SUSTAINABILITY INDICATORS AT PUCRS: AN ANALYSIS BASED ON THE NETWORK OF SUSTAINABILITY INDICATORS IN LATIN AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES PROJECT

Abstract

The Network of Sustainability Indicators in Latin American Universities (RISU) project is an initiative of the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), conceived in 2014, which included the participation of 65 Latin American Universities in Argentina, Brazil , Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela. In Brazil, thirteen universities in the South and Southeast regions participated in the Project: three universities in the State of São Paulo, one in the State of Paraná, four in the State of Santa Catarina, and five in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, including Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS). The instrument used in this project was a questionnaire with 114 indicators, distributed in eleven areas of possible application of sustainability in universities: sustainability policies; awareness and participation; environmental responsibility; teaching; research and transfer; urban planning and biodiversity; energy, water, mobility, waste and responsible recruitment. This article therefore analyzes the results of these indicators at the PUCRS, which for several years, has invested in a process of greening, through the training of future professionals, and through research and the production of knowledge, seeking to resolve environmental problems. It is therefore configured as a sustainable teaching space. The goal of the participation in the RISU project and the analysis of the results is to integrate the greening efforts of the University. The results presented provide an overview of the university’s performance in each of the areas addressed by the indicators, and some possible improvements in some of these axes and action fronts are discussed.