PROMOTING ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOUR
IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
Research in Progress
By: Dr. Beatriz Acevedo
Lecturer in Sustainable Management
Anglia Ruskin University
University Forum for Human Resource Development
Chelmsford, 21st January, 2011
Presentation
“If you want truly to understand
something, try to change it”
Lewin
• What are the main challenges in
terms of HRD for Higher
Education institutions, regarding
education for sustainable
•Preliminary results of a case
development.
study at Anglia Ruskin
University based on the Green
Impact Awards / 2010:
Organizational behavior.
Drivers and
Attractors
for ESD & Organizational
Drivers
& Attractors
for ESD(*)Change
Leadership
Internal
Drivers
Drivers
Temporal
External
Energy from
bottom
Senior & Fleming (2006),
Based on Peter Hopkinson, Eco-versity of Bradford Organizational Change
Education for Sustainable Development
COMMUNITY
CURRICULUM
CAMPUS:
Estates, facilities, buildings - behaviour
Achievements at Anglia Ruskin University
•Business in the community - Bronze Award
•People and Planet - 10th place in the Green
League
•Cambridge Climate Change Charter
•Carbon Trust Standard
•ISO 14001
•National Union of Students - Silver Sound
Environment
CAMPUS:
Estates, facilities, buildings - behaviour
Green Impact Awards
•University of Bristol 2009
Environmental
Management ARU
•DEFRA and NUS - 23
Universities across the
UK
•Friendly competition
amongst staff teams.
•Environmental
Champions
•Behavioral change
Research Methodology
•Action Research
(1) What are the
motivations for
members of the ARU
community (staff +
students) to engage in
sustainable/green
behavior and
practices
(Marshall and Reason,
2001)
•12 semi-structured
interviews with team
leaders and team
members
•Workshop with students/
GIA auditors
•Content analysis + NVivo
Literature Review
•Organizational Development (Albright,
2004; Cummings & Worley, 2005)
•Incentives, motivation and rewards
(Koester et al, 2006)
•Resistance to change (Trushman et al.,
1988; Lozano, 2006)
•Power & Organizational Culture
(Robbins, 2005; Foucault, 1979; Alvesson and
Deetz, 2005)
•Education for Sustainable Development Action
Learning
(Orr,
2005;
Morin,
2001)
Keywords: Organizational Behavior, organizational development,
Higher Education, ESD, Greening the campus, Change...
(1) Staff Participation (Administrative)
•14 teams participated, 200 people, 16
departments
•Most of teams achieved bronze, silver and one
gold.
(2) Student participation as eco-auditors
•6 students from AIBS were trained as ecoauditors as part of the module on Int.
Environmental Mgt.
•Action Learning + Professional development
Some preliminary findings
•“I am generally a green person”
... the role of environmental champions
•“Nagging” vs. “Inspiring”
...incentives, motivations and
difficulties
•“I thought, argh! this is another task on
top of what we have to do”
...resistance to change / HRD?
•“the University should ensure that
waste is really separated, otherwise it is
not worth”...
ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK
Individual Subjective
(Personal values,
worldviews)
Individual Objective
(Roles, skills, networks)
Collective Subjective Collective Objective
(Group cultures, shared
norms)
(Political, economical,
technological, legal)
From: Ballard, 2005 ‘Using learning processes to promote
change for Sustainable Development”, adapted from Wilber, K.
A Theory of Everything: An integral vision for business, politics,
science and spirituality
Results & Challenges
•How to support and reward
the role of environmental
champions.
•Systemic changes, structural
reforms, the role of HRD.
•Enhancing the learning
community
•Students as eco-auditors:
best practice!
•Sustainable Leadership
Synthesis
•A rich path for exploration in terms of
HRD and OB/OD
•Continuation and improvement of the
students participation as eco-auditors.
•Further tasks in relation to education
for sustainable development at ARU
Questions
email: Beatriz.Acevedo@anglia.ac.uk
References
Gough S. and Scott W. 2002. Higher Education and Sustainable Development.
London: Routledge.
Leal Filho, W. (ed) (1999) Sustainability and university life: environmental
education, communiction and sustainability. Berlin: Peter Lang.
Leal Filho, W. and Wright, TSA. (2002) Barriers on the path to sustainability:
European and Canadian perspectives in higher education. International Journal of
sustainable Development and World Ecology. 9(2): 179-86
Lozano, R. 2006. Incorporation and institutionalization of SD into universities:
breaking through barriers to change. Journal of Cleaner Production 14: 787-796
Orr, D. What is education for? In Orr, D. editor: Earth in mind. Washington: island
Press; 1995. P. 7-15
UNESCO (1997) Thessaloniki declaration. Gland: UNESCO.
Carr, W. and Kemmis, S. (1986), Becoming Critical: Knowing Through Action Research,
Lewes: Falmer Press
Albright, K. (2004) 'Environmental Scanning: radar for success', The Information
Management Journal. May/June, pp. 38-45
Cummings, T. G. and Worley, C. G. (2005) Organization Development and Change (6th
edn) Cincinnati, OH: South-Western College Publishing
Senior, B. & Fleming, J. (2006), Organizational Change, (Third Edition) Harlow: Prentice
Hall, Financial Times