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Green buildings have gained increasing relevance and market share in recent decades. Also, higher education institutions are progressively incorporating the conceptualisation of sustainable development by greening campuses. Thus, given the construction sector relevance in climate change mitigation and the role universities have to play as models for society, the purpose of the present paper is twofold. First, the authors develop a baseline study to determine the extent to which green buildings' features and certifications are being incorporated in public Chilean higher education institutions, as a first of its kind effort in the higher education sector in Chile. Second, the authors explore the opportunities that can support the advancement of campus greening through green buildings deployment on university campuses in Chile. This study follows a qualitative strategy approach in the form of a survey design based on the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking that was administered through an online questionnaire to representatives who hold the position of Sustainability or Infrastructure Heads in public universities, which are united in the Chilean State Universities Consortium. The main findings suggest a general maturation process of green building features´ incorporation on campuses at Chilean public higher education institutions in early or transitional stages. The leading indicators relate to open space, pedestrian paths, and efficient appliances, whereas the reported performance is lower with respect to sustainability budget, zero emission vehicles, and greenhouse gas emission reduction programmes. The opportunities identified for promoting the implementation of green buildings relate to three entrenched dimensions: research, promotion, and public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planning in sustainable development is believed to be an important element in allowing higher education institutions to set their goals and to commit themselves towards undertaking concrete actions and measures at all levels in order to implement sustainability. Yet, there is a paucity of research that has looked at the extent to which planning can support institutions of higher education to assess their performances and to determine whether the set aims have been met. This research gap needs to be met to allow a better understanding of how planning can help to promote the integration of the three components of sustainable development - economic development, social development and environmental protection in higher education. This paper explores the challenges for planning the sustainable development in higher education, also outlining the potentials lessons learned that could assist in improving Education for Sustainable Development efforts in Higher Education Institutions. Among its main results are the fact that many universities wish to pursue sustainable development, but their efforts are hindered by lack of institutional support and planning and limited emphasis on approaches, such as problem-based learning. The universities that are engaged in the field have to face many problems, varying from limited resources to lack of trained staff. As a result, integrated approaches to sustainability become difficult to implement. Finally, the paper has identified the fact that many opportunities offered mainstream developments, such as the UN Declaration ‘The World we Want’ or the UN Sustainable Development Goals are not being put to full use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]