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Cited by 894Sustainability in Higher EducationEnvironmental and sustainability educationUniversity Extension and Social Responsibility

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 28 of the 28 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Sustainable Development Goals and sustainability teaching at universities: Falling behind or getting ahead of the pack?

Open access
Leal Filho, Walter, Shiel, Chris, Paço, Arminda, Mifsud, Mark, Ávila, Lucas Veiga, Brandli, Luciana Londero, Molthan-Hill, Petra, Pace, Paul, Azeiteiro, Ulisses M., Vargas, Valeria Ruiz, Caeiro, Sandra·2019·Journal of Cleaner Production
DOI 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.05.309
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Abstract

The fact that the world community is engaged in pursuing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) means that an unrivalled opportunity is provided to universities, both in respect of teaching and in research, on individual SDGs, as well as in pursuing their “third mission” linking up with external stakeholders and society. However, not many universities have realised that and many are falling behind. This paper explores the many advantages of the introduction of the SDGs into teaching and suggests that it can catalyse the engagement of students in Higher Education Institutions (HEI) with the concepts of sustainability. The paper fills in a research gap by surveying the current state of the art regarding the theme, presenting current data outlining the extent to which HEI are using SDGs to support their sustainability work. The reasons why some institutions are currently not engaging is also shown. The paper, which consists of a worldwide survey deployed to collect data on the SDGs and sustainability teaching at universities, concludes by providing some recommendations aimed at encouraging further engagement of HEI in incorporatingSDGs as part of their teaching programs. This research is unique in the sense that it provides for the first time offers an overview of the level of emphasis selected universities currently place on the SDGs. Finally, it provides a contribution to current state of knowledge by outlining some actions universities may take, to move forward with their implementation.

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Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. Aleixo, 2017, Conceptualizations of sustainability in Portuguese higher education: roles, barriers and challenges toward sustainability, J. Clean. Prod.
  2. Bardin, 1977, vol. 70
  3. Saunders, 2007
  4. Spangenberg, 2017, 25, 311
  5. UN Conference on trade and development (UNCTAD), 2016

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Metadata

Authors
Leal Filho, W., Shiel, C., Paço, A., Mifsud, M., Ávila, L. V., Brandli, L. L., Molthan-Hill, P., Pace, P., Azeiteiro, U. M., Vargas, V. R., & Caeiro, S.
Affiliations
  • Bournemouth University (GB)
  • University of Beira Interior (PT)
  • University of Malta (MT)
  • Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (BR)
  • Universidade de Passo Fundo (BR)
  • Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar (PT)
  • Manchester Metropolitan University (GB)
  • Universidade Aberta (PT)
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Cleaner Production
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2019-09
Volume
232
Pages
285-294
ISSN
0959-6526 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.05.309
OpenAlex
W2947399006
Semantic Scholar
064739a973b0338285db3e382ebf22df2bc372d9
Cited by
894
References
28
Citations by year
2026: 180 · 2025: 152 · 2024: 163 · 2023: 166 · 2022: 92 · 2021: 80 · 2020: 50 · 2019: 11
FWCI
157.28
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Journal of Cleaner Production (publishedVersion)
  • Nottingham Trent University's Institutional Repository (Nottingham Trent Repository) (acceptedVersion)
  • e-space (Manchester Metropolitan University) (submittedVersion)
  • Bournemouth University Research Online (Bournemouth University) (submittedVersion)
  • Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology (UID/GES/04630/2013)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Education › Sustainability in Higher Education
  • Social Sciences › Education › Environmental and sustainability education
  • Social Sciences › Education › University Extension and Social Responsibility
Keywords
Sustainable Development Goals, sustainability education, higher education institutions, university teaching, third mission, university-community engagement, sustainability curriculum

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