Sustainability Reporting in Australian Universities: Case Study of Campus Sustainability Employing Institutional Analysis

Abstract

In an era of climate change and greater demands for organisational commitment, the global university sector has taken up sustainability reporting in a modest fashion. Recent studies of the sector show extensive variation in coverage and quality of reporting even by comparison to the corporate sector. From a materiality point of view, sustainability reporting is an aspect of environmental management that aims via efficiency actions to reduce GHG emissions. Recent studies and reports criticise the Australian University sector for its lack of transparency and modest accomplishments in campus sustainability compared to the corporate sector and other regions. This study examines these claims and introduces organisational theory of institutions as a justification for the strategies and tactics adopted by the sector. Existing sector studies and reports have rarely employed organisational theory and preferred unrepresentative samples and definitions of reporting and scope, albeit admittedly due to the poor public availability of environmental and other data. This short case study combines desk analysis of publicly available Australian University sustainability reports, strategy plans, compliance reports of energy and water, built environment initiatives, and qualitative interviews with five (The interview component, which is on-going, has currently recruited and interviewed twenty participants. This study incorporates analysis of the first five interviews completed at the time of writing.) past and current campus sustainability managers and officers from the Australian University sector to (1) show the current state of reporting and commitment and (2) demonstrate the value of the organisational theory approach. The study finds that organisational theory is the missing theoretical lens to help explain why compliance rather than commitment and legitimacy claims in a context of weak national and sector expectations explains the varied leadership and commitment in this region. Reporting on the initial analysis of sources, this study identifies the concept of transparency and accountability across the academic and professional divide as key to understanding a sector compliance approach.