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Sustainability reporting at German and Austrian universities

Author

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  • Kerstin Lopatta
  • Reemda Jaeschke

Abstract

This paper advances the development of a 'universal' reporting framework for higher education. It is the first paper that reviews the current state of sustainability reporting in German and Austrian universities. Although playing a leading role in promoting sustainable development movements, universities strongly lag behind on sustainability reporting due to missing reporting guidelines. In-depth expert interviews critically assess the applicability of existent assessment tools by testing internal data collection procedures. A framework set in relation to its reporting costs and based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines was developed to analyse the reporting performance level of universities in Germany and Austria. Results show that sustainability reporting in higher education is still in its infancy considering quantity and quality. Reports focus equally on environmental, economic and educational dimensions with limited scopes on social equity. Results are relevant to university management in implying improvements on performance data analysis further enhancing the amount and quality of sustainability information on campus.

Suggested Citation

  • Kerstin Lopatta & Reemda Jaeschke, 2014. "Sustainability reporting at German and Austrian universities," International Journal of Education Economics and Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 5(1), pages 66-90.
    • Handle: RePEc:ids:ijeded:v:5:y:2014:i:1:p:66-90
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Sara Giovanna Mauro & Lino Cinquini & Elena Simonini & Andrea Tenucci, 2020. "Moving from Social and Sustainability Reporting to Integrated Reporting: Exploring the Potential of Italian Public-Funded Universities’ Reports," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-19, April.
    2. Liliana Hawrysz & Joachim Foltys, 2015. "Environmental Aspects of Social Responsibility of Public Sector Organizations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-10, December.
    3. Remmer Sassen & Leyla Azizi, 2018. "Voluntary disclosure of sustainability reports by Canadian universities," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 88(1), pages 97-137, January.
    4. Leyla Azizi & Colin Bien & Remmer Sassen, 2018. "Recent trends in sustainability reporting by German universities [Aktuelle Trends in der Nachhaltigkeitsberichterstattung deutscher Universitäten]," Sustainability Nexus Forum, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 65-85, December.
    5. Yawei Du & Monique H. Arkesteijn & Alexandra C. den Heijer & Kun Song, 2020. "Sustainable Assessment Tools for Higher Education Institutions: Guidelines for Developing a Tool for China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-30, August.
    6. Gloria Fiorani & Chiara Di Gerio, 2022. "Reporting University Performance through the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda: Lessons Learned from Italian Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-19, July.
    7. Viktorija Å ipilova, 2019. "Insights on Sustainable Universities from Economic and Statistical Perspectives," Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Richtmann Publishing Ltd, vol. 8, July.
    8. Giorgio Mion & Angela Broglia & Angelo Bonfanti, 2019. "Do Codes of Ethics Reveal a University’s Commitment to Sustainable Development? Evidence from Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-18, February.
    9. Andrés Navarro-Galera & Francisco José Alcaraz-Quiles & David Ortiz-Rodriguez, 2018. "Enhancing Sustainability Transparency in Local Governments—An Empirical Research in Europe," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-22, June.
    10. Giuseppe Nicolò & Natalia Aversano & Giuseppe Sannino & Paolo Tartaglia Polcini, 2021. "Investigating Web-Based Sustainability Reporting in Italian Public Universities in the Era of Covid-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-12, March.

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