Greening the Ivory Tower: the adoption of the Laudato Si’ sustainability declarations by a Global South Catholic University

This study seeks to bridge the gap between sustainability declarations and organisational change dynamics (the ideational and operational aspects, respectively) by exploring the adoption by a Global South Catholic higher education institution of the Laudato Si’ sustainability principles, a widely adopted Catholic-inspired declaration. Thirteen key participants (which included administrators, professors/teachers and members of technical teams) were interviewed for this study, with the data produced from the interview transcripts analysed using a critical realism-inspired thematic analysis approach. The results reveal how a greatly resource-constrained socio-economic environment, the unique university identity and the dynamics of the human condition increased the tendencies by various university stakeholders to adopt a practical, reality-based mindset and culture. These resulted in the implementation of organisational change processes that proved inadequate in hindsight. There were also significant moments of perceived expectations violations among various stakeholders that eroded the social trust within the university.