Sustainability in Higher Education Institutions: The Key Role of Eco-Schools

Since the second half of the last century, environmental problems began to generate deep concern around the world, not only among ordinary citizens, but also among political decision-makers [1].The multiple adverse impacts of human's persistent and irresponsible actions, namely pollution, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, deforestation, and climate change, are increasingly evident, affecting deeply ecological systems and humans` wellbeing [2][3][4].Climate change is particularly worrying, having become one of the main threats to the existence of life on planet Earth [5].Faced with this increasingly unsustainable humanity's environmental footprint, governments, organizations, and civil society must act now and adopt effective measures to mitigate environmental problems and promote a sustainable development.As underlined by the United Nations [6], to create a better future for all, whether in this generation or the next, it is crucial a collective action to address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, environmental degradation and pollution.In this context, it is vital that education takes an active role in promoting sustainability, being an essential tool for developing students' awareness of their attitudes and behaviours towards the environment [7].Among the different current educational programs in the environmental area, the Eco-Schools stand out, one of the largest global sustainable school programs that plays a key role in applying the concepts of environmental education and management in the daily lives of schools.The Eco-Schools program continues to grow with the constant and ambitious mission of improving literacy and changing environmental behaviours, particularly among the youngest who are now students, but will be the future decisionmakers, politicians, managers, teachers and parents.Therefore, it is essential to involve this younger generation in building not only a school, but also a more sustainable community [1,8].This study proposes to reflect on the importance of the Eco-Schools program, carrying out a critical analysis of the main guidelines, methods and areas of activity of the Eco-Schools.This research focuses on the reality of Portugal, an European country where the Eco-Schools program has been developed since 1996 by the Blue Flag European Association, an association that operates in all dimensions of sustainability, highlighting the importance to educate and involve all individuals in the community in joint actions towards a more sustainable society.The case study is a Portuguese public Higher Education Institution (HEI) awarded the Green Flag in the area of management and accounting.A description, analysis, and reflections are made on some of the main measures implemented within the scope of the Eco-Schools program, noting that, despite some implementation difficulties, the program was successfully developed, involving the participation of the entire school community, namely students, teachers, staff, and outside school community members, thus contributing to a more sustainable society.