OOIR: Observatory of International Research

Papers

(The TQCC of International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education is 8. The table below lists those papers that are above that threshold based on CrossRef citation counts [max. 250 papers]. The publications cover those that have been published in the past four years, i.e., from 2021-07-01 to 2025-07-01.)

Article	Citations
Fostering the use of sustainable design to reduce energy use and GHG emissions at Canadian universities: a life cycle cost analysis approach	101
E-learning and sustainability of higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa: a review and synthesis	79
Sustainability education and community development in higher education using participatory and case based approaches in India	76
Training students in inter- and transdisciplinary sustainability education: nurturing cross-faculty staff commitment and continuous community collaboration	65
Technical academia goes back to school: the role of universities in environmental and sustainable education for childhood	60
Measuring the impact of organizational characteristics on the sustainability performance of US institutions of higher education	55
The role of online social networks in university students’ environmentally responsible behavior	53
Greening of the syllabus in faculties of education sciences through sustainable development goals: the case of public Andalusian universities (Spain)	51
Decarbonising air travel in higher education institutions: a systematic literature review	48
Do European quality assurance frameworks support integration of transformative learning for sustainable development in higher education?	45
Participatory science in higher education: a case study in a Mexican sustainability graduate program	42
The usual discourse of sustainable development and its impact on students of economics: a case from Czech higher education context	39
Positive perceptions and purchase of sustainable foods is associated with higher diet quality in Australian university students	38
Key insights from climate communication – and how they can inspire sustainability in higher education	36
Sustainability university rankings: a comparative analysis of UI green metric and the times higher education world university rankings	35
Higher education in turbulent times: navigating the transition from un-sustainability in a world dominated by technology	35
Applied engineering education for soft skills in the context of sustainability and mobility	33
Are LEED campus buildings universally designed? Assessments at Virginia Tech	31
Science-based targets for higher education? Evaluating alignment between Ivy+ climate action plans and the Science-Based Targets initiative’s net-zero standards	28
Industrial management meets environmental reporting – how a learning factory for engineering education is used to teach accounting of greenhouse gas emissions	28
Forging a sustainable path: the QualEnv consortium's practices and strategies in promoting sustainable development in higher education institutions	28
Are the best higher education institutions also more sustainable?	27
Boosting the sustainable development goals in a civil engineering bachelor degree program	26
Waste governance and campus sustainability: formal and informal waste systems at football tailgates in Michigan	26
Transformative research and education in Living Labs using the SDGs as a compass	26

