Sustainable Campuses as Living Labs for Sustainable Development: An Overview of a Brazilian Community University

Abstract

The growing societal demands for higher education institutions (HEIs)’ actions towards sustainable development, characterize these institutions as powerful drivers of change. Accordingly, this paper aims to understand how sustainable campuses, as living labs, promote innovations for sustainable development through the case of a Brazilian Community University. To accomplish this objective, this study presents a review of literature on sustainable development at universities, followed by the analysis of the case of a Brazilian Community University, the University of Southern Santa Catarina (Unisul). For the data collection, we performed semi structured qualitative interviews with 15 faculty members of Unisul, aligned with the review of the university’s institutional documents and the categories mapped in the literature. The implementation of sustainable campuses as living labs at HEIs creates a propitious environment for innovation and practical learning, motivating both internal and external communities, leading society towards sustainable development. Thus, as a community university, Unisul promotes several practices to engage the community through education, capacity building, research, outreach, academic events, consulting on business, architectural assistance and medical consulting to the community, legal assistance, medical clinics, also promoting sustainability in campuses’ infrastructure, inspiring the local communities to incorporate the university’s sustainable values.