A Conceptual Framework for Designing, Embedding and Monitoring a University Sustainability Culture

Abstract

Universities across the globe are giving increasing priority to the challenges of sustainability, encouraged by a variety of drivers including international and national policy, student and societal pressures. Many extant initiatives focus on a narrow set of activities including curriculum design and operational efficiency, and overlook the importance of cultural change in embedding sustainability. Drawing and building upon previous studies in the cultural change and sustainability literature, the purpose of this article is to propose a conceptual framework for designing interventions and measuring and monitoring progress in building and embedding a university sustainability culture. Our efforts are contextualised in the case of a UK university.