The Sustainable Development Strategy

In 2015, the United Nations (UN) approved the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a global action plan that was endorsed by more than 170 countries and territories. This initiative, which consists of 17 objectives and 169 goals, aims to establish actions and challenges focused on eradicating poverty, reducing inequalities and exclusion, and fostering resilience so that countries can make progress in achieving these goals (UN, 2015a; UN, 2015b).

From the global to the local, many actors in society contribute to ending poverty, building democratic governance, the rule of law and inclusive institutions. These objectives are projected from 5 strategic axes: People, Prosperity, Planet, Peace and Partnerships; and operate in the social, economic and environmental dimensions. They also involve the UN, the EU, national, regional, provincial and local governments, federations of municipalities, civil society organizations, businesses, universities and liberal professionals. Meanwhile, the European Commission (EC) establishes as priorities : European Green Pact; Economy that works for people; Europe fit for the digital age; European way of life; A stronger and more democratic Europe in the world.

The 2022 progress report of the 2030 Sustainable Development Strategy outlines the accelerating policies for each of the SDGs.

These policies have an impact on how governments can contribute to their progress by establishing measures and creating public policies.

At the regional level, regional and local governments, as actors of change, are also showing their cooperative commitment to the development of the 2030 Agenda. With strategic axes in scorecards, which contribute to sustainable development in its three dimensions, there are many and diverse initiatives included in the sustainable development strategy³.

The 2030 Agenda Action Plan (Gobierno de España, 2018) and the 2022 Progress Report of the Government of Spain’s Sustainable Development Strategy (Ministerio de Derechos Sociales y Agenda 2030, 2022) include the involvement of substate governments (Table1). The strategy, policies, plans and actions with updated information on each of them can be consulted on their websites.

Regional and local governments coincide in their sustainable development strategies in the creation of plans. They highlight measures in different areas of the social, economic and environmental aspects of the 2030 Agenda. These are intended to respond to the needs arising from the problems of individuals and the planet, with the aim of achieving prosperity and peace in society through partnerships and collective cooperation. In general, there is a consolidation of strategies and a move away from isolated actions (EDS, 2022).

Deepening into the commitment of the different regions that make up the Spanish context, autonomous communities such as the Basque Country, the Valencian Community, Aragon, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, Andalusia, Asturias and Galicia already report data on the level of achievement and implementation of the SDGs. However, it should be noted that data is still lacking from the rest of the regions and from those we have mentioned, the degree of information and reporting on achievement is uneven: while the Basque Country reports more than 100 reports with information on the different SDGs, the rest of the communities only provide one report. We will have to continue to monitor all the information provided in order to establish not only its implementation but also the degree to which it has been achieved (Ministerio para la Transformación Digital y de la Función Pública, 2024).

In addition, the report highlights the leading role of the University which, as an institution committed to society, is no stranger to the challenges and accelerating policies of the SDGs. Therefore, the transversality of this sector means that it is present in many of the policies with a clear educational focus (the achievement of sustainable cities, food security, environmental protection, sustainable economic growth or the strengthening of inclusive and peaceful societies) (EDS, 2022, p. 448).

The Strategy for the 2030 Agenda in Spanish universities

In this implementation framework, in which interconnections between policies and cooperative and collaborative work between institutions and social actors are necessary, universities play a transcendental role in the social, economic and environmental commitment of their environment.

The Commission for the 2030 Agenda of the CRUE Spanish Universities has elaborated a proposal for implementation actions for universities in their contribution to sustainable development . The involvement in the 2030 Agenda in the university context has a dual perspective: how the SDGs impact on the development of universities and what universities contribute to the development of the SDGs.

The four levers that enable universities to develop the SDGs and thus contribute to the UN goals (Figure 1) are research, education, management and governance model, and social leadership. The SDGs provide an opportunity to link these dimensions, which together enable universities to contribute to the development of these goals (SDSN, 2017).

To this end, the sustainable development strategies of universities need the interconnection of policies and the establishment of plans that allow them to contribute to the 2030 Agenda, localizing the SDGs in their corporate behavior with their different publics and in alliance with other social actors.

For this reason, university policy or strategy must align its objectives with the SDGs, for which requires replacing the management by objectives model with the management by impacts model (^{Vallaeys and Álvarez-Rodríguez, 2022}). Education and research play essential roles in providing the opportunity to share the multidisciplinary transfer around the SDGs: internally, the student body by educating, raising awareness and involving them in sustainable development from any branch of knowledge in their training as future professionals and citizens; and research, in addition to enriching scientific progress, provides sustainability measures, initiatives or solutions from the global to the most local level; externally, universities engage in dialogue and create links with their environment, whether they are other universities, public institutions, the business world, civic organizations, governments or the media, in their public commitment or social leadership.

