Beyond greening in universities: A new social contract

Sustainability in higher education has shifted from being a ‘green trend’ to an urgent strategic necessity. Rather than treating sustainability as an environmental add-on, universities are being called to embed it as a cross-cutting axis that informs education, research, governance and social impact.

At Universidad Europea de Madrid, we have responded to this challenge by creating the School of Sustainability – the first of its kind in Spain – designed to holistically and practically integrate the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across all areas of university life.

The School of Sustainability is not a traditional academic department. It is a transversal platform for institutional transformation. Our guiding principle is simple: if the SDGs are to have a real impact, we must break down the silos between faculties, disciplines and university functions. This means educating for sustainability leadership across all fields, not just environmental sciences.

One of our most effective initiatives is transdisciplinary education for sustainability leadership. This approach integrates SDG-aligned content into degree programmes ranging from business to law to health sciences. Students work with companies and public institutions through challenge-based learning to address real-world sustainability issues. The result is more meaningful learning and the development of the skills that are increasingly demanded in today’s job market.

Our annual Sustainability Innovation Challenge invites students from multiple universities to design innovative solutions grounded in the SDGs. It has grown into a platform that connects emerging talent with industry, fostering employability in sustainability sectors and encouraging civic engagement.

Beyond the classroom, collaboration among academia, industry and government is a cornerstone of our approach.

We are engaged in active projects with companies, such as Heineken Spain, to improve transparency in decarbonisation communication; LG, which supports ecosystem regeneration; CHEP, which is developing an AI-driven sustainability ranking; and Sacyr, which is working on social innovation for community infrastructure.

These alliances provide practical relevance and funding while reinforcing a shared purpose among change-makers.

Transformation from within

Crucially, transformation also happens from within. Our Sustainability Ambassadors Programme empowers faculty to embed the SDGs into their courses and research. This bottom-up strategy promotes cultural change through distributed leadership and personal commitment.

To ensure continuous improvement, we operate a Sustainability Observatory that collects data, conducts research and shares best practices in sustainability education and policy implementation. This observatory serves as our institutional compass, guiding decisions and evaluating the impact of our actions.

Complementing it, the School of Sustainability’s newsletter, ECO, functions as a communication hub, showcasing successes, connecting initiatives and promoting a shared vision.

Challenges

Of course, the road has not been without challenges.

One persistent barrier has been institutional fragmentation – the walls between faculties and departments. We have addressed this by establishing cross-disciplinary working groups to foster curriculum integration and synergies in research.

Another challenge is aligning sustainability with funding and incentives. We’ve learnt that sustainable initiatives risk stagnation without a clear strategy for partnerships. Our strong external collaborations have allowed us to sustain and scale many programmes.

Two key questions have emerged throughout this journey: How can we effectively incentivise faculty and students to engage beyond greening? And how do we rigorously measure the impact of SDG-focused teaching and research in higher education?

We don’t have all the answers, but we do have some certainties.

First, sustainability cannot depend solely on individual enthusiasm – it needs institutional structures, dedicated resources and a coherent narrative that connects the SDGs with the university’s mission. Second, real impact comes when sustainability is no longer a parallel agenda but embedded into the institution’s DNA.

At the recent European University Association conference in Riga, we shared this experience with European colleagues. It was an opportunity to exchange ideas, be inspired and confirm that the future of higher education hinges on its ability to lead systemic transformations.

Going ‘beyond greening’ means rethinking the university’s social role and embracing sustainability as a new social contract.

Julia Ayuso is director of the School of Sustainability at Universidad Europea de Madrid, where she leads efforts to integrate the SDGs into higher education. She holds a PhD in architecture from the Technical University of Madrid and Keio University (Japan) and has extensive experience in sustainability strategy and ESG governance. This article is based on her recent participation in the European University Association annual conference in Latvia.

This article is a commentary. Commentary articles are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of University World News.