Exploring the coverage of environmental-dimension indicators in existing campus sustainability appraisal tools

Abstract

Despite the plethora of comprehensive review of campus sustainability assessment tools, reporting, and indicators in the extant literature, studies are absent specifically on campus-wide and spatial-based indicators in existing tools. Although, several academic campuses across the globe are located on a vast area of land with multiple activities and operations associated with serious ecological consequences. This paper explores the environmental-dimension indicators with spatial and campus-wide attributes in 13 existing campus sustainability appraisal tools via coverage evaluation and the SMART approach. The findings reveal a severe absence of comprehensive coverage of spatial-based indicators and the lack of the integration of a GIS and or related spatial software in their appraisal process. The article demonstrates how integrating GIS and or other related spatial techniques and software into environmental dimension indicators with campus-wide and spatial attributes could be carried out to remedy the challenges of absence, inadequate of or restrained access to basic information for campus sustainability appraisal project in developing world.