Sustainable Assessment Tools for Higher Education Institutions: Developing Two-Hierarchy Tools for China

Yawei Du (), Qing Ye, Hongjiang Liu, Yuting Wu and Fenghua Wang ()
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Yawei Du: Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
Qing Ye: School of Architecture and Art Design, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300130, China
Hongjiang Liu: School of Architecture, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Yuting Wu: School of Architecture, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Fenghua Wang: Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 15, 1-22

Abstract: Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) play an increasingly significant role in the practice of sustainability. For HEIs in their early stages of sustainability, they are still in need of sustainable assessment tools (SATs) that are suitable for their local context and also lead international sustainable development. The purpose of this paper is to develop a two-hierarchy sustainability assessment tool (THSus) for Chinese higher education institutions, including a quick analysis tool (QAT) and an in-depth benchmarking tool (IBT). The QAT provided a general overview of campus sustainability for HEIs to initiate initial actions and screen cases for the IBT. The IBT then provides more targeted analysis to plan long-term strategic changes. Based on the analysis of HEI cases, a 34-person Chinese research team was enlisted to discuss and select characteristics to formulate THSus. Indicators and weightings were developed according to the tool’s purpose and applied to 15 cases to test its effectiveness. Results showed that THSus is suitable for systematically analyzing campus issues, particularly in research areas. It offers a regional solution for Chinese campuses that is adaptable and considers the comprehensive core of sustainability.

Keywords: campus sustainability; green campuses; higher education institution; sustainable assessment tools; two-hierarchy tools (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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