Sustainability performance and communication of the greenest Hungarian Universities

Bibliographic Data

ID22189497
AuthorsGabriella Imre (Széchenyi István University), Anikó Makkos (0000-0002-7996-8211, Széchenyi István University)
Year2024
Volume8
Issue16
Pages9662
Publication date2024-12-18
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Infrastructure Policy and Development (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2572-7923 • E-ISSN: 2572-7931
PublisherEnPress Publisher (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.24294/jipd9662
OpenAlexW4405483505
LanguageEN
References cited6

Universities play a crucial role in supporting sustainable development. In recent decades, indicator-based assessment tools have emerged to quantify universities’ efforts towards sustainability. The most widely known is the UI GreenMetric World University Rankings (UI-GWUR): In our paper, we examine the sustainability performance of the three greenest Hungarian universities. The University of Pécs, the University of Szeged and the University of Sopron were among the top 200 higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UI-GWUR in 2023, which proves that they have successfully integrated sustainable development into the components of their system. The aim of the paper is to identify the sustainability measures implemented by the three-top Hungarian HEIs. Their experiences shed light on how it is possible to move forward in the UI GWUR for a Hungarian higher education institution. In order to evaluate the sustainability efforts of the universities, the UI GWUR database was first examined. The websites and sustainability reports of the three universities were also analyzed to gain insight into their activities. Identifying the sustainability actions of the three institutions will help other universities to successfully plan and implement their sustainability initiatives. In the last part of our paper, we evaluate how the three Hungarian universities communicate sustainability through their websites. The results show that advancement in the UI Green Metric World University Rankings primarily requires conscious planning, which means a deeper understanding of the ranking methodology on the one hand, and a clear strategy creation and implementation on the other hand

Biology · Business · Environmental planning · Environmental resource management · Geography · Sustainability · Environmental Science · Higher Education Governance and Development · Service-Learning and Community Engagement · Sustainability in Higher Education · Ecology

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Open DOIOpen Access