۱- Introduction: planning for sustainable development

۲- Advantages of planning for sustainable development

۳- Methodology used

۴- Results presentation

۵- Discussions

۶- Implications for theory and practice: towards better planning and implementation of sustainable development in higher education

۷- Conclusions

References

Abstract

The implementation of sustainable development in higher education is an important goal, and one which requires much planning. The many recurring problems and barriers that hinder the attainment of sustainable development objectives at universities are either directly or indirectly related to deficiencies in planning which pose a significant barrier to the implementation of sustainable development. There is therefore a perceived need to foster a better understanding of how planning may help higher education institutions to become more successful in implementing sustainable development. Based on this need, this paper describes the role of planning as a tool for improved knowledge and sound decision-making towards a better understanding of sustainability in a science and technology context, and the motivation towards transformation. In particular, it reports on a survey in the context of which some of the major obstacles for planning and implementing sustainable development at universities are outlined. The study identified the fact that many universities are yet to have fully developed plans to take into account matters related to sustainable development, and describes some the elements which could be considered in attempts to give a greater emphasis to sustainability to planning in a higher education context.

Introduction: planning for sustainable development

Planning is seen as one of the keys for the successful implementation of sustainable development. Indeed, as the world now moves towards implementing the 2030 global agenda, proper planning has become highly relevant. HEIs need to participate in sustainable development practices, having education, research, internal management (operations) and community engagement (outreach) as main areas of study and development. Apart from proper planning, the implementation of a successful sustainability strategy is dependent on a wide range of elements which include infrastructure, competence, and capacity building, among many others. According to experts, a sustainability strategy is characterized by a five-stage process: Assessment, Planning, Implementation, Evaluation, and Reassessment/Modification (Johnson et al., 2004). A sustainability planning procedure, i.e a procedure which may assist in implementing sustainability-related efforts, should be carefully addressed from a variety of perspectives (Berke and Conroy, 2000) thus ensuring integrated processes (Wright, 2006). Planners need to conceive ways to concretely implement policy and solutions, and to carefully assess the links between efforts for the implementation of plans and the sustainability of its outcomes. Universities play a vital role in sustainable development from various perspectives. For instance, they must support education for sustainable development (Disterheft et al., 2015; Brusca et al., 2018) and introduce active policies for attaining this goal (Lozano et al., 2015). In this context, numerous HEIs have been integrating environmental education and education for sustainable development (ESD) into their system, making SD an essential part of the institutional framework (Ramos et al., 2015), collaborating with other higher educational institutions (Lozano et al., 2013a), encouraging on-campus sustainability life experiences and improvements in the curriculum (Cortese, 2003), and ‘Educating-the-Educators’ programmes (Lozano et al., 2013b).