Classical paradigms versus complexity thinking in engineering education: an essential discussion in the education for sustainable development	25
Sustainability practices at higher education institutions in Asia	25
Authentic assessment targeting sustainability outcomes: a case study exploring student perceptions	25
Promoting sustainable consumption among university students: a systematic literature review	24
Integration of sustainability in the curricula of public higher education institutions in Portugal: do strategic plans and self-report align?	23
Education for the circular economy in higher education: an overview of the current state	23
Sustainability reporting on the websites of public and private universities in Ghana	23
Green campus and student proactivity initiatives: the importance of a participatory approach	22
Empowering undergraduate students to take action: an empathetic mindset toward education for sustainable development	22
Training of communities of sustainability practice through science and art	22
Developing systems thinking to address climate change	22
The implementation of sustainability in Brazilian Federal Institutes of Education, Science and Technology	22
What transforms? – Transformative learning in a sustainability leadership master’s program	20
Reinforcing infrastructure equity through leveraging Envision rating system within construction education	19
Addressing climate change education: relevant contributions from universities	19
Change agents under tensions: a paradox approach to strategies for transforming higher education toward sustainability	19
How sustainable is the governance for sustainability in higher education? Insights from an Italian case study	19
A critical review of sustainability assessment tools for higher education institutions	18
Online learning and teaching for the SDGs – exploring emerging university strategies	18
Game-based learning about the circular economy in building sustainable communities: a case of international and interdisciplinary university collaboration	18
“Connect the circle” systems thinking tool for postgraduate sustainability education: case study	17
Circular economy education: student feedback from five higher education institutions in the Asia Pacific	17
SDG4 academic research productivity in the EU27: economic factors and COVID-19 impacts	17
Bottled vs tap water perceptions, choices and recommendations in a US Midwest university community	17
Measurement of sustainable attitudes: a scale for business students	17
Interdisciplinary mobility: an approach to measuring interdisciplinary learning outcomes by using curricular checkpoints	17
Exploring the development of context appreciation in coursework that targets problem-solving for sustainable development	16
Structural drivers and barriers to the strategic integration of sustainability in US B-schools	16
Do professional courses prepare hospitality students for efficient surplus food management? A self-evaluation of professional competence in food waste prevention	16
Pedagogies for sustainability: insights from a foundational sustainability course in the built environment	16
A literature review on the strategies implemented by higher education institutions from 2010 to 2020 to foster pro-environmental behavior of students	16
Changing the world one engineer at a time – unmaking the traditional engineering education when introducing sustainability subjects	16
Business professors’ behavior toward incorporating sustainability in the classroom – a theory of planned behavior perspective	16
Biodiversity preservation in German higher education institutions: existing approaches, challenges and future developments	16
Food waste factors in university restaurants: evidence from Brazilian students	15
Assessment of sustainability consciousness among pre-service teachers in China under the “Double Carbon” goal	15
What do medical students know about sustainable development?	15
Effect of sustainability measures on student satisfaction regarding accommodation services: practical study from the University of Northampton in the UK	15
The influence of sustainability education on students’ entrepreneurial intentions	15
The engagement CUBE: a dialogical tool for designing, facilitating and monitoring engaged research and teaching strategies	15
Sustainability transformation processes as a driving force to promote female participation in STEM-oriented higher education institutions: a Chilean case study	15
Environmental, social, governance and sustainable development goals: promoting sustainability in universities	15
Green absorptive capacity, green dynamic capabilities and green service innovation: a study in Brazilian universities	15
Teacher’s agency in education for sustainable development: an East-West collaborative Erasmus programme using Q methodology	15
A comparison on the evaluation standards of sustainable campus between China and America	14
The integration of SDGs and biodiversity in HEIs curricula and practices: a systematic literature review	14
A novel and comprehensive approach to mapping university research onto the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – the case of University College Cork, Ireland	14
Sustainability accounting education: challenges and outlook	14
Empowering youth for sustainability in universities: service-learning and the willingness to act	14
Research on the influencing factors and upgrading paths for innovation and entrepreneurship education in universities under the background of sustainable development goals: a QCA empirical study on ne	14

