The evolution to date of sustainability in higher education has been described (Wals and Blewitt, 2010) as a three-staged process consisting of: (i) the rise of environmentalism in the 1970s and 80s which led to environmental engineering, environmental studies, environmental law, etc. as a part of university education and research; (ii) the greening of the ivory tower with a focus on universities’ own environmental impact and management in the 1990s and 2000s; and (iii) the emergence of sustainability science representing holistic, systemic, integrative and ‘post-normal’ approaches and methodologies linking education, research, and outreach. The latter perspective questions deeply ingrained methodological, organisational and educational routines which lead to the commodification of education and research for serving economic interests rather than people and planet. Instead it promotes ontological and epistemological pluralism and transformative forms of interconnected research and education that improve our knowing, doing, being and our ability to make change. Sometimes the concept of a ‘whole institution approach to sustainability’ is used to refer to such a perspective although this concept does not always include a rethinking of ontological and epistemological assumptions. In this contribution I investigate the drivers and barriers as well as the prospects and limitations of transitions towards more holistic, whole institution approaches towards sustainability within the context of higher education.

Wals, A.E.J and Blewitt, J. 2010. Third-wave sustainability in higher Education : some (inter)national trends and developments. In Sustainability Education: Perspectives and Practice Across Higher Education. (Editors: Jones, P., Selby, D. & Sterling, S.). London: Earthscan.