Sustainability and
Higher Education,
A [ Hypothetical ]
Love Story
I
By Lindsay Eva Wagner
26 | may/june 2013 | Facilities Manager
t is quite clear that sustainability is here to stay, but in
many cases we have yet to determine what it actually is.
The buzz words and issues—solar panels, wind turbines, recycling, green cleaning, energy management, green
buildings, green products, public transportation, and carbon
neutrality to mention a few—have all been part of the initial
drive to be sustainable. The big question is, can these efforts
be sustained? It is time to unpack sustainability and develop
a successful long-term relationship.
Creating a healthy long-term relationship requires planning and an understanding of the potential stages that the
relationship will go through. The following is a hypothetical love story between higher education and sustainability.
All institutions will most likely go through some version of
the following stages, but only a small percent will reach the
final stage.
