Greening Higher Education in Europe: Institutional Transitions to Sustainable Development

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the advances that have taken place in European higher education institutions (HEIs) over the last 20 years in response to the challenges of sustainable development.

In recent years, there has been a visible shift toward sustainable development, and universities have been addressing their accountability to the public through corporate social responsibility. Greening Higher Educationin Europe explores these recent developments, beginning with an introduction to sustainable development and its complexity, followed by a discussion of the regulatory and organizational context of higher education in Europe. This book goes on to examine the key pillars of sustainable development in HEIs, including education, research, and campus development, demonstrating best practices from a range of European universities including the University of Groningen (The Netherlands), Lund University (Sweden), Aalto University (Finland), and The University of Edinburgh (UK), among others. It also explores the role of HEIs in educating future leaders in sustainable development and presents a framework for understanding the values and decision-making processes of HEI leaders. It concludes by highlighting the need for a new paradigm in HEIs that promotes innovation, quality, equity, and respect for the environment.

This book will be useful for scholars and academic professionals from a wide variety of disciplines, including sustainability, especially in its educational, research, and practical (applied) dimensions. It will also be a useful resource for postgraduate students in management and engineering.

Magdalena Popowska is a researcher and lecturer of Organization Science and Entrepreneurship in the Faculty of Management and Economics at Gdansk University of Technology, Poland. She served as Vice-Dean for International and Public Affairs between 2008 and 2016 and following this acted as Dean’s Proxy for International Cooperation, which culminated in her being awarded the national ＂Management Star＂ in 2018. Magdalena is a visiting scholar at many European and Chinese universities, and her research is focused on entrepreneurship, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, and corporate governance. She has also been a member and leader of several EU projects.