IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i3p950-d1576096.html

Sustainability in Universities: The Triad of Ecological Footprint, Happiness, and Academic Performance Among Brazilian and International Students

Author

Listed:
  • Biagio F. Giannetti

    (Graduate Program in Production Engineering, Paulista University (UNIP), São Paulo 04026-002, Brazil)

  • Marcos José Alves-Pinto Junior

    (School of Applied Sciences, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Limeira 13484-350, Brazil)

  • Maritza Chirinos-Marroquín

    (Departamento de Ingenierías de la Industria y el Ambiente, Universidad Católica San Pablo (UCSP), Arequipa 04001, Peru)

  • Luis Velazquez

    (Industrial Engineering, University of Sonora (UNISON), Hermosillo 83000, Mexico)

  • Nora Munguia

    (Industrial Engineering, University of Sonora (UNISON), Hermosillo 83000, Mexico)

  • Feni Agostinho

    (Graduate Program in Production Engineering, Paulista University (UNIP), São Paulo 04026-002, Brazil)

  • Cecília M. V. B. Almeida

    (Graduate Program in Production Engineering, Paulista University (UNIP), São Paulo 04026-002, Brazil)

  • Ginevra Lombardi

    (Department of Economics and Management, University of Florence (UNIFI), 50127 Florence, Italy)

  • Gengyuan Liu

    (School of Environment, Beijing Normal University (BNU), Beijing 100875, China)

