Integration of the 2030 Agenda in Argentine Higher Education: Strategies, gaps, and institutional performance

Authors

  • María Belén Arias-Valle Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) - Universidad Católica de Cuyo - Argentina https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8114-2945

    Doctora en Economía por la Universidad Internacional de Cataluña, España. Profesora e investigadora en la Universidad Católica de Cuyo, San Juan, Argentina. Directora del Instituto de Desarrollo Sostenible de la Universidad Católica de Cuyo. Consultora y capacitadora en temas de sostenibilidad, ética y responsabilidad social corporativa. Becaria Posdoctoral de CONICET abordando el tema “La Universidad y su compromiso con la sostenibilidad: análisis de perspectivas”.
    Correo electrónico: barias@uccuyo.edu.ar

  • Frederic Marimon Universitat Internacional de Catalunya - España https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5572-7341

    Doctor en Administración de Empresas y profesor titular de la Universitat Internacional de Catalunya. Se licenció en Ingeniería Industrial por la Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña en Barcelona y obtuvo una Maestría en Administración y Empresas por el IESE en Barcelona. Está enfocado en la gestión de operaciones y en empresas de servicios. Su investigación se centra principalmente en la gestión de la calidad y la medición de la calidad electrónica, particularmente en los servicios.
    Correo electrónico: fmarimon@uic.es

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18800/educacion.202601.A015

Keywords:

Higher education, Sustainable development, Sustainable Development Goals, University rankings, Educational policy

Abstract

This study examines the commitment of Argentine universities to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through an analysis of their performance in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings (THE-IR). Employing a quantitative, descriptive, and geographically oriented approach, the research compares public and private institutions, identifying priorities and gaps in sustainability integration. The findings reveal a strong institutional emphasis on SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), while environmental and technology-related goals exhibit comparatively low levels of integration. Differences are observed according to institutional type and geographic location, reflecting underlying structural inequalities within the higher education system. The study concludes that ranking performance is influenced not only by sustainability initiatives but also by reporting capacity and thematic specialization. Although progress is evident, more comprehensive institutional strategies and more robust impact measurement mechanisms are required to advance sustainability in Argentine higher education.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Akinsemolu, A. A., & Onyeaka, H. (2025). The role of green education in achieving the sustainable development goals: A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2024.115239

Álvarez-Vanegas, A., Ramani, S., & Volante, L. (2024). Service-Learning as a niche innovation in higher education for sustainability. Frontiers in Education, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1291669

Amarfil Echegaray, H. M. A., & Arias-Valle, M. B. (2025). La importancia del desarrollo sostenible en la Educación Superior Argentina. Revista de Estudios Interdisciplinarios sobre Desarrollo Sostenible, 2(1). https://revistasdigitales.udesa.edu.ar/index.php/resides/article/view/216

Anam, B. E., Ijim, U. A., Ironbar, V. E., Otu, A. P., Duke, O. O., & Achuk Eba, M.-B. (2024). Economic recovery and growth plan, economic sustainability plan and national development plan (2021-2025): The Nigerian experience under President Muhammadu Buhari. Cogent Social Sciences, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2289600

Arias-Valle, M.-B., & Coria Augusto, C. J. (2024). Sostenibilidad en Acción: RevIISE - Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas, 24(24).

Arias-Valle, M. B. (2025). Estrategias para la integración de la sostenibilidad en las Universidades Argentinas. Revista de Estudios Interdisciplinarios sobre Desarrollo Sostenible, 2(2), 389-427.

Arias-Valle, M.-B. (2024). Performance of Argentine Universities in International Sustainability rankings. Revista Estudio Ambientales, 12(12), 64-80. https://doi.org/10.47069/estudios-ambientales.v12i2.2773

Arias-Valle, M.-B., & Marimon, F. (2024a). Do Argentine Higher Education Institutions promote sustainability? Revista Andina de Educación, 8(1. https://doi.org/10.32719/26312816.2024.8.1.2

Arias-Valle, M. B., & Marimon, F. (2024b). Do Argentine Universities Incorporate Sustainability in Their Extension Activities? Luna Azul, 59, 172-194. https://doi.org/10.17151/luaz.2024.59.9

Arias-Valle, M. B., & Marimon, F. (2025a). Higher education and sustainability: The challenge of financing in Argentina. Kawsaypacha Journal: Society and Environment, 16. https://doi.org/10.18800/kawsaypacha.202502.A005

