286
C. R. P. Vasconcelos et al.
efforts in assuming their role in implementing sustainability is still acknowledged.
This claim is directed both to HEIs’ internal routines and, from a broader perspective,
to a global movement towards a more sustainable society.
In the existing literature, more attention has been given to the development of
objective assessment tools, rather than human-centred ones which allow the generation of knowledge about the perception of individuals that make up an HEI, such as
students, teachers, or staff. To date, no stakeholder perception study on the sustainability of HEIs has been identified that would consider the possibility of integrating
their assessment tools with the sustainability dimensions already consolidated in the
literature.
In order for HEIs to successfully achieve the sustainability goals, the cooperation
and participation from all stakeholders are critical, which includes staff, faculty,
students, funding bodies, government, employers, suppliers and community (Green
2013; Leal Filho et al. 2019b; Sammalisto et al. 2015). Among all of them, students
appear as one of the key stakeholders in universities, not only for their much bigger
number and HEIs’ main target mission but also since there is empirical evidence
that they have shown willingness to support and participate in university sustainable
practices (Emanuel and Adams 2011). Many authors note the importance of placing
students engaged in the university’s sustainable practices as active agents of change,
although they also recognise that there is still a dearth of previous studies about
students’ perception of sustainability in HEIs (Blanco-Portela et al. 2018).
Nejati and Nejati (2013) support that understanding how students evaluate the
sustainability practices implemented by HEIs is crucial as it allows the decisionmaker to become aware of the HEI performance from the perspective of one of their
major groups of stakeholders. For these authors, “the study of students’ perceptions
towards sustainability remains under-researched and needs to be further explored”
(Nejati and Nejati 2013, p. 102).
Concerning the gaps previously discussed, related to the shortage of tools to
assess HEI sustainability relying on stakeholders’ perceptions, and the absence of
assessment tools that support its integration with the quantitative indicators of HEIs’
sustainability established in the literature, this study has two main goals. The first
intends to contribute to the literature by designing a sustainability assessment tool to
assess the students’ perception of the campus’s sustainability, based on a Brazilian
HEI case study. The second aims to analyse the adherence of the designed tool to
assessing the key dimensions of sustainability proposed in the literature.
2 HEIs’ Sustainability
Since Stockholm, 1972, the higher education institutions (HEIs) have been adapting
themselves to assume their social role in supporting societies in the promotion of
sustainable lifestyles. From 2015, since the development of the new sustainable
agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been established—an
expansion of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), compounded by
C. R. P. Vasconcelos et al.
efforts in assuming their role in implementing sustainability is still acknowledged.
This claim is directed both to HEIs’ internal routines and, from a broader perspective,
to a global movement towards a more sustainable society.
In the existing literature, more attention has been given to the development of
objective assessment tools, rather than human-centred ones which allow the generation of knowledge about the perception of individuals that make up an HEI, such as
students, teachers, or staff. To date, no stakeholder perception study on the sustainability of HEIs has been identified that would consider the possibility of integrating
their assessment tools with the sustainability dimensions already consolidated in the
literature.
In order for HEIs to successfully achieve the sustainability goals, the cooperation
and participation from all stakeholders are critical, which includes staff, faculty,
students, funding bodies, government, employers, suppliers and community (Green
2013; Leal Filho et al. 2019b; Sammalisto et al. 2015). Among all of them, students
appear as one of the key stakeholders in universities, not only for their much bigger
number and HEIs’ main target mission but also since there is empirical evidence
that they have shown willingness to support and participate in university sustainable
practices (Emanuel and Adams 2011). Many authors note the importance of placing
students engaged in the university’s sustainable practices as active agents of change,
although they also recognise that there is still a dearth of previous studies about
students’ perception of sustainability in HEIs (Blanco-Portela et al. 2018).
Nejati and Nejati (2013) support that understanding how students evaluate the
sustainability practices implemented by HEIs is crucial as it allows the decisionmaker to become aware of the HEI performance from the perspective of one of their
major groups of stakeholders. For these authors, “the study of students’ perceptions
towards sustainability remains under-researched and needs to be further explored”
(Nejati and Nejati 2013, p. 102).
Concerning the gaps previously discussed, related to the shortage of tools to
assess HEI sustainability relying on stakeholders’ perceptions, and the absence of
assessment tools that support its integration with the quantitative indicators of HEIs’
sustainability established in the literature, this study has two main goals. The first
intends to contribute to the literature by designing a sustainability assessment tool to
assess the students’ perception of the campus’s sustainability, based on a Brazilian
HEI case study. The second aims to analyse the adherence of the designed tool to
assessing the key dimensions of sustainability proposed in the literature.
2 HEIs’ Sustainability
Since Stockholm, 1972, the higher education institutions (HEIs) have been adapting
themselves to assume their social role in supporting societies in the promotion of
sustainable lifestyles. From 2015, since the development of the new sustainable
agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been established—an
expansion of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), compounded by