Sustainability reporting among Ghanaian universities

Abstract

This is an exploratory study that brings to the fore the extent to which universities in Ghana report on their sustainability performance. It explores the issue of whether Ghanaian universities report on their sustainability performance, as well as the dimensions of sustainability they report on. A framework based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines and campus sustainability assessment tools was used as the basis for investigating sustainability reporting among the six biggest universities in Ghana. Despite the fact that none of the six universities had stand-alone sustainability reports, they all reported on their university sustainability performance through websites and annual reports, despite not explicitly claiming to be addressing sustainability. It was also noted that there is variable coverage of sustainability issues among the universities investigated. It appears that sustainability reporting in Ghanaian universities, while still in its infancy, is emerging. Universities in developing economy contexts might be encouraged to explicitly address and report sustainability issues through ‘soft’ regulations which address the imperative and content of sustainability reporting.