Environmental transition, what stage for higher education?

The environmental transition is a well-established issue in the objectives of all actors. Businesses, households, but also schools and higher education institutions are looking for solutions. Taking care of the planet, betting on greener energies, developing innovative concepts to meet the challenges of tomorrow… Sector by sector, the decisions are different. In higher education, what is the situation? At what stage is the environmental transition?

A report by the FNEGE on the environmental transition in higher education institutions

Making the right decisions for the planet, but also raising students’ awareness in higher education institutions are essential decisions. The IPCC report published in the summer of 2021 sheds light on the current state of the planet. Global warming, pollution, waste of resources… It is high time to react. Putting in place solutions to ensure the future of the planet and future generations then becomes urgent.

The FNEGE has thus highlighted the issue and the commitments around the environmental transition in a questionnaire. The latter was not addressed to all actors in the heart of cities, but only to schools ofhigher education. With the Environmental Transition Observatory (OTE), the FNEGE wishes to highlight the commitments of schools for the planet. Highlight the commitments already in place, but also identify the levers for progress.

Schools are increasingly sensitive to environmental issues and are also putting solutions for a smooth transition. Their objective is above all to make students aware of good practices, which they subsequently reproduce. Despite this desire to engage in this process, higher education institutions still have a limited maturity. On a scale of 0 to 1, they stand at 0.429. The commitment is there, but there are still steps to climb to reach a more advanced level.

Environmental ecology solution
Schools set themselves many goals for the environment.

Desires to move the lines

Higher education institutions say they are concerned about the environmental transition. To this end, 4 out of 5 institutions set themselves strategic objectives to be fulfilled in this direction. The different disciplines taught take into account the issues of environmental transition to raise students’ awareness. The issues of global warming and sustainable development are more often addressed in progress.

To meet these challenges, schools are setting up Stakeholder Committees to disseminate these commitments to the environmental transition. And they are increasingly equipped with it: from 19, they are now 27. Universities and schools of higher education become producers and disseminators of knowledge in this way. Especially since the Stakeholder Committee is involved in almost all decision-making.

Students are also much more involved in environmental transition issues. Young entrepreneurs are thus creating companies with ecological commitments. They are also more widely involved in student associations that mobilize for these issues. Development and awareness take time. But while there is still room for improvement, it already looks well underway.

Sources:

Observatory of the Environmental Transition of Management Schools FNEGE Edition 2021

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