Theme 

What are the challenges and opportunities to greening higher education, and what governance reforms are needed at institutional, national, and international levels to enable large-scale transformation? How can greening/transforming higher education be supported by institutional and national policies? 

Background 

Greening higher education is an important pathway to achieving sustainable development. Universities hold unique power to shape and influence societies. As institutions responsible for educating future leaders, professionals, and decision-makers, they play a key role in embedding environmental awareness, ethical responsibility, and systems thinking into the next generation. By integrating sustainability into teaching, research, campus operations, and community outreach, many Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) already act as living laboratories for innovative, real-world solutions to climate change, poverty, and social inequality.  

Yet, the shift to wide scale integration of sustainable practices and sustainability focused education is yet to occur. The greening or transforming of higher education remains an ongoing effort inhibited by an array of factors including, institutional financing, resistance to change, human capacity, and competing priorities often determined by public policies and/or funding pipelines. Although a great many successes have occurred, signifying the potential for transformative change, there remains a need for deeper guidance, resources, and support for HEIs to advance a global movement.  

This paper series describes the unique institutional and policy related challenges and opportunities to greening higher education and puts forward recommendations for the path ahead. Contributions may reflect on complementary topics such as Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and more. The series comes out of discussions with UNESCO’s Greening Education Partnership to expand the global dialogue on the role of higher education in achieving sustainable development and the practical implementation of policies and solutions. 

Potential Sub-themes of the issues include: 

• Governance, leadership, & institutional transformation  

• Financing the Green Transition in Higher Education 

• Curriculum reform and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) 

• Research and innovation for Sustainable Development & Climate Action 

• National, sub-national, and regulatory frameworks 

The idea of policy briefs was a result of many deliberations with the Steering Committee of the Higher Education Working Group at the Greening Education Partnership, UNESCO. Members of the larger working group within the Higher Education group will be invited to submit the papers. However, invitations will not be restricted to only this group. Papers will be discussed in the GEP Higher Education Group large stakeholder meetings on a quarterly basis. The purpose of the policy briefs is to create a dialogue and build on collective thinking. For this, NORRAG will have a launch of the publication, followed by quarterly discussions hosted at the Higher Education Working Group stakeholder meetings.  

Selection of Papers 

Papers can be proposed by emailing an abstract to iyengar@climate.columbia.edu. Kindly list all co-authors, the abstract, and contact information in the same Word document, then list “GEP Paper Series Proposal” in the subject line of the email. An advisory committee will select papers based on topic relevance, policy recommendations, geographic diversity, and author’s publishing record / contribution to the field. Individuals and teams are invited to apply. 

The editors will be paying attention to geographic representation, gender balance and including both early career as well as established scholars in the selection of papers for this call. The total number of papers for this special issue will be between 30-45 papers.  

Series Editors 

Radhika Iyengar, Center for Sustainable Development, Columbia University, Higher Education Working Group at the Greening Education Partnership UNESCO  

Amber Webb, SDG Academy, Sustainable Development Solutions Network 

Isabel Toman, International Association of Universities 

Moira Faul, NORRAG Global Education Centre, Geneva Graduate Institute 

Guidelines for Policy Papers as per NORRAG 

• Approximately 800 words 

• Suggestion of an infographic, illustration or figure that would complement your words 

• 2-3 bullet points as policy recommendations arising from what you have written  

• A couple of recommendations for further reading 

• A two-sentence bio that will be added to the contributors’ list at the end of the publication 

• APA style reference list and in-text citations, in addition to hyperlinks in text to publications that are available online   

• For more background on format of the Policy Briefs please see samples here https://www.norrageducation.org/policy-insights/  

Timeline 

• Public Call: April 1-April 30, 2026 

• Proposals must be submitted by April 30th 

• Decisions will be shared on a rolling basis starting April 30th 

• Draft papers must be submitted for review by May 30 

• Editor Review Period: May 30-June 30 

• Revise and Resubmit: June 30-July 31 

• NORRAG approval: Aug 10 

• Anticipated Publication: Nov 10, 2026