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Environmental sustainability and climate action plans in higher education institutions
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DOI：10.1108/ijshe-09-2025-1081.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
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<jats:title>Purpose</jats:title>
<jats:p>This systematic review aims to synthesize existing knowledge on climate action plans (CAPs) in higher education institutions (HEIs) to establish a comprehensive framework for institutional climate strategies.</jats:p>
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<jats:title>Design/methodology/approach</jats:title>
<jats:p>Using a systematic review methodology, this paper analyzes 22 academic articles on CAPs in HEIs. The analysis categorized findings into five major themes: energy and infrastructure; climate action planning and strategy; education, research and student engagement; community and policy engagement; and transportation.</jats:p>
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<jats:title>Findings</jats:title>
<jats:p>A primary finding is the categorization of efforts into five major themes that facilitate organized institutional research. A secondary, critical finding identifies ten core areas of action, ranging from energy management to equity and justice, that expand CAPs from a narrow carbon-accounting tool to a holistic institutional roadmap. Results indicate that although sustainability definitions vary, effective climate action must be data-driven and integrated across academic and operational missions. Key barriers include communication gaps and resource allocation.</jats:p>
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<jats:title>Research limitations/implications</jats:title>
<jats:p>Non-medical science systematic reviews (NMSSR) in the social sciences have some inherent limitations, there is no single database that can capture all peer-reviewed articles in education and climate science, which likely results in some missed resources. By including both academic databases and Google Scholar in the search strategy this review alleviated this limitation with supplemental searching. In all evidence synthesis work, access to resources varies greatly from one campus to another. Although researchers do their best to search all relevant databases, true reproducibility is difficult unless the research is carried out with identical intuitional access.</jats:p>
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<jats:title>Practical implications</jats:title>
<jats:p>The findings provide a roadmap for developing comprehensive CAPs in HEIs. By highlighting successful practices and barriers, this research assists HEIs in adopting integrated strategies that improve institutional governance and resource management.</jats:p>
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<jats:title>Originality/value</jats:title>
<jats:p>This research is unique in articulating both overarching themes and specific core action areas as a foundational framework. It underscores the critical role of HEIs in the global climate response and provides an original resource for shaping future institutional policy.</jats:p>
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