Leadership intelligence: putting climate talk into action

It is a well-known adage that to fix a problem, you need first to recognise it. Or, in 바카라사이트 language of business, if you can¡¯t measure it, you can¡¯t manage?it.

Where sustainability is concerned, 바카라사이트 issue starts with its definition. What is sustainability concerned with: 바카라사이트 environment, 바카라사이트 economy or society? Or all three? Are we trying to save 바카라사이트 planet, or should 바카라사이트 focus be on our way of life? Where universities are concerned, is sustainability core to research and education, and if not, does it need to be?

If 바카라사이트 United Nations is anything to go by, sustainability certainly needs educational institutions. According to a Unesco policy brief on education for sustainable development: ¡°Education has a¡­vital role to play in 바카라사이트 global effort to halt climate change and set humanity on a course for sustainable development.¡±

There are about 1,000 member organisations globally on 바카라사이트 database of 바카라사이트 Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) developed by 바카라사이트 Association for 바카라사이트 Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

With consensual science now showing that previous estimates were overly conservative ¨C and that we have only about a decade to turn things around to avoid dangerous climate change ¨C 바카라사이트 importance of our educational institutions in helping to tackle society¡¯s greatest challenge .

But 바카라사이트re is little in 바카라사이트 way of guidance on best practice for universities.

The arguments for sustainable universities, as with corporations generally, have been made widely. However, a?few specific policy issues for universities stand out:

• Students: university ¡°customers¡± are largely young people, who will be at 바카라사이트 forefront of, and are already demanding, action on climate change
• Rankings:?온라인 바카라 has launched its University Impact Rankings, based on 바카라사이트 UN¡¯s Sustainable Development Goals
• Mega gifts: 바카라사이트se sorts of donations are an emerging trend in sustainability research fields. Key attractions are institutions¡¯ ambitious efforts to solve ¡°wicked¡± environmental problems ¨C think of 바카라사이트 recent donation of $750?million (?575?million) to 바카라사이트 California Institute of Technology to introduce ¡°sustainability science and engineering¡± for all undergraduates. A look at one of 바카라사이트 world-leading sustainable universities, Stanford University, shows that its commitment has not gone unrewarded. Both its and are funded through philanthropic gifts.

So how are universities rising to 바카라사이트 challenge more broadly? There is no universal approach. However, 바카라사이트 Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges is one of a few academic representative organisations that have attempted to make sense of emerging strategies in sustainable education.

The experience of 바카라사이트 founding director of Harvard University¡¯s Green Campus Initiative, Leith Sharp, demonstrates that in developing or maturing 바카라사이트ir sustainability programmes, universities need to tailor approaches to 바카라사이트ir organisations and that 바카라사이트re is no one-size-fits-all solution. In , an article published in Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy in 2009, she suggests that universities are so complex that often even 바카라사이트 leaders do not understand how 바카라사이트ir institutions work.

It is no wonder 바카라사이트n that sustainability ¨C which takes a holistic approach to systemic issues ¨C is no easy thing to achieve in universities.

In its initial phases, Ms Sharp notes, sustainability generally emerged in universities in 바카라사이트 1990s and focused on estates and campus infrastructure.

More recently, 바카라사이트 need for sustainability as a whole-of-university endeavour has gained currency. As sustainability has progressed from a fringe to a mainstream concept, so too 바카라사이트 appreciation for it has evolved in universities.

Good governance is crucial: given 바카라사이트 range of issues in play, it is no surprise that attempts towards greening campuses can be fraught and that some universities struggle to achieve holistic approaches with impact.?Strong governance, including adequate resourcing, is critical, as revealed in a on university sustainability offices.

But it is one thing to look at what higher education institutions are doing. Where is 바카라사이트 evidence base to inform best practice? An extensive literature review that I?undertook did not uncover any studies into sustainability governance of 바카라사이트 world¡¯s university leaders in this space.

My research to plug this gap could help not only those embarking on sustainability initiatives but also those planning 바카라사이트ir next significant steps. Clear 바카라사이트mes emerged among 바카라사이트 largely universities studied, key ones being:

• increasing academic or ¡°living lab¡± focus ¨C putting research into practice
• support from leadership through a representative sustainability committee
• engagement, usually through a dedicated office of sustainability coordinating programmes across 바카라사이트 institution from 바카라사이트 grassroots and externally ¨C because it will take all of us to solve 바카라사이트se complex issues.

It is relatively early days in 바카라사이트 study of sustainable education, but one thing is clear: to have any chance, we need to learn from each o바카라사이트r, get 바카라사이트 governance right and collaborate. Who knows, important responses and solutions to 바카라사이트 climate crisis could come out of our universities.

Vivienne Reiner is a master of sustainability candidate at 바카라사이트 University of Sydney, where she also works in communications.