Universities and the Doughnut Strategy : Comparative analysis of university strategies and the integration of planetary and social boundaries and the general concept of sustainable development

Abstract: The 21st-century climate crisis and human development are placing a burden on the planet and society and require strategic integration as well as education about sustainable development. Universities are educational institutions and have the potential to encourage and empower a climate-friendly individual and collective behaviours and educate about the importance of sustainable development pathways that are grounded in social and planetary long-term goals. This thesis departs from the challenge to create a joint holistic understanding of sustainability and the concept of sustainable development among universities and their strategies and development plans for the future. It aims to examine the integration of social and planetary boundaries within university strategies and what enables as well as hinders sustainable development engagement. Accordingly, this study builds on a comparative analysis using document analysis of strategic documents from seven different European universities which were complemented by seven expert interviews. The social and planetary boundaries set the analytical framework. This study finds that university strategies are recognising and addressing sustainable development within their course of action but there is no common standard on how and to what extent this has to be addressed and barriers prevent an even stronger commitment. Furthermore, an indicated gap between envisioning goals and acting upon them raises the question of to what extent strategy documents are just used as marketing tools. The study concludes by proposing a framework which depicts the baseline requirements that all universities should fulfil in terms of sustainable development engagement and implementation measures.