Sustainability criteria in university campuses: a comparative analysis of institutional frameworks in Spain and Peru

Abstract

University campuses constitute strategic spaces for the implementation of sustainability policies and urban planning practices. This article analyzes how the regulatory architecture of university systems conditions the type, scope, and multidimensionality of sustainability criteria incorporated in their institutional frameworks. Through a comparative documentary analysis of the CRUE (Spain) and SUNEDU (Peru), indicators are identified and classified into environmental, social, and governance dimensions, examining their distribution and degree of transversality. Results show that voluntary self-regulatory frameworks tend to incorporate greater integration across dimensions — with 41.5% of CRUE indicators spanning multiple dimensions compared to 11.8% in SUNEDU — while mandatory regulatory frameworks prioritize independent indicators oriented toward ensuring basic operating conditions. The gap identified is not merely quantitative but structural, reflecting distinct institutional logics rather than differences in economic development. The findings contribute to the design of progressive sustainability integration strategies for university systems in emerging contexts.