Abstract

Global environmental concerns have catalysed a paradigm shift toward sustainable practices across multiple sectors,  including higher education institutions. Renowned university ranking schemes, such as QS Sustainability, now recognise sustainability as a part of their criteria, while others, like the Times High Education Impact Ranking, have introduced specific indicators aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Ranking schemes such as Green Star explicitly incorporate sustainability into their evaluations. In response to social pressures and ranking opportunities, universities have progressively acknowledged their role in promoting and operationalising sustainability beyond traditional areas like education, research and community outreach.

The current Operations Management (OM) systems and functions on camps, including building operations, maintenance, landscape and engineering, only support environmental impact reduction through typical preventive and corrective maintenance processes. They do not often respond to external sustainability pressures or ranking opportunities. There is limited research that examines how university OM systems can be transformed to support universities’ sustainability activities and enhance sustainability-focused rankings. This study explores the transitional requirements of university OM systems and how they can enhance university green practices, ultimately leading to enhanced university rankings.

A customised approach is adopted to enhance the University OM systems by adopting the Extended Transformation Model of Operations by Bettley and Burnley, 2008 to integrate sustainability and complement the ranking. Based on the above model, the required practices should be viewed as inputs and achieving university rankings can be considered a primary output connected to stakeholder values. Then, a diverse group of researchers analysed the statements made by the key author to mitigate the self-indulgent and introspective nature of autoethnography.

As an approach, the first step is to integrate double-materiality assessments as inputs to OM systems as indicated the ‘Tertiary Inputs’ in the model. Common elements such as greening the infrastructure, energy and climate change, waste, biodiversity, and water management should be prioritised based on the materiality assessment with the critical stakeholders’ engagement. The second step can be mapping the relevant university ranking elements against the chosen significant materiality elements, aligned with the ‘Primary Inputs’ in the model. They can be analysed against the existing OM actions/targets and developed into a matrix linking with the targeted university ranking elements. The third step is essential to sustaining the proposed approach, as shown by the ‘Secondary inputs’ in the model. The listed priority areas in the matrix must integrate into teams’ and individual key performance indicators (KPIs) to ensure the deliverables are met and the contributors are well appreciated. Ultimately, the matrix provides OM staff members with better visibility on their contribution towards making a greener campus and eventually improving the universities’ ranking.

This research contributes to the existing literature on sustainability practices and campus OM in the context of connecting to the university rankings. The insights derived from the study are particularly relevant for Higher Education Institute policymakers and sustainability practitioners. Developing case studies by applying the proposed model in high-ranking and emerging universities is identified as the next step in this work.

References; Based on Bettley, A., & Burnley, S. (2008). Towards Sustainable Operations Management Integrating Sustainability Management into Operations Management Strategies and Practices. In Handbook of Performability Engineering (pp. 875–904). Springer London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84800-131-2_53