Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the most prevalent initiatives undertaken by leading universities in sustainability and offer a roadmap for other institutions seeking to undertake similar actions and contribute to more effective implementation of sustainability practices. Design/methodology/approach: By using a quantitative…

Renewable energy is a global concern and should be incorporated into education to raise awareness among younger generations, including in physics education. Educators have made various efforts to raise awareness of the importance of pursuing renewable energy. A breakthrough sought in this research is to incorporate collaborative learning into the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, as few universities have assessed their ecological footprint (EF), a benchmark for Colombian universities is presented. Second, a practical calculation tool for measuring the EF in educational institutions (EIs) is developed. The purpose of this tool is to facilitate the process of assessing…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss an innovative course offered as a partnership between the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) (Canada), the Prince George Chamber of Commerce (Canada) and local businesses: UNBC's third-year undergraduate/graduate course, carbon and energy management. Design/methodology/approach: The…

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a method of assessing the environmental impacts of the manufacture and use of a product or provision of a service such as waste management. LCAs are based on quantitative science, but softer skills are also required in interpreting the results. Therefore, LCA provides an ideal opportunity for students to develop and…

How should the strategies and regulations of the Mexican laws be designed in order to trigger a country to go from a non-sustainable energy economy towards a sustainable energy economy? This paper proposes a classroom debate of the reformed Law of Public Electricity Service in Mexico (LSPEE, 1992: Ley del Servicio Publico de Energia Electrica),…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of knowledge transfer partnership (KTP)as a means for universities to generate and exchange knowledge to foster sustainable cities and societies. Design/methodology/approach: This paper reports on a series of separate yet interrelated KTPs between a university and the local authority in the…

We provide an overview of research in sustainability education. We argue that the interconnectedness of environmental sustainability programs at K-12 schools is one metric by which sustainability education can be conceptualized. We present a new measure of whole-school sustainability, or "interconnectedness," and then use it to compare…

In this article, the author talks about Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System or "STARS," a tool currently available that aims to help a campus answer the "how" and "how hard" questions. Created by AASHE (the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education), STARS presents guidelines and suggestions (based on…

This article describes how two institutions in the U.S. Southwest--Albuquerque Academy in New Mexico and Pima Community College (PCC) in Arizona--have implemented new energy projects on their campuses. Albuquerque Academy's one-megawatt DC photovoltaic solar array is one of the largest secondary schools projects to date in the United States. The…

Using two cardboard boxes, a light bulb socket, light bulbs of varying wattage, a thermometer, and some insulation, students can learn some interesting lessons about how heat loss occurs in homes. This article describes practical experiments that work well on units related to energy, sustainable energy, renewables, engineering, and construction.…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to systematically examine and draw attention to the potential benefits of solar power generation for access to and use of information and communication technologies (ICT) aimed at sustainable development in emerging economies. Design/methodology/approach: Electricity plays a crucial role in the development and…

Did you know that the nation's 17,450 K-12 school districts spend more on energy than on computers and textbooks combined? Energy costs represent a typical school district's second largest operating expense after salaries. Schools that have earned the ENERGY STAR--EPA's mark of superior energy performance--cost 40 cents per square foot less to…

When Louise Schaper opened the new Fayetteville Public Library (FPL) in Arkansas in 2004, she brought the state's second LEED Silver-certified building to completion. The green building fulfilled a community expectation for sustainable innovation established through complex public dialog, and the library went on to become the "2005 LJ/Gale Library…

Just imagine...a school designed and constructed to produce as much energy on site as that which is consumed from the electric grid. The electricity and gas bills would be 10% or less of that of a typical building; there would be no water bills for site and landscaping irrigation. What was merely a conceptual thought as little as five years ago is…