Pioneering in Sustainability Reporting in Higher Education: Experiences of a Belgian Business Faculty

Abstract

Sustainability reporting is increasingly perceived as a valuable tool for organizations to communicate and engage with stakeholders on their sustainability activities and performance. While sustainability reporting is mainly a corporate activity, over the last 10 years some pioneering higher education institutions have started engaging in this process. Yet, until today, the higher education sector is still lacking in-depth guidance on how to organize the sustainability reporting process in complex organizations such as higher education institutions. This paper addresses this gap by describing and analyzing the sustainability reporting process in the preparation of four consecutive sustainability reports (2010–2014) for a Belgian university, led by the business faculty’s sustainability office. The study is aimed at broadening the knowledge on the topic of sustainability reporting in higher education institutions, by unfolding elements of the process and some of its main challenges and opportunities through the use of action research. The paper describes (1) how the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Guidelines were used; (2) how the data collection and analysis were organized; (3) which types of stakeholder engagement took place within the sustainability reporting process; and (4) how students were involved in the reporting process. Afterward, these different elements are reflected upon and the main challenges of the process are identified, such as the organizational structure of higher education institutions linked to the data collection process and the absence of suitable indicators to report on higher education’s core impacts on society. Moreover, the paper specifically highlights the opportunities for higher education institutions and business faculties to engage in this process, including the use of sustainability reporting as an educational tool and the link with accreditation activities.