Arias-Valle, M. B., & Marimon, F. (2025b). The engagement with sustainability: The case of the Argentine university system. Educación y Humanismo, 27(49), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.17081/eduhum.27.49.7385

Arias-Valle, M.-B., & Marimon, F. (2025c). Evolution of Latin American Higher Education Institutions’ Commitment to the 2030 Agenda. Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability, 27(1), 115-134. https://doi.org/10.2478/jtes-2025-0007

Arias Valle, M., & Marimon, F. (2025d). Evaluating Sustainability Research in Argentine Higher Education. Higher Learning Research Communications, 15(2). https://doi.org/10.18870/hlrc.v15i2.1614

Arias-Valle, M.-B., Marimon, F., Coria-Augusto, C. J., & Apaza-Canquí, A. E. (2024). Perspectives on Sustainability in Higher Education: A Comparative Analysis between Argentina, Spain, and Peru. Revista de Investigación en Educación, 22(3), 604-620. https://doi.org/10.35869/REINED.V22I3.5768

Calderón, A. (2023). Sustainability Rankings: What they are About and How to make them Meaningful. Journal of Studies in International Education, 27(4), 674-692. https://doi.org/10.1177/10283153231172022

Christou, O., Manou, D. B., Armenia, S., Franco, E., Blouchoutzi, A., & Papathanasiou, J. (2024). Fostering a Whole-Institution Approach to Sustainability through Systems Thinking: An Analysis of the State-of-the-Art in Sustainability Integration in Higher Education Institutions. Sustainability, 16(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/su16062508

Cortese, A. D. (2003). The Critical Role of Higher Education in Creating a Sustainable Future. Planning for Higher Education, 31(3), 15-22.

de Oliveira, L. C., de Oliveira, U. R., & Aprigliano, V. (2025). Integrating sustainability into quality assessment for higher education institutions. Journal of cleaner production, 486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.144466

do Prado, G. F., de Souza, J. T., & Piekarski, C. M. (2025). Sustainable and Innovative: How Can Open Innovation Enhance Sustainability Practices? Sustainability, 17(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/su17020454

Filho, W. L. (2020). Viewpoint: Accelerating the implementation of the SDGs. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, ahead-of-p. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-01-2020-0011

Filho, W. L., Amaro, N., Avila, L. V., Brandli, L., Damke, L. I., Vasconcelos, C. R. P., Hernandez-Diaz, P. M., Frankenberger, F., Fritzen, B., Velazquez, L., & Salvia, A. (2021). Mapping sustainability initiatives in higher education institutions in Latin America. Journal of Cleaner Production, 315, 128093-128093. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128093

Filho, L. W., Dibbern, T., Pimenta Dinis, M. A., Coggo Cristofoletti, E., Mbah, M. F., Mishra, A., Clarke, A., Samuel, N., Castillo Apraiz, J., Rimi Abubakar, I., & Aina, Y. A. (2024a). The added value of partnerships in implementing the UN sustainable development goals. Journal of Cleaner Production, 438, 140794-140794. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.140794

Filho, W. L., Sierra, J., Price, E., Eustachio, J. H. P. P., Novikau, A., Kirrane, M., Dinis, M. A. P., & Salvia, A. L. (2024b). The role of universities in accelerating the sustainable development goals in Europe. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 15464-15464. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-65820-9

Filho, W., Simaens, A., Paço, A., Hernandez-Diaz, P., Vasconcelos, C., Fritzen Gomes, B., & Maclean, C. (2023). Integrating the Sustainable Development Goals into the strategy of higher education institutions. The International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology, 30(5), 564-575. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504509.2023.2167884

Findler, F., Schönherr, N., Lozano, R., Reider, D., & Martinuzzi, A. (2019). The impacts of higher education institutions on sustainable development: A review and conceptualization. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 20(1), 23-38. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-07-2017-0114

Fuchs, P. G., Finatto, C. P., Birch, R. S., de Aguiar Dutra, A. R., & de Andrade Guerra, J. B. (2023). Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Latin-American Universities. Sustainability, 15(11). https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118556

Genilo, J. W., & Intaratat, K. (2023). Communicating the SDGs: Formulating Performance Metrics for Higher Education Institutions BT-SDG18 Communication for All. En J. Servaes & M. J. Yusha’u (Eds.), SDG18 Communication for All. Volume 1: The Missing Link between SDGs and Global Agendas.(pp. 235-264). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19142-8_9

