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Purpose: This study aims to explore barriers and pathways to a whole-institution governance of sustainability within the working structures of universities. Design/methodology/approach: This paper draws on multi-year interviews and hierarchical structure analysis of ten universities in Canada, the USA, Australia, Hong Kong, South Africa, Brazil, the UK and The Netherlands. The paper addresses existing literature that championed further integration between the two organizational sides of universities (academic and operations) and suggests approaches for better embedding sustainability into four primary domains of activity (education, research, campus operations and community engagement). Findings: This research found that effective sustainability governance needs to recognise and reconcile distinct cultures, diverging accountability structures and contrasting manifestations of central-coordination and distributed-agency approaches characteristic of the university's operational and academic activities. The positionality of actors appointed to lead institution-wide embedding influenced which domain received most attention. The paper concludes that a whole-institution approach would require significant tailoring and adjustments on both the operational and academic sides to be successful. Originality/value: Based on a review of sustainability activities at ten universities around the world, this paper provides a detailed analysis of the governance implications of integrating sustainability into the four domains of university activity. It discusses how best to work across the operational/academic divide and suggests principles for adopting a whole institution approach to sustainability.

Purpose: This research aims to investigate the role of project-based-learning within graduate sustainability curricula through the lens of key competence development. Project-based learning has become a widely recommended pedagogy for sustainability education. It is hypothesized that through collaboration, student autonomy and real-world application, students develop key competencies for sustainability. This paper also aims to examine the connection between project-based learning and competence development on a program level from the student perspective. Design/methodology/approach: This two-year comparative case study follows the project-based-learning journeys of nine graduate sustainability students from three programs: the Master's of Sustainability at Arizona State University, the Master's of Sustainability Science at Leuphana University of Lüneburg and the Global Sustainability Science Master's, an ASU and Leuphana collaboration. Over four semesters, the students each took part in four competence-oriented self-assessments and interviews to map their perceived learning throughout their programs. Additional contextual information was gathered from program and course materials and descriptions, instructor interviews and "in vivo" observations. Findings: The defining aspects of project-based learning including collaboration, student autonomy and real-world connection do contribute to students' self-perceived competence development. Student-driven and program-driven project-based learning experiences equally foster this result, as long as the pedagogical challenges of balancing support and student independence associated with each are mitigated through instructor actions, program design or individual student coping skills. Originality/value: The results of this research can support higher education institutions in designing sustainability programs aimed at competence development through project-based learning. The focus on the curricular and program level combined with repeated overtime student-reported attribution to specific courses and activities bridges the gap between individual course case studies and theoretical recommendations for curriculum design. In addition to length and depth, this study also forefronts student experience of curricula as delivered.

Creating connections between consumers and producers (relational proximity) seems a promising approach to foster sustainable consumption behaviour in international food supply. In this intervention study, we tested three experiential marketing interventions to connect consumers to producers of an international community-supported agriculture (CSA) partnership for coffee (Teikei Coffee). Consumers (N = 136), recruited at a fair for sustainable products and lifestyles in Germany, (a) watched a promotional video about the coffee CSA, (b) attended a presentation of the coffee CSA, or (c) participated in a mindful tasting experience of the CSA coffee. Findings indicate that experiential marketing tools, to varying degrees, indeed create connections from consumers to producers, thereby fostering sustainable consumption behaviour. The findings can inform international food supply marketing efforts aimed at stimulating sustainable consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To advance holistic corporate sustainability in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) requires employees to fully engage in sustainability efforts, which, in return, means to develop employees' action competence for sustainability. Little empirical evidence, however, exists on how to do this considering well‐known constraints SMEs face (time, expertise, resources). We present a transdisciplinary project that developed, delivered, and evaluated a sustainability training for the workforce of the Bohlsener Mühle, an SME that has pioneered corporate sustainability in Germany. The training was piloted for the business' apprentices and combined different learning modes to build participants' sustainable action competence. The pre‐post evaluation, supported by observations and qualitative interviews, revealed that employees' action competence for sustainability can be fostered through such trainings and is most effective if organizational factors that enable a corporate culture of sustainability are aligned. We conclude that a human‐centered and action‐oriented approach to training is needed to unleash the full potential of the workforce to advance corporate sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

B Corp certification is considered a viable instrument to support small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in adopting sustainable practices. However, there is a lack of evidence to what extent this instrument can anchor sustainability at the core of SMEs. This study investigates the B Corp certification process of a SME, a craft brewery in southern Sweden, regarding the extent to which it helped infusing sustainability into the business' mission, practices, corporate form, certificates, and capacities. Results show that the B Impact Assessment, as part of the certification process, positively influenced the business' mission, practices, and capacities. Limited influence on social commitment and adoption of a sustainable corporate form can be explained through regulatory context and time required for deep organizational change. To enhance the effectiveness of B Corp certification, we recommend making it even more adaptable to different geographical and social contexts and increase focus on impact business models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]