Environment, Not Social or Governance, Oh My: Sustainability Priorities in Canadian University Sustainability Documents

dc.contributor.authorDickson, Brandon
dc.date.accessioned2025-07-02T14:24:21Z
dc.date.available2025-07-02T14:24:21Z
dc.date.issued2025-06-23
dc.descriptionThis author accepted manuscript is deposited under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC) licence. This means that anyone may distribute, adapt, and build upon the work for non-commercial purposes, subject to full attribution. If you wish to use this manuscript for commercial purposes, please contact permissions@emerald.com.
dc.description.abstractDesign/methodology/approach Comparing sustainability policies with the overarching goals of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through the approach of narrative policy analysis, this research explores the priorities present and what patterns emerge in these priorities. Purpose Universities are significant in their sustainability action not just for the education that they provide, but how they operate as mini cities, with massive environmental footprints, meaning that, their sustainability direction matters. As a result, this research investigates the priorities present in university sustainability policy documents from 33 Canadian universities. Findings Findings include that across Canada, planet related sustainability priorities, particularly those focused on cities, climate action and consumption are the most present, while people and prosperity elements of sustainability often fall outside the scope of these policies. Some regional variation emerges in key areas such as energy and climate action, and size also sees a correlation to prioritization of specific areas of sustainability such as waste. Originality/value This research will be of interest to researchers in the emerging field of sustainability in higher education, practitioners and administrators in university sustainability and policy makers looking to understand sustainability prioritization shape the future of nuanced sustainability directions.
dc.description.sponsorshipSocial Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada's Canada Graduate Scholarship Doctoral Program, 767-2022-1443 || Balsillie School of International Affairs', Balsillie Fellowship || University of Waterloo's President's Graduate Scholarship.
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-11-2024-0805
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10012/21927
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherEmerald Insight
dc.relation.ispartofseriesInternational Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education
dc.rightsAttribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
dc.subjectsustainable development goals
dc.subjectsustainability policy
dc.subjectsustainability strategy
dc.subjectCanadian universities
dc.subjectregional sustainability
dc.titleEnvironment, Not Social or Governance, Oh My: Sustainability Priorities in Canadian University Sustainability Documents
dc.typeArticle
dcterms.bibliographicCitationDickson, B. (2025). Environment, not social or governance, OH MY: Sustainability priorities in Canadian university sustainability documents. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijshe-11-2024-0805
uws.contributor.affiliation1Faculty of Arts
uws.contributor.affiliation2Balsillie School of International Affairs
uws.peerReviewStatusReviewed
uws.scholarLevelGraduate
uws.typeOfResourceTexten

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