A Peer-to-Peer Approach to Evaluation and Continual Improvement of Sustainability Management Systems at Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

Background Up to now, quality and environmental management systems are usually evaluated by means of an internal and external audit. Although auditors are expected to have certain competencies, such personal attributes, expertise, experience and skills, the audits typically end up in a costly and bureaucratic exercise. The possibility of making use of the wisdom, tacit knowledge and the critical views of practitioners, i.e. sharing best practices, asking thought-provoking questions and providing support for each other based on a common professional experience, is mostly not a specific aspect of an auditing procedure. Objective To provide a concept to sustainability managers at Higher Education Institutions focussing on collegial dialogue by peer-to-peer audits The focus is not limited to external, evidence-based performance assessment but pays attention particularly to improvement and organisational learning by proving a framework for collegial dialogue under peers. Methods The concept was derived from a literature review and is a result of a joined project work based on several years of professional experience in the field of environmental management systems and sustainability. Results The paper characterizes peer-audits and provides detailed guidance on quality requirements, organisation and coordination as well as how a peer-review audit programme could be conducted within a 3-step approach.