All in all, the university is an agent of social transformation in relation to the SDGs because, in addition to its educational role, it assumes a fundamental role as an agent of awareness, sensitization and communication in the implementation of the SDGs (^{García Caballero & Herranz de la Casa, 2021}). The Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) rests on 8 axes that follow policies to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs (Table 2).

In the process of universities’ contribution to sustainable development, they must commit themselves to:

To this end, the proposals for action of the CRUE Universities 2030 Agenda Commission for each of the SDGs would contribute to the implementation of these eight strategic axes (Table 3).

Table 3 Proposals for sustainable actions for universities 

SDG	Accelerating Policies of Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS)	Proposals for Action for Universities	Accelerating Policies of SDG Development Sustainable Strategy (SDS)		Proposals for Action for Universities
	1, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8	Grants and scholarships or increasing the assumptions for extending tuition payment deadlines, among others (Crue, 2021, p.4).		1, 3, 5, 6 and 7	Implement and reinforce plans for disability care, gender equality and prevention and action against harassment, among others (Crue, 2021, p.8).
	1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8	Food donation campaigns to food banks, among others (Crue, 2021, p.4).		1, 2, 6 and 7	Sustainable mobility plans on university campuses, among others (Crue, 2021, p.8).
	1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8	Healthy Universities or Occupational Risk Prevention, among others (Crue, 2021, pp.4-5).		1, 2, 3 and 7	Normalize responsible consumption: Fair trade products in university stores, among others (Crue, 2021, p.9).
	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8	Promote inclusive education and transversal competencies for global citizenship, among others (Crue, 2021, p.5).		2, 4 and 7	Development and implementation of strategic plans to reduce emissions and waste, among others (Crue,2021, pp.910).
	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8	Promote the inclusion of the principle of gender equality as a principle of action in university governance and strategy, among others (Crue, 2021, pp.5-6).		2, 4 and 7	Promote plastic collection projects on coasts, rivers and lakes, among others (Crue, 2021, p.10).
	2	Intelligent systems in sources that increase the efficiency of water use, among others (Crue, 2021, p.6).		2, 4 and 7	Reforestation projects and preservation of the local environment and flora, among others (Crue, 2021, p.10).
	2, 4 and 7	University campuses as spaces for renewable energy production (photovoltaic, thermosolar, geothermal...), among others (Crue, 2021, pp.6-7).		1, 3 and 6	Develop ethical codes that include values and goals of the 2030 Agenda, among others (Crue, 2021, p.10).
	2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7	Analyze and promote the university employability of students, among others (Crue, 2021, p.7).		3 and 7	Adhesion and collaboration of universities with national, European and international networks in defense of sustainability, among others (Crue, 2021, pp.10-11).
	2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7	Spin off available to companies and institutions, among others (Crue, 2021, p.7).

Source: Own elaboration based on the Progress Report of the 2030 Sustainable Development Strategy (2022) and the Proposal for awareness-raising actions for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, as well as the concerns of universities in relation to the fulfillment of the SDGs. (Crue, 2021). https://www.crue.org/documentos-e-informes/

Dissemination of sustainable development in Spanish universities

The media, from its social and educational function, has an important role in the dissemination and promotion of this global challenge (De la Rosa & Carrascal, 2019). Nevertheless, it is a commitment that must be shared with other agents such as companies, organizations, governments and individuals.

The scientific literature shows that communication, as a tool that allows institutions to communicate their CSR, has become a basic pillar on which to build and disseminate their responsible behavior in order to achieve a positive impact on their reputation (^{Araujo & Kollat, 2018}; ^{Estanyol, 2020}; ^{Hetze & Winistörfer, 2016}; Kollat & Farache, 2017; ^{Zeler & Capriotti, 2018}). Nowadays, however, it is not enough to be socially responsible, it is also necessary for organizations’ audiences to know it. For this reason, communication is a vitally significant tool for building positive relationships with their audiences (Kwon & Lee, 2021). Just as CSR communication can help generate a positive perception of a company or product (^{Chernev & Blair, 2015}), CSR communication can help to generate a positive image of universities, especially when CSR is a way to implement the SDGs in companies (^{Nair et al., 2021}). Moreover, effective communication is a success factor in achieving sustainability and awareness-raising goals, placing them at the center of the media agenda and, by extension, public opinion (^{Janoušková, Hák, Nečas & Moldan, 2019}).

