Enhancing sustainability performance of universities: A DMAIC approach

Abstract

This paper aims to assess and improve the sustainability performance at a higher educational institute (HEI) in UAE using DMAIC methodology, considering five sustainability aspects (knowledge, behaviour, concern, awareness and attitude). One primary and six secondary research questions were defined in the define phase. In the measure phase, a questionnaire was designed to measure the current sustainability level based on the five sustainability aspects. A questionnaire was distributed among campus populations and statistically analysed in the analysis phase. Participation in UI GreenMetric was used in the control phase to monitor the performance from 2018 to 2020. It was found that the communication college has the lowest sustainability level at 25% marginal error compared with other colleges. Also, students have the lowest sustainability level compared with faculty and staff at a 15% marginal error. The proposed framework can help HEI decision-makers assess their sustainability levels and suggest plans to enhance sustainability performance.