Fostering Sustainability in Higher Education : Leveraging Human Behavior in Organizations

The field of Industrial/Organizational (I/O) psychology offers a wealth of knowledge about human behavior within organizations that can support the changes essential for moving toward sustainability.

Sustainability is one of the most critical challenges facing humanity. Changing Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) is crucial to overcoming that challenge because of their roles providing cutting edge knowledge and preparing our future citizens, workforce, and thought leaders. Many educational organizations are already leading the way toward sustainability, but a multitude of others still have substantial work to do. The field of Industrial/Organizational (I/O) psychology offers a wealth of knowledge about human behavior within organizations that can support the changes essential for moving toward sustainability. This book serves as a one-stop-shop for individuals intent on engaging their HEIs in sustainability, but who have little experience with organizational change or have encountered barriers to progress. It synthesizes the empirical literature and describes through accessible prose the psychological principles to encourage structural, procedural, social, and behavioral changes in support of a socially just and environmentally sustainable future.