Universities are central players and important economic actors in many regions, and many of them are, in general, nationally and internationally active in respect of matters related to sustainable ...development. But there is a paucity of research which examines their contributions towards sustainability efforts at the local level, i.e. in the places they are situated. This paper addresses this need, by reporting on a qualitative study deploying a Matrix, which allows an analysis and reporting of regional sustainable development initiatives of a set of 22 universities in industrialised and developing countries. Recommendations to enhance their role are provided, including the importance of pursuing partnerships and joint initiatives, understanding the need of local communities, and making their know-how more widely available. The scientific value of this research is related to the understanding of how the interaction between universities and local communities happens and by shedding light to this topic, it supports universities to improve their own actions. Its implications are two-fold: it demonstrates the potential of universities as local players and outlines the range of activities they may engage with, and which may allow them to act as pillars to local sustainability initiatives.
•Universities are central players and important economic actors in many regions.•Their contributions towards sustainability efforts at the local level may be substantial.•An analysis and reporting of regional sustainable development initiatives shows some deficiencies.•Understanding the potential role that universities can play on sustainability could help address global challenges.
Intent, initiative, immersion, impact manifest through the renewable energy embedded sustainable supply chains. The value-add is more enhanced with COP26 determination to curb methane minimum minus ...thirty percent. The change obviously embeds benefits, through intent on societal empowerment, initiative on water waste energy rehaul, immersion with gender aligned supply chains. This paper is on the construct of mixed method based qualitative methodology on value-add change that embeds benefits in the renewable energy embedded sustainable supply chains with methane harness. Embedded energy in supply chains can now focus on innovation retaed to methane and not alone carbon dioxide. Developing regions are vibrant with economic activity that proliferate supply chains. They innately depend on water waste energy footprint. There is resonating need for positioning sustainable supply chains with renewable energy that is gender aligned. Methane is a ultra-potent greenhouse gas that has a win win focus on adoption of renewable energy as well as attain sustainability of energy needs of supply chains. Methane traps one hundred times more heat when present in the atmosphere. Focus on methane is potent as it gets removed within a decade, in contrast to carbon dioxide that lingers over centuries. The linkgage options through innovation, intent, impact is a contribution of this paper. Supply chain resource corridors are tenable to potential renewable inclusion. The possibility of varying the impacts of different values of the independent variables, future research can confirm the extent of renewable energy adoption with sustainable supply chain growth. One could also design for variance on the changes of location or habitats, that can define the need of a distributed and differentiated range of combinations. A metric could be designed which is responsive to varying combinations of water quality, waste parsimony and renewable energy minus methane feasibility.
As the energy infrastructure is re-orienting to cater to de-covidization, this paper posits the rurbanization option. De-covidization is defined as actionable options to migrate from the corona virus ...pandemic, seen through the lens of sustainable energy access. De-covidating would imply ‘build and retrofit-back better’ with respect to energy access. De-covidization has implications on scale, locale, alignment for energy access in the rurbanized format. The locale and reach of rurbanized energy access need to blend with living habitat. This paper is on the construct of de-covidization through grass-roots up energy access options through an innovation, rurbanization. Rurbanization refers to rural-urban aligned resource corridors that offer potential for sustainable energy access. Rurban interface is a metric that assesses the possibility of redesigning and rescaling carbon proof energy access options. There is sparse literature on the concept of rurbanization that hybridizes benefit incidence and network views on urban-rural interfaces. The focus is sustainable energy access. The paper conceptualizes rurbanization to bridge the gap in the research that emanates from the propensity of urban megapolises to create clutter, which results in degraded ecology, air pollution, health hazards, lower quality of life, gender inequity, and vulnerability to natural disasters. This has exacerbated during the current global pandemic. As de-covidating initiatives are unleashed, the energy access would need appropriate and manageable scale. Urbanization cannot be sustained without a robust rural interface.
Background
Climate change is a problem which is global in nature, and whose effects go across a wide range of disciplines. It is therefore important that this theme is taken into account as part of ...universities´ teaching and research programs.
Methods
A three-tiered approach was used, consisting of a bibliometric analysis, an online survey and a set of case studies, which allow a profile to be built, as to how a sample of universities from 45 countries handle climate change as part of their teaching programs.
Results
This paper reports on a study which aimed at identifying the extent to which matters related to climate change are addressed within the teaching and research practices at universities, with a focus on the training needs of teaching staff. It consists of a bibliometric analysis, combined with an online worldwide survey aimed at ascertaining the degree of involvement from universities in reducing their own carbon footprint, and the ways they offer training provisions on the topic. This is complemented by a set of 12 case studies from universities round the world, illustrating current trends on how universities handle climate change. Apart from reporting on the outcomes of the study, the paper highlights what some universities are doing to handle climate issues, and discusses the implications of the research.
Conclusions
The paper lists some items via which universities may better educate and train their students on how to handle the many challenges posed by climate change.