According to ^{López-Carrión (2024}), the role of communication in sustainable development was not born with the approval of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda, but it has been addressed by academics long before; giving rise to specific disciplines of study such as Sustainable Communication for Development and Social Change. In this sense, communication is established as an essential tool for citizens to know and become involved in the aspects that address sustainable development (^{Díaz-Bordenave, 1998}).

Authors such as ^{Toro-Peña (2020}, p. 773) emphasize that ‘The SDGs have a limited vision of communication, as it is reduced to its more instrumental conception linked to ICTs’. However, despite the fact that the 2030 Agenda does not expressly refer to communication or how to communicate the SDGs, the role played by communication in their implementation is indisputable. Conversely, it should be qualified that it might have been inappropriate to set out a clearly delineated communication strategy common to all countries, given the different national contexts (^{Mulholland, Bernardo & Berger, 2017}).

A recent study at the national level noted the high degree of ignorance on this issue among citizens, underlining that most of them do not know the driving body, the number of SDGs or whether there is a specific Ministry (^{López-Carrión, 2024}).

The role and importance of communication in relation to the SDGs has been clearly seen in some of the Spanish government’s own actions. In June, the Action Plan for the Implementation of the 2030 agenda. Towards a Spanish Strategy for Sustainable Development was approved (Gobierno de España, 2018). In its section ‘9. Transformative measures: laying the foundations’, ten ‘immediate and concrete measures and commitments to be carried out in those aspects that are fundamental, and horizontal, pillars to advance towards the SDGs’ (p.149) are collected. The fourth of these makes explicit reference to communication, under the heading ‘Inform to know. Raise awareness to do. Communicate to transform: a compact for communicating the 2030 Agenda’. This measure proposes a clear goal, namely that by 2020, 100% of Spanish citizens know about the 2030 Agenda and are aware of the scope of the transformations it entails. Likewise, this action plan established the commitment to reach a ‘Pact for the communication of the 2030 Agenda between all public administrations and with private and civil society actors’ (p. 153). With this measure, the Spanish government highlighted the importance of communication in the process not only of knowledge, but also of raising public awareness of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs.

Furthermore, the role of communication is such that in 2022 the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management made an open call to PR professionals to include a new goal in the United Nations SDGs: SDG 18 on responsible communication for dialogue between companies, public institutions and citizens. This objective aims to ensure that the communication of progress in achieving the SDGs is understood as an implicit mechanism of sustainable development itself, with a real capacity to contribute to its success.

Universities assume a rigorous role both in the incorporation of the SDGs in their institutional behavior and in their communication policies (^{Carretón-Ballester, Quiles-Soler & LorenzoSolá, 2023}). In this collective work, the dissemination of the SDGs, two dimensions can be established: an internal dimension, by internalizing a model of sustainable governance, as well as educating students in the values of social justice, environmental sustainability and respect for democracy and human rights, through their training programs; and an external dimension, by transferring the advancement of knowledge from its research on the SDGs into the scientific arena and by being an active agent and referent of change for the 2030 Agenda for society (^{Mulholland, Bernardo & Berger, 2017}). A further step would be to establish the reciprocal reasons for universities to engage in the SDGs and the contribution of the SDGs to the university context. Aspects such as knowledge, learning, exemplarity, impact and collaboration are mutual contributions between the university institution and the SDGs (SDSN Australia/Pacific, 2017).

Moreover, universities’ commitment to the SDGs is reflected in their own communication. Although it is true that not all universities have been able to manage their SDG communication well, there are various actions and platforms that have emerged for this purpose. At the international level, there are initiatives promoted by the United Nations and other organizations such as the Academic Impact Hubs, the International Association of Universities (with its Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development [HESD] Portal). More specifically, universities themselves have been aware of their role and have created initiatives that show their commitment and the implementation of the SDGs in these institutions. Examples include the University of Bergen (Norway), the Universities of Leeds, Liverpool or Worcester (UK), the UCSI University of Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur Campus), the University of Bologna (Italy), Yale University (USA), or the University of Auckland (New Zealand) at the international level, while nationally there are the Universities of Málaga, Jaén, Pompeu Fabra or Barcelona (^{García Caballero & Herranz de la Casa, 2021}).

