Sustainable Development and Corporate Sustainability of Chilean State Universities: Evidence from Their Strategic Elements

Juan Abello-Romero (), Claudio Mancilla, Walter Sáez, Francisco Ganga-Contreras and Ivette Durán-Seguel
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Juan Abello-Romero: Departamento de Contabilidad y Auditoría, Facultad de Administración y Economía, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago 9170022, Chile
Claudio Mancilla: Department of Administrative and Economic Sciences, Universidad de Los Lagos, Osorno 5290000, Chile
Walter Sáez: Facultad de Educación y Humanidades, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica 1000007, Chile
Francisco Ganga-Contreras: Facultad de Educación y Humanidades, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica 1000007, Chile
Ivette Durán-Seguel: Departamento de Economía y Administración, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca 3480112, Chile

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 14, 1-16

Abstract: Corporate sustainability evolved in line with the advancement of the concept of sustainable development; thus, it is constituted as a strategy to respond to social and environmental problems. In this context, universities are understood as complex organizations, positioned as a key mechanism for delivering the sustainable development of society. This research aimed to analyze whether the strategic elements of Chilean state universities integrate components of sustainable development. For this purpose, qualitative research was undertaken through a documentary analysis of the strategic plans of the 18 Chilean state universities, focusing analysis on their strategic elements: their mission, vision and strategic institutional objectives. The results revealed that all universities mention at least one concept associated with one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their strategic guidelines. They mainly focused on ‘Quality Education’ (SDG 4) and ‘Build resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation’ (SDG 9). Also, the results allow us to visualize how universities address corporate sustainability issues through their strategic plans.

Keywords: universities; higher education; sustainability; sustainable development; strategic plans; SDGs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:14:p:11033-:d:1194073

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