Scharf said that students want to leave university with “high levels of sustainability literacy” and to join companies that are actively embracing sustainability.
Last year, students responded to a Higher Education Academy (HEA) and NUS survey, which found that more than 80% of students believe that sustainable development should be actively promoted and incorporated by UK universities, a belief which increases as they progress through their studies.
Students said that sustainable development is something which should be embedded in their university courses, not just as an add-on to the university strategies.
The survey, of nearly 7,000 first and third-year students, also uncovered new insights, such as a desire for teaching to include extra-curricular sustainable development learning opportunities.
First-year undergraduate students starting their university careers in 2012 were more likely to accept reduced starting salaries for a job in a company with a good track record on sustainability, the report found.
Speaking to edie at Sustainability Live in Birmingham this month, Scharf said: “The findings of the report will hopefully help universities embed sustainability in to all courses, not just the usual suspects of Geography and Environmental courses”.
Sustainability Live 2014
Leigh Stringer