Communication is not only a means that helps companies and institutions to disseminate their results, but also a mechanism that can contribute to their achievement by encouraging behavioral changes in their audiences that lead them to act in favor of the SDGs (UNDG, 2022) . And, in this sense, the university becomes an agent of social transformation in relation to the SDGs, because it adds to its educational function, its role of sensitization, awareness and communication in the implementation of the SDGs.

Within this theoretical framework, we raise the following research questions:

In order to answer these questions, the following specific objectives are proposed:

Social responsibility and sustainability in university strategy

University responsibility is embedded in the majority of academic institutions. The analysis indicates that social and sustainable commitment is included in 83% of strategic plans, especially in public universities, compared to 17% of universities that do not yet include it as a strategic line. In addition, University Social Responsibility (USR) or sustainability reports and official websites include the university’s contribution to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in almost 77% of universities.

In order to determine whether there is an interdependent relationship between the categories of ownership type and strategic social and sustainable commitment, a simple correspondence analysis was performed. The Chi-square value (X² ₁ = 16.090) with a significance level of p = .000 indicates that the variables are associated, and the factor analysis indicates that the first factor explains 100% of this association. By columns, the private university category is higher than the average inertia, explaining 64.1% of the association. Thus, private ownership tends not to include social and sustainable commitment in its strategic plans. By ranks, the category ‘does not include social and sustainable commitment in the strategic plan’ explains 83.3% of the association between the categories. The analysis reveals that the universities that include social and sustainable commitment in the strategic plan are those with public ownership (Figure 2).

Source: Own elaboration.

Figure 2 Association between the categories of ownership and commitment variables in the Strategic Plan 

Stakeholders and agents of social and sustainable impact

With regard to the groups or audiences that are the object of the impact of the responsibility or sustainability of the universities, the student body is the most present group (76.4%), followed by the Teaching and Research Staff - TRS (75.6%) and the Administration and Services Staff - ASS (74.4%).

The statistical analysis is robust and shows a statistically significant relationship between university ownership and certain audiences (Table 6). Companies and public institutions are found more in public universities reports with a statistically significant, albeit moderate-low relationship. Therefore, the null hypothesis of independence is rejected, and it is concluded that the presence of private companies and public institutions in the reports depends on the type of university ownership.

Implementation and dissemination of the 2030 Agenda in universities

The 2030 Agenda is mentioned in 82% of the social responsibility or sustainability reports and even in some strategic plans. However, the analysis of official websites shows that universities contribute to the achievement of the different SDGs in different proportions (Graph 1), with Quality Education (SDG4) standing out with a presence of 74.4%, Health and Well-being (SDG3) in 71.8% of universities and Gender Equality (SDG5) in 67.9%.

In terms of the levers involved in the universities’ contribution to sustainable development, education stands out (70.5%), followed by research (69.2%), the management and governance model (62.8%) and social leadership (61.5%). The analysis of these dimensions by type of university shows that, for private universities, leadership is the dimension most present in the development of their 2030 Agenda, compared to the management and governance model dimension in public universities.

The data (Graph 2) shows that SDG4 Quality Education and SDG8 Decent Work and Economic Growth are the most developed by public universities, while in private universities, SDG4 Quality Education is in first place SDG3 Health and Well-being and SDG5 Gender Equality are tied for second place in public universities. In the private sector, however, SDG3 Health and Well-being is in second place. SDG12 Sustainable Consumption and Production and SDG16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions rank third in public universities, and SDG17 Partnerships to Achieve Goals in private universities. It should be noted that SDG2 Zero Hunger is the least developed in both public and private universities, and SDG6 Clean Water and Sanitation also appears in last place in private universities.

Graph 1 Contribution of Spanish universities to the SDGs (%) 

Graph 2 Contribution of universities to the SDGs by tenure (%) 

Based on the results of the contingency table, we ask whether public or private ownership determines how universities contribute to each of the SDGs, so we pose the null hypothesis of independence between the type of university (public or private) and each SDG. The Chi-Square test (Table 4) is calculated and reveals that, with a confidence level of 95%, there is a statistically significant relationship between tenure and the development of the Sustainable Development Goals in the university, being, therefore, dependent variables. Thus, it can be affirmed that the SDGs are developed more in public universities than in private universities.

Regarding the dissemination of the SDGs, the analysis shows that the website created specifically to disseminate the contribution to the SDGs is called ‘2030 Agenda/SDGs’ in 67.9% of the institutions, followed by ‘Environmental Sustainability’ in 17.9% and the words ‘Social Commitment/Social Responsibility/Social Impact’ appear in a meager 5% of the universities. However, 12.8% of institutions do not disseminate content on the 2030 Agenda or the SDGs (Table 5). By type of university, although some differences are observed in the contingency table, the statistical analysis concludes that the type of ownership of the universities does not determine the name of the website.