Governance issues, here interpreted as the provisions of adequate policy frameworks characterized by reliability and accountability, coupled with resources to support their implementation, are known ...to be the basis for the implementation of sustainable development measures. This paper discusses the influence of governance in the ways sustainability is perceived and practiced in a higher education context. Apart from due considerations to the role of governance as the basis for regulation and institutional actions and management decisions, this paper reports on an empirical study undertaken in a sample of higher education institutions. This study entailed an analysis of sustainable development policies, certification, organizational structure, budget, reports, team for sustainability, staff training, and challenges for the integration of sustainability and governance. The results suggest that even though there are different opinions and attitudes on the role of governance, it is regarded as an important component in supporting efforts by higher education institutions to include considerations on sustainable development as part of their strategies.
The low energy symbiosis for development metabolism is reviewed for its potential to enhance the implementability of the Sustainable Development Goals. Metabolism is the carrying capacity limit of ...rural-urban or rurban eco-systems, that is self-replenishable through endurability drawn from metabolic processes. This research paper probes the symbiotic common-ground for sustainability for the shared value-based policy metabolism, deployed on emerging Asia. The unified motivation would be to co-implement quantum innovations and adaptations on governance mechanisms to usher pathways on symbiosis for sustainability. Intended outcomes are budgeting social metabolism, symbiotic scale-up that would attain efficiency and practicality. An important destination is trust renaissance developed on common-ground challenges facing the aspirational low carbon Energy-Asia. This conceptual paper posits a dual aimed methodology. (i) Where low carbon Energy-Asia would like to be for symbiotic common-ground for sustainability through trust renaissance and, (ii) what shared value policy trajectory should be plugged-in for healthy metabolism into their symbiotic development strategy. The unified motivation would be to co-implement quantum innovations and adaptations on governance mechanisms to usher pathways on symbiosis for sustainability.
Recent studies surprisingly indicate that fossil fuels could constitute 81 percent of primary energy demand, to 2040, 60 percent would continue to be from coal. This could mean more greenhouse ...emissions. This paper addresses the research proposition that coal though black, yet, could be green with co-integration of carbon capture & storage (CCS) and carbon capture & usage (CCU). The incertitude surrounding the future of coal is a palpable and credible research gap. The other research chasm is the search of energy finance necessary to economically, societally and environmentally leverage the carbon removal. This issue is addressed as bricolage finance for optimal resource optimization. The bricolage supports societal entrepreneurialism that deploy funding sources from bottom-up developmental finance. The twin key outcomes here are: (i) appropriately scaled-up, grassroots-sourced bricolage sustains the societal acceptance of CCS & CCU, (ii) enhances the environmental economics of coal-based thermal power plugged-in with CCU and CCS. The methodological essence of this approach is tri-trajectory literature review, that propose (i) technology-led CCU/CCS (ii) financial derivative based bricolage and (iii) economic recalibration through bottom-up approach for community-level buy-in. Practical application of this framework is probed with instances from less developed regions in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The data draws from published reports on coal-intensive habitats, particularly in developing countries. Pattern coefficients and reflective indicators were deployed to predict, monitor, and reorient support or opposition for CCS implementation.
Purpose
– There is a global convergence on issues pertaining to sustainability, such as water sharing, energy security and waste management. Symbiosis focus the need to secure an enduring ...relationship satisfying the quality of life need for novelty aspirations of the customers and stakeholders. This is addressed as sustainable differentiation. This study aims: to understand the need to develop the symbiosis of sustainable development and sustainable differentiation, to analyze the research framework of sustainability symbiosis though the underlying attributes of: need to develop, need to innovate and need to differentiate.
Design/methodology/approach
– The research design conceptualizes sustainable development as a process or evolution where firms may be symbiotically configured on the attributes of sustainability, development and differentiation. The logit analysis methodology addresses competitiveness coupled with environmentally benign technology to sustain the customers' preference for products and services that satisfy their quality of life needs. The approach is to estimate the symbiotic index of a local, regional or globally scalable habitat. The competitiveness coupled with environmentally benign technology can be sustained when the customers' preference for products and services satisfies their quality of life needs.
Findings
– The output indicates the significance (0.037 at 95 percent confidence level) of the constant term representing “quality of life need for novelty” justifying symbiotic linkage of sustainability, development and differentiation. There is goodness of fit (α 0.5617, Wald statistic 0.093) to establish the significance of the three variables of GDP (representing intensity of eco-efficient technology), population (standing for intensity of competitiveness) and sustaining empathy (in response to climate change). Their statistical significance indicates the propensity to differentiation given sustainable development would substantively improve the overall construct.
Research limitations/implications
– There is need for further research with primary data. The assumption that sustainable differentiation may become an indicator variable that may assume binary form needs thorough justification. The key implication is that differentiation creates grassroots distinctiveness to development that transforms sustainability into opportunity. This cost to benefit gap is bridged through the symbiotic chain of sustainability, development and differentiation.
Originality/value
– This sustainable differentiation metric harnesses a dormant, yet fundamental key to the success of sustainable development, the emotive linkage. This explanatory variable adds robustness to sustainable development models by way of etching a long-term memory trace for the sustainability practices of the organization as well as innovation efforts to differentiate long term providing an essence of competitiveness.
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