Environmental education strategies and sustainable development in HEIs in the food area – raising awareness through participatory actions in co-design

Purpose This paper aims to demonstrate the work carried out in a higher education institution (HEI) to raise awareness in its community about the impact of food on climate change and provide information on the carbon footprint of meals. This paper starts from the analysis of the (anonymous) responses to the questionnaires used in the environmental audit of a HEI, with regard to the information collected on eating habits, from 2020 to 2023, to subsequently develop a bottom-up work strategy and implement a set of activities, based on co-design and participatory democracy, which aim to involve the community and to promote a more sustainable way of life. Design/methodology/approach Within the scope of the Eco-Schools| Eco-Campus Program implemented at Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa in Lisbon, Portugal, each year an environmental audit is carried to identify its weaknesses and strengths, to develop an annual activity plan, which responds to needs and promotes the necessary changes in terms of environmental and social sustainability. Findings After receiving the anonymous responses to the completed surveys, the results of this study were analyzed regarding the food consumption of the Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa community (students, teachers and staff), and it was observed that a large part of the community uses animal protein in most meals. Research limitations/implications Subsequently, a participatory democracy event was developed in co-design. This event began with some information about the impact of food production on the environment, followed by brainstorming and work group. Practical implications Two training workshops were held on preparing low-carbon footprint, vegetarian meals, accompanied by the launch of an e-book with information about low cost and nutritious meals, using leguminous sources. This e-book also presented a carbon footprint label for each meal to help citizens to make conscious choices. Social implications The workshops were followed by tasting sessions. The relevance of collective consumption became evident during the workshops’ tasting phase, where the community came together to share meals, exchange experiences and engage in meaningful conversations about sustainable eating practices in a relaxed atmosphere. This collective environment fostered a sense of connection and reinforced the importance of making conscious food choices. The workshops aimed to contribute to the urgent green transition, to contribute to achieve the goals of the Paris agreement and to cooperate in the pursuit of several Sustainable Development Goals. Originality/value This paper aims to demonstrate the work carried out in an HEI to raise awareness in its community about the impact of food on climate change and provide information on the carbon footprint of meals. To achieve this, a bottom-up co-design strategy was used to promote people’s involvement.