de Santa Catarina (FAPESC)—the
Santa Catarina State Research and Innovation Support Foundation.