Sustainability in Australian universities: the road to 2050

Australian universities have committed variously and to differing extents to delivering sustainability outcomes. Their actions have been spurred on by several factors, including global attention to the key role of universities in addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate change, the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings, and advocacy and capacity building nudges by networks such as the Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability (ACTS) and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). Higher education campuses offer exemplars of energy, water, and waste management and undertake research on sustainability in various disciplines. Universities support teaching and learning, research, and dissemination of sustainability and the SDGs in a holistic manner and demonstrate sustainability outcomes to students and other stakeholders.

As Australia responds to the current challenges of sustainable development as a country, the built environment is a key focus given it is responsible for 9% of gross domestic product (GDP) and is a high impact emissions sector. This chapter explores the link between the challenges of the built environment and the needs of future graduates with professional skills. The realization that students graduating from universities today need to be prepared to deal with sustainability and climate change challenges now and going forward make it imperative to examine the role of universities in their preparedness, particularly from a curricular perspective.

This chapter highlights the gaps in knowledge and practice in the built environment discipline that occur currently in Australian universities and examines the types of skills students will require leading to the decade of the SDGs and beyond. In doing so, misalignments between graduate learning outcomes, industry expectations, and university campuses for research projects, teaching, and learning activity/demonstration are explored. Priority areas linked to the nexus between universities and the built environment are identified to ensure sustainability outcomes can continue in an uncertain, challenging world as we navigate toward 2050.