Defining the goal is the step that many university leaders overlook when they try to turn their institutions into engine rooms of sustainability, according to an analyst who produced a 10-step guide on the subject.

Victoria Gal¨¢n-Muros said sustainability initiatives often faltered at ¡°stage zero¡±, with universities lacking a shared conception of what they were trying to achieve ¨C and why.

¡°When we talk about sustainable development, we don¡¯t all talk about the same thing,¡± Dr Gal¨¢n-Muros told?Times Higher Education¡¯s Global Sustainable Development Congress in Bangkok. ¡°[We need] common definitions, a common understanding [and] clear, efficient and meaningful communication.¡±

Resources for higher education professionals on the Sustainable Development Goals

Dr Gal¨¢n-Muros said that while the United Nations had its own characterisation of sustainable development, universities were under no obligation to adopt it. ¡°Look for your own [definition] but make sure you have one and it¡¯s shared within your organisation.¡±

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A clear understanding of objectives was equally important, she said. ¡°Are we doing this because we want to have more relevant teaching and research? Do we want to strengthen our university¡¯s social responsibility? Do we have external pressure? Is this about rankings? It could be any reason, but that needs to be clear.¡±

Dr Gal¨¢n-Muros, chief of research and analysis at the International Institute for Higher Education, is author of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization¡¯²õ?. She said most initiatives suffered from the same shortcomings: they were short-term, scattered, uncoordinated and incoherent.

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¡°If we really want to transform our institutions into more sustainable ones, we need to think long-term and strategically. It needs to be a fully institutional initiative. It needs to be coordinated and it needs to be coherent.¡±

The congress, which wrapped up on 13 June, attracted 3,000 delegates ¨C an order of magnitude more than the?debut event?in Glasgow in 2022. Sanjana Chhantyal, a youth project leader with the UN¡¯s Sustainable Development Solutions Network, said universities were ¡°never too small or too big to learn¡±.

¡°We need leaders who have experience, expertise, ideas and insights to work collaboratively,¡± she told the forum. ¡°The problems in our ecosystem are interconnected, so how do we make the solutions interconnected as well?¡±

Western Sydney University, which has topped?Times Higher Education¡¯²õ?Impact Rankings?for the third year running, said it planned to ¡°double down¡± on its sustainability activities. ¡°These are not straightforward for institutions. They¡¯re big investments. But the payback periods are actually quite quick,¡± said provost Kevin Dunn.

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He said that if universities wanted to ¡°talk to the world about sustainability¡±, they needed to assert their own credibility by ensuring that their water use and carbon emissions were ¡°the best they can be¡±.

Dr Gal¨¢n-Muros said universities needed to adopt a sense of urgency. The 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is ¡°around the corner¡±, she warned.

¡°We know the problems. We have the SDG framework. Universities have huge potential to transform the world and to contribute to the SDGs. But we shouldn¡¯t wait too long. If not universities, then who? And if not now, when?¡±

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com