University air travel and greenhouse gas mitigation: an analysis of higher education climate policies	14
Current themes and future directions of the sustainable development goals in higher education	14
Visual images of sustainability in higher education: the hidden curriculum of climate change on campus	14
A 5 pillars approach to the sustainable development goals performance and reporting in Portuguese higher education institutions. Proposal for an applied framework	14
Sustainable community development through peer-to-peer learning in the online and in-person classroom	13
Awareness and perception of the environmental sustainability of the UAE University campus: a case study of sustainability course	13
Pro-environmental choices in Indonesia’s campus life: examining the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) for sustainable behavior in a university setting	13
Physical education teacher educators’ subjective theories about sustainability and education for sustainable development	13
Exploring response levels to sustainability in engineering curricula: a cross-case analysis	13
Green building practices in higher education institutes: strategies for implementation	13
Pendulum effect: how formal structures and hidden curriculum act in higher education institutions’ contribution to sustainable development?	13
Smart practices in HEIs and the contribution to the SDGs: implementation in Brazilian university	13
Hybrid method to guide sustainable initiatives in higher education: a critical analysis of Brazilian municipalities	13
Is university teaching aligned with the sustainable development goals possible? An approach through the virtual training of university professors	13
Education for sustainable development in higher education institutions: an approach for effective interdisciplinarity	13
Students’ awareness, knowledge and attitudes towards the sustainable development goals at the University of South Africa	12
Systems thinking for systems leadership: promoting competency development for graduate students in sustainability studies	12
Implementation of sustainability principles in landscape architecture education: an examination of faculty attitudes and course syllabi	12
Leveraging community-engaged teaching and learning in higher education institutions for advancing sustainable development: a literature review	12
Determinants of transportation sustainability in universities of Islamabad, Pakistan	12
Perception of sustainable construction among Nigerian university students: a case study analysis	12
Problem-based learning for the development of sustainable attitudes and knowledge in engineering students: evidence from the Dominican Republic	11
Promoting sustainable food behavior among young people: evidence-based suggestions for intervention in higher education	11
Investigations regarding perspectives between design education and industry practices in sustainability design	11
Sustainability in higher education in Ecuador- Universidad Técnica del Norte case study	11
Who is taking climate action in university? Drivers of personal and professional climate action in higher education	11
Maintenance of an environmental management system based on ISO 14001 in a Brazilian private university, seeking sustainable development	11
Publisher’s note	11
Innovation for environmental sustainability: longitudinal effects of an education for sustainable development intervention on university students’ pro-environmentalism	11
Understanding the environmental footprint of a Swiss university – mobility, energy and material consumption before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic	11
Proposal for sustainability action archetypes for higher education institutions	11
Climate lessons from the cold edge: rethinking the university as an ethical ecology	11
Perception about sustainable development goals among Erasmus students in a Spanish university	10
Influences of the Covid-19 pandemic on the impact factor of a sample of environment/sustainability-related journals	10
Proposed mapping and evaluation model of sustainable development goals in graduate programs in environmental sciences in Brazil	10
The carbon footprint at quality and environmental university consortium – QualEnv	10
Factors influencing online sustainability disclosure in Spanish universities	10
How to boost college students’ pro-environmental behavior: the implicit theory perspective	10
“Going beyond the call of duty”: academic agency and promoting transformation for sustainability in higher education	10
The relationship between the incorporation of sustainability in higher education and the student’s behavior: self-reported sustainable behavior scale	10
Understanding the role of nutrition literacy in sustainable nutrition	10
Establishment and implementation of behavioral observation scale for avoiding food waste for hospitality students	9
Provision of education for sustainability development and sustainability literacy in business programs in three higher education institutions in Brazil, Colombia and Peru	9
University rankings and sustainable development: the state of the art	9
Understanding the drivers of sustainable food consumption of Chinese university students: a moderated mediation model	9
The importance of incorporating lived experience and identity in promoting cultural diversity and sustainability in community college and education: a case study of Community College of Allegheny Coun	9
Incidence of sustainability in university performance: evidence of stakeholders’ perceptions at Colombian private higher education institutions	9
Between real change and institutional facade: unpacking operational sustainability in English universities	9
Uncovering perspectives on SDG integration for university transformations	9
The sustainability literacy assessment instruments: a systematic literature review	9
Which leadership processes encourage sustainable transitions within universities?	9
Catalyzing climate action: a case study on universities as hubs for community-engaged climate projects	9
Perceptions of different communication strategies on proenvironmental waste disposal behavior: a case study with university students in Brazil	9
Responding to urgent calls for fit-for-purpose planetary health curricula: an examination of nutrition and dietetics tertiary education	9
Guest editorial: Making an impact – UN Sustainable Development Goals and university performance	9
The state of the art in the incorporation of sustainable development goals in Nepalese Universities	9
Trends in research: carbon footprint reduction in universities as a way to achieve a green campus	9
Study on university students’ intention to choose reusable takeaway food containers: evidence from China	8
Sustainability governance toward an organizational sustainability culture at German higher education institutions	8
An assessment of key sustainability competencies: a review of scales and propositions for validation	8
A cost-minimizing approach to eliminating the primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions at institutions of higher education	8
Vertically integrated project: uniting teaching, research, and community in favor of sustainability	8
How university students are taught about sustainability, and how they want to be taught: the importance of the hidden curriculum	8
Generating students’ loyalty towards the sustainable university during the later COVID-19 pandemic	8
Mapping social structures for sustainability transformation at McGill University, Canada	8
An institutional framework for education for sustainable development through service-learning in universities	8
Bridging the gap: participatory action research for climate change adaptation in rural India	8
Investigating the role of green curriculum in shaping pro-environmental behaviors and environmental values orientation for sustainability	8
Envisioning the Indigenised university for sustainable development	8