Education and Research for Sustainability: The Contribution of Business Schools in Australia

The commitment of Australian Universities in providing sustainability education and contributing to scholarly outputs in sustainability represents their critical efforts in supporting the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Using data collected on sustainability-focused unit offerings and bibliometric analysis on 3119 scholarly outputs extracted from Scopus, this study investigates the extent of engagement and contribution of business schools across Australia in cultivating a culture of sustainability among graduates. The results indicate that 63.15 percent of business schools offer sustainability units in either undergraduate or postgraduate business programs, or in both. Empirical findings highlight that AACSB accreditation status, QS World University Rankings, and size of the business school significantly influenced sustainability-focused unit offerings. Additionally, a clear upward trajectory in scholarly outputs during the study period was observed. The bibliometric analysis reveals that academics coauthored with peers from 109 countries. Among the key themes identified are: “sustainability”, “sustainable development”, “ecotourism”, and “environmental sustainability”. These findings suggest that the social sustainability domain, and the application of the degrowth research paradigm in sustainability research are underexplored. This study is significant as it provides useful insights into the extent of commitment of Australian business schools in advancing the SDGs over the past three decades. The findings are useful in informing future course offerings and research directions.