by Brianna Crandall — May 14, 2014—During its annual analysis of the higher education sustainability movement, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) found a significant increase in social and economic sustainability efforts among campuses around the world in 2013, as campus facilities professionals have most likely experienced.
Specifically, AASHE’s 2013 Higher Education Sustainability Review reveals that fossil fuel divestment and sustainable investment, diversity and inclusion, climate solutions, and opportunities for hands-on student engagement are of increasing importance to campus sustainability communities across the globe.
“It is encouraging to see the increasing breadth and depth of sustainability solutions that are incubated within higher education communities,” says AASHE Executive Director Stephanie A. Herrera. “Over time, we’ve seen the higher education sustainability movement evolve to tackle fundamental, inclusive change toward a more prosperous, equitable, and ecologically healthy world.”
The latest review is a big-picture look at the trends captured in the nearly 1,560 stories published in AASHE’s weekly AASHE Bulletin newsletter in 2013. Compared to 2012, notable findings for 2013 include:
- Efforts to integrate sustainability in the curriculum through living-learning initiatives doubled.
- Diversity and inclusion initiatives, particularly as part of policy and engagement efforts, increased by 25%.
- Solutions focused on climate mitigation and adaptation among campuses increased by 24%.
- Campus fossil fuel divestment efforts, largely student-led, nearly quadrupled.
- Student and campus engagement stories increased by 18%, with a large focus on regional and global partnerships toward a sustainable future.
- The campus sustainable food movement remains strong, with a 14% increase in related stories.
Also notable, the number of higher education sustainability-focused job announcements featured in the AASHE Bulletin in 2013 increased by 34% from 2012, supporting the upward trend in dedicated positions captured in AASHE’s Salaries and Status of Sustainability Staff in Higher Education—2012 report, which was published in July 2013.
The trends toward high-impact collaborative projects and partnerships to advance sustainability on a local and global front found in this report will be explored further at AASHE’s annual Conference and Expo. Themed “Innovation for Sustainable Economies and Communities,” this year’s conference is taking place in Portland, Oregon, October 26-29.
