Survey demonstrates distinct student and faculty pathways for campus sustainability, indicating that awareness alone weakly correlates with actual behavioural impact.
Key Points
To examine faculty and student perceptions regarding barriers and opportunities for adopting sustainable practices across higher education institutions in southern India.
Cross-sectional survey of N=1103 respondents (944 students and 159 teaching staff) across two arts and science colleges in southern India.
Structured questionnaire developed using Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) targeting Sustainable Development Goals 4, 7, 12, and 13.
Institutions exhibited divergent pathways, with College A demonstrating higher student behavioural engagement and College B prioritizing faculty-led strategic initiatives.
A weak positive correlation was identified between sustainability awareness and actual behavioural impact (r = 0.25).
Financial limitations, resource scarcity, and insufficient training were identified as primary barriers, whereas environmental education and shared governance emerged as key opportunities.