Purpose

This study aims to convey lessons learned from two sustainability initiatives at Norway’s largest university. This contributes to knowledge-based discussions of how future, sustainable higher education institutions (HEIs) infrastructures should be envisioned and planned if the fundamental uncertainty of the future development of learning, researching and teaching is acknowledged.

Design/methodology/approach

This study was submitted on 24 January 2023 and revised on 14 September 2023. HEIs, particularly when they are engaged in research activities, have a considerable environmental footprint. At the same time, HEIs are the main producers and disseminators of knowledge about environmental challenges and their employees have a high awareness of the urgent need to mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss. In this study, the gap between knowledge and environmental performance is addressed as a question of infrastructural change, which is explored in two case studies.

Findings

The first case study presents limitations of ambitious, top-down sustainability planning for HEI infrastructures: support from employees and political support are central for this strategy to succeed, but both could not be secured in the case presented leading to an abandonment of all sustainability ambitions. The second case study exposes important limitations of a circular approach: regulatory and legal barriers were found against a rapid and radical circular transformation, but also more fundamental factors such as the rationality of an institutional response to uncertainty by rapid cycles of discarding the old and investing in new equipment and facilities.

Research limitations/implications

Being based on qualitative methods, the case studies do not claim representativity for HEIs worldwide or even in Norway. Many of the factors described are contingent on their specific context. The goal, instead, is to contribute to learning by presenting an in-depth and context-sensitive report on obstacles encountered in two major sustainability initiatives.

Originality/value

Research reporting on sustainability initiatives too often focuses descriptively on the plans or reports the successes while downplaying problems and failures. This study deviates from this widespread practice by analysing reasons for failure informed by a theoretical frame (infrastructural change). Moreover, the juxtaposition of two cases within the same context shows the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to infrastructural change particularly clearly.

中文翻译：

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一个可持续发展的校园，一个不确定的未来。挪威最大大学基础设施转型的两个案例

目的

这项研究旨在传达从挪威最大的大学的两项可持续发展举措中汲取的经验教训。如果承认未来学习、研究和教学发展的根本不确定性，这有助于基于知识的讨论，讨论如何设想和规划未来可持续的高等教育机构（HEIs）基础设施。

设计/方法论/途径

该研究于2023年1月24日提交，并于2023年9月14日修订。高等教育机构，特别是当它们从事研究活动时，会产生相当大的环境足迹。同时，高等教育机构是环境挑战知识的主要生产者和传播者，其员工对缓解气候变化和生物多样性丧失的迫切需要具有高度认识。在本研究中，知识与环境绩效之间的差距被视为基础设施变革的问题，并通过两个案例研究进行了探讨。

发现

第一个案例研究提出了高等教育机构基础设施雄心勃勃、自上而下的可持续发展规划的局限性：员工的支持和政治支持是该战略成功的核心，但在所提出的案例中，两者都无法获得，导致放弃所有可持续发展目标。第二个案例研究暴露了循环方法的重要局限性：我们发现了快速而彻底的循环转型的监管和法律障碍，但也发现了更基本的因素，例如通过快速丢弃旧的和投资的循环来应对不确定性的制度合理性在新的设备和设施中。

研究局限性/影响

由于案例研究基于定性方法，因此并不具有全球甚至挪威高等教育机构的代表性。所描述的许多因素取决于其具体背景。相反，我们的目标是通过提交一份关于两项主要可持续发展举措中遇到的障碍的深入且上下文相关的报告来促进学习。

原创性/价值

关于可持续发展举措的研究报告往往侧重于描述性计划或报告成功，而淡化问题和失败。这项研究偏离了这种普遍的做法，通过理论框架（基础设施变革）分析失败的原因。此外，在同一背景下并置两个案例特别清楚地显示了不同基础设施变革方法的优点和缺点。