Sustainable Universities as an Essential Element of Education for Sustainable Development

Abstract

The concept of sustainable development (SD) is aimed at preserving life on Earth and ensuring a decent level of life for the present and future generations. It is based on the values of conservation of natural resources, responsible consumption and ethical business practices, and confronts modern global challenges. The transition to SD implies a revision of existing values in the economics, ecology and social life of society. In this regard, education plays the most important role because it is responsible for the formation of the attitudes of the younger generation, and progress in the transformation of formal and informal institutional frameworks.In order to realize these processes, The UN has developed the global program “Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)” and formulated one of the specialized goals in the system of seventeen sustainable development goals approved by the UN for 2016-2030. Higher education plays a special role there, since it not only creates and disseminates knowledge about SD, but also influences the process of making future decisions by managers of various levels. In this context, the concept of “sustainable university” is becoming highly relevant and the experience of its practical implementation is gaining special importance.The purpose of this work is to overview the research papers of Russian and foreign authors to identify the specific features of a sustainable university as a necessary element of ESD.