Back to Search Start Over

Towards Sustainable Development: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade's Literature on the Social, Environment and Governance and Universities in Latin America

Authors :
Lima, Clayton dos Santos
Kieling, Debora Londero
Veiga Ávila, Lucas
Paço, Arminda
Zonatto, Vinícius Costa da Silva
Source :
International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. 2023 24(2):279-298.
Publication Year :
2023

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse through a systematic literature review the evolution of the theme of environmental social and governance (ESG) in universities, correlating variables and presenting a panorama for Latin American universities. Design/methodology/approach: This paper uses a systematic literature review approach. The Web of Science database was used for data collection, and a set of keywords (Environmental, Social and Governance × Universities) and a classification method were used, resulting in 111 articles classified in the Zotero software. After classification, these publications were analysed in the VOSviewer software. Findings: The main evidence about ESG and universities shows that its relevance has been growing worldwide with an emphasis on England, the USA, Spain, followed by Brazil in fourth place regarding the number of papers published worldwide. The most representative areas identified were governance, sustainability, higher education, sustainable campus, environmental science, ecology, science and technology. The journals presenting more published papers under the topic are "International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education," "Journal of Cleaner Production and Sustainability." As for the most relevant authors, the Europeans Lozano and Leal Filho, Velasquez from Mexico and Brandli from Brazil were identified. As for institutions, the University Durham, State University System of Florida and State University of Campinas do Brazil stand out. Research limitations/implications: As the main limitation of the study is related to the sample of articles. This study is focused on the analysis of publications from the last decade, presenting only 111 results. However, this restriction in the timeline is justified as it is a new topic; this study was also limited to the use of a single database; in this sense, future research can carry out a more comprehensive review of the sustainability literature covering periods prior to a decade and an analysis in other databases. Originality/value: These results provide a basis for improving sustainability in universities and ESG in Latin America. It also allows to explore and reflect on several indicators, enabling the evaluation and planning of actions to improve competitiveness.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1467-6370 and 1758-6739
Volume :
24
Issue :
2
Database :
ERIC
Journal :
International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
EJ1363449
Document Type :
Journal Articles<br />Information Analyses
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-09-2021-0394