Knowledge and Awareness on Sustainable Development Among University Students

Sustainable development has attracted great attention lately. As the human population increases, the demand for natural resources for development increases, and this has caused the depletion of non-renewable resources and damage to the environment. Therefore, there is a clear need for global action to create a more sustainable future. The future depends on the students at present because they are the future leaders. The main objective of this study was to determine the level of knowledge and awareness of the concept of sustainable development among the students at the University of Malaysia Sabah (UMS). A set of questionnaires was developed for this preliminary survey. 158 students were randomly engaged to be involved in this study. Based on the findings, the students’ knowledge and awareness level is considered high, and the average values range from approximately 70% to 91%. Findings also showed that terms such as “Eco-Campus,” “Earth Hour,” “Earth Day,” and “Green Energy” are keywords that most of the respondents are familiar with. It was interesting to note that there were still a handful of students unaware of the term “Sustainable Development Goals” at the time of the study (the year 2019). In conclusion, generally, the students have sufficient knowledge and awareness of sustainable development.