With regard to the degree of the universities’ contribution to the SDGs, the results allow us to establish the quartiles of sustainability. The top five positions constitute the Q1st of the universities’ sustainable development. At the top of the ranking are 19 universities (17 public and 2 private). The second position is shared by 7 universities (5 public and 2 private). In third place are 8 public universities, and in fourth place are 2 public and 2 private universities. In fifth place are 2 public universities and 1 private university. Q2nd is composed of 10 universities, of which 4 are private and 6 are public. In Q3rd there are 5 private universities and of the 13 universities in Q4th, only one is public and only one is private. These institutions are characterized by a very low level of contribution to the SDGs. The remaining 8 universities (2 public and 6 private) have not yet implemented the Sustainable Development Goals in their policies (Figure 6).

Source: Own elaboration.

Figure 6 Ranking of universities according to their contribution to the SDGs (n) 

University actions for Sustainable Development policies

Taking into account the areas established by the UN in the development of the 2030 Agenda, the analysis reveals that actions referring to Alliances for Commitment have a greater presence than the rest (74.4%), followed by Collective Commitment for Peace (64.1%), Commitment to People (63.3%) and Community Prosperity (62.8%), with actions of Commitment to the Planet’s Climate and Environment coming last (53.6%). While Alliances is the most developed dimension for public and private universities, the second most developed dimension is Collective Commitment for Peace and Community Prosperity in public universities, and Commitment to People in private universities (Graph 3).

The analysis of the actions according to the priority areas of the European Commission’s SDGs shows that almost 70% contribute to sustainable development. A Europe Fit for the Digital Age accounts for 69.2%, the European Way of Life 68.6%, while an Economy that Works for People 65.8% and A Stronger and More Democratic Europe 65.4%, with the European Green Pact being the area with the lowest weight (58.7%). The cross-analysis shows that the contribution of universities to these priority areas does not differ between types of universities (Graph 4).

From the perspective of the Sustainable Development Strategy (Graph 5), the majority of universities focus on actions that contribute to policy 7: International Leadership for a Fair, Sustainable, Equal, Democratic and Human Rights-Based Globalization (73.7%); policy 1: The social transition. Redistribute Wealth and Guarantee Rights (72.4%); with the same frequency, policy 6: Strengthened Public Services for a Democratic and Resilient Welfare State ; and policy 8: Social and Territorial Cohesion. A Rural Environment with Equal Rights and Opportunities (71.7%). The contribution of universities to the rest of the strategic axes appears in 66%, and 71% are in policy 2: A Country that Respects the Limits of the Planet; policy 3: Free and Equal Lives for All; policy 4: A Green, Fair and Digital New Productive and Economic Model; and policy 5: Quality and Stability of Employment .

Graph 4. University contribution to the five priority areas of the SDGs (EC) by tenure track (%) 

Graph 5 Contribution of universities to the SDG8 accelerating policies (SDGs) by tenure track (%) 

To find out the interdependence between the SDGs of the Sustainable Development Strategy, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is carried out. The first thing that emerges from the analysis is that the determinant (.001) indicates that the variables are strongly related. The analysis retains 4 principal components that explain most of the total variance. Since the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) Measure of Sampling Adequacy is very high (.803) and Barlett’s test is significant (X² ₁₃₆ = 494.990; p = .000), there is a strong association between the variables. However, the variables network membership and water footprint show less interrelation than the rest.

Based on this analysis, the question arises whether this interdependence is replicated in each of the dimensions: People (SDGs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10), Prosperity (SDGs 7, 8, 9 and 11), Planet (SDGs 6, 12, 13, 14 and 15) and Peace (SDGs 16, 17 and 18). To this end, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed for each of them (Table 9).

The correlation matrix for People shows some values below 0.30 with a determinant equal to zero, so the variables (SDGs) are probably independent and the PFA is not applicable for this dimension. Nevertheless, the correlations between the variables that compose the Prosperity dimension, the variables of the Planet dimension and the variables of the Peace dimension are above 0.30 and their determinants are low but non-zero. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) Measure of Sampling Adequacy and Barlett’s Test of Sphericity reinforce the high correlation between their variables (ODS). Visually, the interrelationship between the variables can be appreciated with the rotated space component plots for the four dimensions (Graphs 6, 7, 8 and 9).

Source: Own elaboration.