Proceedings of the 51st International Academic Conference, Vienna

EX ANTE ANALYSIS TO EXPLORE THE PROVISION TO PAY SUSTAINABLE UNIVERSITY SERVICES IN THE UNIVERSITY CITY OF AUTONOMOUS UNIVERSITY OF COAHUILA, UNIT TORREÓN, MEXICO

ROLANDO RÍOS-AGUILAR

Abstract:

Sustainable campuses have become one of the main objectives of university agendas as a result of the impacts generated by the activities that take place there and that affect the environment. Therefore, there are environmental management systems, which are the set of practices, procedures, processes and resources needed to comply with environmental regulations in companies and are focused on the reduction of impacts on the environment and the efficiency of processes. In Universities, even when considered as companies, these systems do not work efficiently, which makes it necessary and urgent that a model of environmental management system is adequate and that, through teaching and research, society is helped to achieve the transition to sustainable lifestyles. Universities generate an impact directly and indirectly on the environment and can be considered small cities, because of their size and population and because of the multiple activities that take place within them that can affect the environment. They are very complex structures, with numerous subcultures, styles, contrasts, experiences of all kinds, with great differences among students, faculties and community in general, which leads to rethink the decisions to be made within the system. Given the above, one of the objectives of these educational centers should be to achieve a better use of their resources with the sole purpose of making the campus environmentally sustainable. Each university is then conceived as an institution that is concerned with mitigating the impacts generated by its activities and by generating institutional policies that are a model to be followed by other universities in the city, in each country and in other countries. In order to know the sensitivity of the student community about the environmental problems of the university campus and their awareness to solve the environmental problems present on the campus, an experiment was designed under the theoretical framework of the contingent valuation method (provision to pay) in order to explore the possibility of accepting a special annual quota aimed at improving environmental services and expanding facilities dedicated to culture, coexistence and recreation of the university community. The results of the field work carried out from August to November 2018 are presented, as well as recommendations for the university authorities regarding a sustainable management model for the university campus.

Keywords: Sustainable development, environmental economics, provision to pay, sustainable campus

DOI: 10.20472/IAC.2019.051.035

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