Holst, J. (2023). Towards coherence on sustainability in education: A systematic review of Whole Institution Approaches. Sustainability Science, 18(2), 1015-1030. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-022-01226-8

Holst, J., Singer-Brodowski, M., Brock, A., & de Haan, G. (2024). Monitoring SDG 4.7: Assessing Education for Sustainable Development in policies, curricula, training of educators and student assessment (input-indicator). Sustainable Development, 32(4), 3908-3923. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2865

Huepe, M. (2024). El desafío de la sostenibilidad financiera de la educación en América Latina y el Caribe (No. 9789211220407). Organización de las Naciones Unidas; Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe; Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura; Fundación Ford y Banco Mundial. https://repositorio.cepal.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/0906e409-ccfe-49c1-b4cf-f5eb78fbf36e/content

Instituto Internacional de la Unesco para la Educación Superior en América Latina y el Caribe(Iesalc), Times Higher Education, Bothwell, E., Roser-Chinchilla, J.,Deraze, E., Ellis, R., Galán-Muros, V., Gallegos, G., & Mutize, T. (2022). Gender equality: How global universities are performing. Part 2. (No. 0000381739) Iesacl. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/notice?id=p::usmarcdef_0000381739

Kupika, O. L., Mbereko, A., & Chinokwetu, V. (2020). Role of Universities Towards Achieving Climate Change-Related SDGs: Case of Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe. En G. Nhamo & V. Mjimba (Eds.), Sustainable Development Goals and Institutions of Higher Education. Sustainable Development Goals Series. (pp. 97-110). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26157-3_8

Lozano, R., Merrill, M. Y., Sammalisto, K., Ceulemans, K., & Lozano, F. J. (2017). Connecting Competences and Pedagogical Approaches for Sustainable Development in Higher Education: A Literature Review and Framework Proposal. Sustainability, 9(10). https://doi.org/10.3390/su9101889

Lozano, R., Lozano, F. J., Mulder, K., Huisingh, D., & Waas, T. (2013). Advancing Higher Education for Sustainable Development: International insights and critical reflections. Journal of Cleaner Production, 48, 3-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.03.034

Lu, H., Xie, Z., Xu, G., & Cao, X. (2023). Study on the Integration of the Sustainable Development Goals in Management Disciplines in Chinese Universities: A Content Analysis. Sustainability, 15(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/su15075774

Pedraja-Rejas, L., Rodríguez-Ponce, E., Muñoz-Fritis, C., & Laroze, D. (2023). Sustainable Development Goals and Education: A Bibliometric Review-The Case of Latin America. Sustainability, 15(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129833

Prego, F. (2023). El rol del Estado en la Agenda 2030: Una aproximación desde la política económica: An economic policy approach. Revista de Economía Mundial, 63, 97-116. https://doi.org/10.33776/rem.vi63.7149

Seth, N. (2023). SDG 17 and the Role of Universities Achieving Agenda 2030. En Á. Cabrera & D. Cutright (Eds.), Higher Education and SDG17: Partnerships for the Goals (pp. 19-25). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80455-704-420231002

Shava, G. N., Mkwelie, N., Ndlovu, M. J., & Zulu, E. (2023). Higher Education InstitutionsTM Sustainable Development towards Agenda 2030: A Global Goals in Policy and Curriculum. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 7(4), 1320-1336.

Times Higher Education (2025). University Impact Rankings 2025. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/impactrankings

Tilbury, D. (2011). Higher education for sustainability: A global overview of commitment and progress. Higher education in the world, 1-21.

Ul Hassan, M., Murtaza, A., & Rashid, K. (2025). Redefining Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the Era of Globalisation and Global Crises: A Proposal for Future Sustainability. European Journal of Education, 60(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12822

Xue, Q. (2022). Increasing commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals across universities worldwide. Sustainable Horizons, 2, 100021-100021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.horiz.2022.100021

Published

2026-03-26

How to Cite

Arias-Valle, M. B., & Marimon, F. (2026). Integration of the 2030 Agenda in Argentine Higher Education: Strategies, gaps, and institutional performance. Educacion, 35(68), 356–381. https://doi.org/10.18800/educacion.202601.A015

Issue

Section

Artículos