Implementing a Sustainability Plan on a Small …
461
as well as small gatherings dispersed throughout the year. It can be said that the
small size of the campus intensifies the positive impact of these actions, bringing
people together and creating a culture of engagement that can influence those who
will integrate the campus over time.
These observations corroborate recent studies such as that of Caeiro et al. (2020),
who analyzed the wide range of sustainability assessment tools available and, when
studying cases from Portuguese and Spanish universities, conclude that it is necessary
to emphasize the development of indicators that consider non-traditional aspects of
sustainability and that represent little tangible aspects of society.
6 Conclusions
The Planaltina campus is developing a sustainability assessment tool that dialogs
with the guidelines of the Brazilian public administration and recent debates on
sustainability in higher education. This tool excels in considering the complexity of
the understanding of sustainability, including the Sustainable Development Goals,
but also the main responsibilities and possibilities of the university as an educational
institution and a reference for society.
In the studied case, the academic profile, the size and age of the campus were key
elements facilitating the process. In fact, given the differences between universities,
we infer that it is not possible to standardize the sustainability actions that each
institution is able to develop at first. Therefore, when creating the sustainability plan,
the people profiles and the vocation of each campus must be considered.
Although there were options of environmental monitoring systems applicable to
universities, the participatory discussion of the indicators that would be adopted on
campus was, in itself, a fundamental step in developing an understanding of the
concept of sustainability that would guide future actions on campus.
Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Ryan Nehring for reviewing the English
version
References
Alshuwaikhat HM, Abubakar I (2008) An integrated approach to achieving campus sustainability: assessment of the current campus environmental management practices. J Clean Prod
16(16):1777–1785
Barki TVP, Gonçalves-Dias SLF (2014) Licitações sustentáveis no Brasil: aspectos jurídicos e de
gestão pública. In: VII Congresso CONSAD de Gestão Pública. Brasília, Brasil
Bizerril MXA, Andrade LG, Pereira IAFS, Souza DO, Coutinho ML, Rocha DMS (2009) Projeto
Nosso Campus: uma experiência de implantação da educação ambiental em um campus universitário em formação. In: VI Congreso Iberoamericano de Educación Ambiental. San Clemente
de Tuyú: PNUMA
461
as well as small gatherings dispersed throughout the year. It can be said that the
small size of the campus intensifies the positive impact of these actions, bringing
people together and creating a culture of engagement that can influence those who
will integrate the campus over time.
These observations corroborate recent studies such as that of Caeiro et al. (2020),
who analyzed the wide range of sustainability assessment tools available and, when
studying cases from Portuguese and Spanish universities, conclude that it is necessary
to emphasize the development of indicators that consider non-traditional aspects of
sustainability and that represent little tangible aspects of society.
6 Conclusions
The Planaltina campus is developing a sustainability assessment tool that dialogs
with the guidelines of the Brazilian public administration and recent debates on
sustainability in higher education. This tool excels in considering the complexity of
the understanding of sustainability, including the Sustainable Development Goals,
but also the main responsibilities and possibilities of the university as an educational
institution and a reference for society.
In the studied case, the academic profile, the size and age of the campus were key
elements facilitating the process. In fact, given the differences between universities,
we infer that it is not possible to standardize the sustainability actions that each
institution is able to develop at first. Therefore, when creating the sustainability plan,
the people profiles and the vocation of each campus must be considered.
Although there were options of environmental monitoring systems applicable to
universities, the participatory discussion of the indicators that would be adopted on
campus was, in itself, a fundamental step in developing an understanding of the
concept of sustainability that would guide future actions on campus.
Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Ryan Nehring for reviewing the English
version
References
Alshuwaikhat HM, Abubakar I (2008) An integrated approach to achieving campus sustainability: assessment of the current campus environmental management practices. J Clean Prod
16(16):1777–1785
Barki TVP, Gonçalves-Dias SLF (2014) Licitações sustentáveis no Brasil: aspectos jurídicos e de
gestão pública. In: VII Congresso CONSAD de Gestão Pública. Brasília, Brasil
Bizerril MXA, Andrade LG, Pereira IAFS, Souza DO, Coutinho ML, Rocha DMS (2009) Projeto
Nosso Campus: uma experiência de implantação da educação ambiental em um campus universitário em formação. In: VI Congreso Iberoamericano de Educación Ambiental. San Clemente
de Tuyú: PNUMA