SLIDE 15 INNOVATIONSKONTORET
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Reporting academic sustainability: the next step...?
INTRODUCTION
“Complex challenges for a sustainable future translate into new challenges for universities“ (John Holmberg, 2014). It is broadly acknowledged that universities must play an active role in sustainability. Universities live up to these expectation by concentrating mainly on the following activities (United Nations Environment Programme, 2006):
- Reduction of environmental impact in campus operations
- Research on climate change and societal challenges
- Education for sustainable development and,
- Community outreach
These sustainability-related activities are usually where universities focus on when assess and report. However, many initiatives are left for each university to decide upon, some of which are important strategies to achieve a sustainable state and thus deserve further attention. This research takes a closer look in four concepts that can be considered important. These are:
- Integration between innovation, education and research ('the knowledge
triangle')
- Interactions between academia, public sector, private sector and non-
governmental organisations ('the quadruple helix')
- Capacity for persistability, adaptability and transformability in the face of
stress ('resilience') and,
- The application of knowledge ('utilisation of research').
- Fig. 1. The “4-concept” Framework.
METHOD RESULTS CONCLUSIONS
For the completion of the research, some tasks had to be performed
- simultaneously. Fig. 2 depicts the steps taken during the 2-month project.
- Fig. 2. Method framework
- The seven analysed tools do not include the four concepts in an explicit,
compiled and complete manner.
- Most of the interviewed universities carry on activities related to the
knowledge triangle, quadruple helix and research utilisation; which they report.
- Universities explore the concept of resilience in research and some of them
implement strategies in countries vulnerable to climate change.
- No evidence was found indicating that the interviewed universities take
deliberate actions related to resilience on their campus or community.
- No evidence was found indicating that universities interviewed are assessing
and reporting the four concepts in an explicit, compiled and complete manner.
- The universities interviewed claimed to be interested in a tool to assess and
report the four concept.
- The creation of a network between universities and the search for collaboration
- n these four topics is a suggested next step.
The hypothesis is that: i. there are more activities carried out by universities that are highly relevant to sustainability, ii. almost no existing tool is (explicitly) taking them into account and,
- iii. they are sufficiently important to be assessed and reported on.
Daniella Mendoza Student MSc Industrial Ecology Katerina Terpou Student MSc Industrial Ecology INNOVATIONSKONTOR VÄST CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Inventory & Analysis of Tools:
Seven out of twenty-four identified tools used for assessing and reporting sustainability in universities were thoroughly analysed based on accessibility and popularity among universities. These are:
- 1. Auditing Instrument for Sustainability in Higher Education (AISHE)
- 2. Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)
- 3. Environmental Management System Self-Assessment Checklist (ISO 14001)
- 4. Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
- 5. Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability Reporting Tool (HEPS RT)
- 6. Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS)
- 7. Unit-based Sustainability Assessment Tool (USAT)
The analysis of the tools brought in the following results:
- EMAS and ISO 14001 are focusing on assessing the environmental impacts of an
institution so there is no mention of the concepts
- GRI is normally used as a guideline for universities to create their personalised
- indicators. Once again, the concepts are not addressed.
- AISHE, HEPS RT, STARS and USAT are the tools where some of the concepts
(not always all) are taken into account. However, the terms used in the research are not mentioned in any of them.
Universities:
In order to investigate if and how much the four concepts are taken into account in the academic institutions, fourteen European universities were contacted out of which six were interviewed.
- Fig. 3. European map that illustrates the 14 selected universities out of which 6 were interviewed (in
bold) and the tool name used by each of the interviewed universities (numbers in brackets). Table 1. Summary table showing whether the seven interviewed universities carry on initiatives on the knowledge triangle, quadruple helix, research utilization and resilience. Polytechnic University
Aalto University Norwegian University of Science and Technology Leuphana University[EMAS, GRI] Maastricht University TU Delft ETH Zürich[ISO 1400, GRI, ISCN] University of Nottingham[EcoCampus] University of Westminster University of Edinburgh[GRI] University of Copenhagen [The green campus] Chalmers University of Technology [ISO 14000] University of Gothenburg [EMAS, GRI, ISCN] Lund University
Media & Culture based public Industry/Business State/Government Academia/ Universities Quadriple Helix Industry/ Business Knowledge Triangle Research (Discovery) Innovation (Engagement) Education (Learning) Research Utilisation Adapt Transform Persist System Unexpected change Resilience
Summary The aim of the project has been to develop a complementary course material for the idea evaluation course. The result became an interactive market analysis framework that is intended to be integrated as a tool where the student can choose from a smorgasbord of categories concerning the market of their invention. Due to the iterative process during the course the tool has
- circumstances and other parts/processes of the idea evaluation.
Further elaboration and development
- Collect user feedback to improve further
- Possible to serve well in an even bigger zoomable canvas that includes also other
parts of the idea evaluation to further highlight the different parts and the iteration process.
Interactive market analysis tool for idea evaluations Features ZUI
The market analysis tool is created with a Zoomable User Interface (ZUI) in a canvas picture which doesn’t limit the information to any certain order. Instead the user will be able to navigate freely among the content of the tool.
Z O O M Z O O M
Christian Åsheim and Natalie Lorin, 2014
No lock-ins Accessible, interesting and easy to use Free navigation system Suitable for a wide range of ideas Interactive
