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The Implementation of Sustainable Development in the Nordic Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)

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Handbook of Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development in Higher Education

Part of the book series: World Sustainability Series ((WSUSE))

Abstract

Education has a key role in sustainable future. Due to their high societal impact, universities are challenged to take a leadership role in promoting sustainability. Although many Nordic HEIs have made efforts to integrate sustainability into their operations, the current status of sustainability has remained unexplored. This paper describes how the Nordic HEIs have studied the status of sustainability by implementing a joint project in the Rio+20 framework. The project included a wide survey on the implementation of Rio+20 goals targeted to the university staff, and three interactive workshops on drivers, indicators and implementation. The results provide an insight on how the Nordic HEIs implement sustainability, highlighting the key drivers, barriers and ways to promote sustainability. Finally, the project recognized and initiated new topics for collaboration around indicators and sustainability literacy to assure the continuity of the intensive collaboration between Nordic universities. This paper encourages universities globally to find areas for collaboration and to strive together to reach more sustainable societies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Built Environment, Aalto University School of Engineering, Rakentajanaukio 4, 02150, Espoo, Finland

    Meeri Karvinen, Helena Mälkki & Jaana Sorvari

  2. Centre for Environment and Sustainability, University of Gothenburg, Aschebergsgatan 44, 40530, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Ullika Lundgren

Authors
  1. Meeri Karvinen
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  2. Ullika Lundgren
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  3. Helena Mälkki
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  4. Jaana Sorvari
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Meeri Karvinen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. FTZ-ALS, HAW Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. Centre for Environmental Education and Research, University of Malta , Msida, Malta

    Mark Mifsud

  3. Life and Environmental Science, Bournemouth University, Poole, United Kingdom

    Chris Shiel

  4. Geography (Science campus, Florida), University of South Africa , Johannesburg, South Africa

    Rudi Pretorius

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Karvinen, M., Lundgren, U., Mälkki, H., Sorvari, J. (2017). The Implementation of Sustainable Development in the Nordic Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). In: Leal Filho, W., Mifsud, M., Shiel, C., Pretorius, R. (eds) Handbook of Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development in Higher Education. World Sustainability Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47895-1_11

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