3 ways to keep pace with growing sustainability strategies in higher ed

Our planet is in crisis. Higher education stakeholders are among the many to recognize concerns, as challenges like climate change pummel institutions directly in incidents ranging from natural disasters to increased energy consumption.

However, sustainability officers face a number of challenges in their efforts to make a greener and more sustainable campus.

For one, institutions must pursue an ever-expanding array of initiatives to keep pace with sustainability scope creep. Second, many institutions set lofty, ambitious sustainability goals that are increasingly difficult to achieve. Finally, this must all be accomplished with limited resources and a sustainability office that is often siloed from the rest of the institution.

The pandemic forced many of us to pause our sustainability efforts. However, it also means institutions now have an opportunity to evaluate their strategies and come out stronger.

EAB experts have conducted extensive research to guide leaders as they consider how to revamp their sustainability strategy. The resources below will provide guidance so that sustainability leaders can better focus their sustainability plans and then achieve their goals by principled cross-campus stakeholder coordination. Explore the takeaways below or jump to the next steps.

Review the Key Takeaways

Audit current and future sustainability initiatives to prioritize best-fit opportunities

With the expanding scope of sustainability and broadening stakeholder interest, there are myriad initiatives an institution could pursue. Sustainability leaders can use our four filters to prioritize and balance the best-fit initiatives to advance broader institutional goals.

Learn how 100+ sustainability tactics fit under these filters in EAB’s Compendium of Sustainability Initiatives in Higher Education.

• Reduce emissions and environmental footprint
• Enhance community visibility
• Advance sustainability research and education
• Ensure return on investment

Improve sustainability plans with more focused frameworks and targeted and achievable goals

The next step is to take a visionary plan and translate it into an actionable document. Institutions can ensure their sustainability plan’s comprehensiveness by structuring the plan around respected frameworks like STARS or the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Each goal should be specific and include sub-strategies with clear owners, KPIs, and deadlines.

Better manage relationships outside the sustainability office to coordinate campus-wide sustainability efforts

Sustainability leaders need the support of the entire campus in order to achieve diverse sustainability goals. Structuring a sustainability committee so that various stakeholders are responsible for specific goals is a good first step. Leaders can also strategically convene sustainability stakeholders in structured partnerships, or incentivize the broader student, staff, and faculty populations to participate in sustainability initiatives.