Enablers and barriers to environmental management development in higher education institutions: An analysis of sustainability reports of global reporting initiative

Abstract

This research aims at exploring which characteristics of Higher Education Institutions act as enablers or barriers in the development of environmental management actions. The beta regression analysis of 38 sustainability reports prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines showed that the institution’s ease of access to financial resources, the existence of an environmental/sustainability plan or policy and the public nature can be considered as enablers for the development of environmental management in HEI, while high complexity of the administrative structure and the existence of several campuses can be understood as barriers to its development. The study helps decision makers understand how the particularities of HEIs and the context in which they operate impact the development of environmental management actions.