Sustainable development in higher education: a systematic literature review

​The relevance of developing research on sustainability in higher education is undisputable, as higher education institutions (HEIs) play a crucial role in contributing to the development of environmental, economic and social sustainable practices. We propose a novel approach to sustainability in higher education, offering, at this stage, theoretical evidence of the phenomenon, by relating the different dimensions of sustainability with HEIs governance and management, their missions and organisational levels. Concretely, we develop a systematic literature review on sustainable development in higher education, aiming to understand how sustainability and their main dimensions - economic, environment and social - are being integrated in the management and governance of HEIs, in their core missions and activities and in their different organisational levels. The preliminary results seem to indicate that HEIs are increasingly developing sustainable practices, at different levels. However, these practices are still somehow fragmented and are not part of a systematic and holistic approach to sustainability.