Abstract

Universities, as hubs for educating future leaders and decision-makers, hold a crucial role in advancing sustainable development. However, the challenge of effectively integrating sustainability into university practices and student behavior remains significant. The Ecological Footprint, subjective well-being, and academic performance are three critical dimensions that, when evaluated together, offer a comprehensive view of sustainability in the educational context. This study aims to apply a university sustainability assessment model called ’Sunshine’ to university students in a diverse sample of five different countries. Additionally, the study provides a critical analysis of the relationships among the indicators of Ecological Footprint, Happiness, and Academic Performance. This application seeks to test the robustness of the model and explore lifestyle differences among students, providing valuable insights for decision-making in the context of university sustainability. Data were collected through specific questionnaires administered to a representative sample of students, and analyses were conducted using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. The results show that Brazilian, American, and Peruvian students exhibit an unsustainable lifestyle, requiring more than one planet to support their consumption habits. However, they are considered happy and perform well academically. These students were classified as environmentally distracted, highlighting a disconnect between their environmental awareness and practices. Chinese students showed a high ecological footprint, contrasting with the Italian group, which had an ecological footprint below one planet. However, both groups presented similar results, with low happiness indices and high academic performance. On the other hand, the group of Mexican students was the most sustainable, achieving acceptable levels in all three sustainability indicators. The analyses revealed that academic performance is related to happiness in some groups but not happiness in Ecological Footprint. This study significantly contributes by testing and validating the model in a multicultural and diverse sample, offering insights that can guide institutional policies to promote sustainability in the university environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Biagio F. Giannetti & Marcos José Alves-Pinto Junior & Maritza Chirinos-Marroquín & Luis Velazquez & Nora Munguia & Feni Agostinho & Cecília M. V. B. Almeida & Ginevra Lombardi & Gengyuan Liu, 2025. "Sustainability in Universities: The Triad of Ecological Footprint, Happiness, and Academic Performance Among Brazilian and International Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-24, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:3:p:950-:d:1576096
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/3/950/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/3/950/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ching-Yun Hsu & Ting-Ting Wu, 2023. "Application of Business Simulation Games in Flipped Classrooms to Facilitate Student Engagement and Higher-Order Thinking Skills for Sustainable Learning Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-18, December.
    2. Cristina Tripon & Iulia Gonța & Aurelia Bulgac, 2023. "Nurturing Minds and Sustainability: An Exploration of Educational Interactions and Their Impact on Student Well-Being and Assessment in a Sustainable University," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-18, June.
    3. Yaser Mohammadi & Feyzallah Monavvarifard & Laleh Salehi & Reza Movahedi & Saeid Karimi & Genovaitė Liobikienė, 2023. "Explaining the Sustainability of Universities through the Contribution of Students’ Pro-Environmental Behavior and the Management System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-23, January.
    4. Qian Meng & Qi Zhang, 2023. "The Influence of Academic Self-Efficacy on University Students’ Academic Performance: The Mediating Effect of Academic Engagement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-14, March.
    5. Oscar Licandro & José Luis Vázquez Burguete & Luis Camilo Ortigueira Sánchez & Giselle Viviana Pinochet Sánchez, 2024. "Management Students’ Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability: The University Context of Each Country as an Explanatory Variable," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-21, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. repec:bcp:journl:v:9:y:2025:i:22:p:46-60 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Karmen Drljić & Sonja Čotar Konrad & Sonja Rutar & Tina Štemberger, 2025. "Digital Equity and Sustainability in Higher Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-15, February.
    3. Francis Arthur & Mumuni Baba Yidana & Bernard Yaw Sekyi Acquah, 2025. "Academic Engagement Among Economics Students in Higher Education: A Multivariate Analysis of Academic Level and Gender-Driven Variations," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(2), pages 21582440251, June.
    4. Diego Bonilla-Jurado & Ember Zumba & Araceli Lucio-Quintana & Carlos Yerbabuena-Torres & Andrea Ramírez-Casco & Cesar Guevara, 2024. "Advancing University Education: Exploring the Benefits of Education for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-27, September.
    5. Brina Kurent & Stanislav Avsec, 2024. "Synergizing Systems Thinking and Technology-Enhanced Learning for Sustainable Education Using the Flow Theory Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-42, October.
    6. Yawei Du & Qing Ye & Hongjiang Liu & Yuting Wu & Fenghua Wang, 2023. "Sustainable Assessment Tools for Higher Education Institutions: Developing Two-Hierarchy Tools for China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-22, July.
    7. Valery Okulich-Kazarin & Artem Artyukhov & Łukasz Skowron & Nadiia Artyukhova & Tomasz Wołowiec, 2024. "When Artificial Intelligence Tools Meet “Non-Violent” Learning Environments (SDG 4.3): Crossroads with Smart Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-21, September.
    8. Nirda de Jesús Colón-Flores & Maira Rafaela Vargas-Martínez & Joselina Caridad Tavarez-De Henríquez & Cándida María Domínguez-Valerio, 2023. "Environmental, Social and Economic Attitudes and Sustainable Knowledge on the Sustainable Behaviour of Engineering Students: An Analysis Based on Attitudes towards Teachers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-20, September.
    9. Yongbo Wang & Xinxian Wang, 2025. "The Relationship Among Emotional Regulation, Learning Motivation, Social Support, and Academic Performance in College Students: The Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(4), pages 21582440251, November.
    10. Panteha Farmanesh & Asim Vehbi & Niloofar Solati Dehkordi, 2025. "AI Literacy in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals: The Interplay of Student Engagement and Anxiety Reduction in Northern Cyprus Universities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-18, May.
    11. Amal Mohamed Zayed, 2024. "Academic Self-efficacy and its Relationship to Academic Competitiveness, Academic Procrastination, and Cognitive Flexibility among Undergraduate Students," International Journal of Higher Education, Sciedu Press, vol. 13(1), pages 1-57, February.
    12. Leilei Wang & Li Liu & Xue Meng & Qiyue Gao & Mengyi Fan, 2024. "The Relationship between Geographical Self-Efficacy and Academic Achievements in Geography: A Moderated Mediating Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-17, March.
    13. Erstu Tarko Kassa & Jing Ning, 2025. "Do Organizational and Individual Factors Affect the Knowledge Creation Practices of Public Research Universities?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(5), pages 16446-16473, November.
    14. John Paul A. Reponte & Edna A. Cenita, 2025. "Mediation Analysis of Academic Performance Between Self-Efficacy in STEM Health Studies and Basic Clinical Competence," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(6), pages 1149-1168, June.
    15. Barbara Bradač Hojnik, 2024. "Integrating Playful Learning to Enhance Education for Sustainability: Case Study of a Business School in Slovenia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-17, November.
    16. Tianlin Xie & Fong Peng Chew, 2025. "Effects of Basic Needs and Course Self-Efficacy on Agentic Engagement Among Pre-Service Chinese Teachers," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(3), pages 21582440251, July.
    17. repec:bjc:journl:v:12:y:2025:i:8:p:1068-1081 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Natalia Bravo-Adasme & Alejandro Cataldo & Hedy Acosta-Antognoni & Elizabeth Grandón & Nicolás Bravo & Margarita Valdés, 2025. "Lots of Digital Files? How Digital Hoarding Is Related to the Academic Performance of University Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 22(8), pages 1-19, July.
    19. repec:rfh:bbejor:v:13:y:2025:i:3:p:661-666 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Roberta Pinna & Gianfranco Cicotto & Hosein Jafarkarimi, 2023. "Student’s Co-Creation Behavior in a Business and Economic Bachelor’s Degree in Italy: Influence of Perceived Service Quality, Institutional Image, and Loyalty," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-20, June.
    21. Nurul Ain Zulkifli & Nornazira Suhairom & Nur Husna Abd Wahid & Nurul Ain Saipudin, 2025. "Fostering Entrepreneurial Mindsets in Teacher Trainees: A Study on Entrepreneurship Education for Future Educators," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(4), pages 4371-4390, April.
    22. Cristina Veres & Maria Tănase & Ioan Bogdan Bacos & Mihaela Kardos, 2025. "Sustainable Universities: A Bibliometric and Thematic Analysis in Higher Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-19, February.
    23. Jet Edward V. Ondaro & Jose C. Dagoc, Jr, 2025. "Students’ Self-Efficacy, Epistemological Beliefs and Mathematics Performance," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(3s), pages 4577-4589, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:3:p:950-:d:1576096. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.