ABSTRACT
The study and institutionalization of sustainability in colleges and universities evolved out of environmental studies (ES) programs, increasing corporate thought in academic decision-making, and the desire for colleges to meet sustainability goals that minimize costs, promote social justice, and attract students. The formal origins of sustainability in higher education began with the Talloires Declaration, launched in Talloires, France in 1990. The document signed by twenty university leaders merged the study of sustainability with the practice of sustainability in the university setting. The outcome of the declaration mirrored the trend of ES programs. These programs began to look outside the classroom for formal education opportunities. The interdisciplinary structure of ES programs allowed educators in myriad traditional disciplines to create new curricula tailored toward the emerging interest in the environment. For many academic institutions, sustainability proved to be a useful set of concepts for campus operations, and also fruitfully tied together existing classroom and non-classroom programs.
