2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

To account for their role in society’s broader sustainability goals, many higher education institutions have set specific targets that quantify how they can reduce their impact on the environment and climate change. For example, decarbonization represents the replacement of carbon-emitting energy plants like coal and natural gas, and increasing the efficiency of electricity use can lower reliance on carbon-based energy systems. However, these goals are often buried in an institution’s website, meaning community members may lack awareness of them, hindering the community’s ability to contribute to those goals and hold the institution accountable for its progress. To understand the relationship between an institution's sustainability goals and stakeholder awareness of those goals, this study explored stakeholder assumptions about decarbonization and electricity use at a public, medium-sized, STEM university in the mountain-west United States. In doing so, I sought to answer the following research questions:
1. What concerns do people have about energy use,
2. How do people feel about the institution's approach to energy,
3. To what extent are people aware of decarbonization,
4. Do people have a future vision of energy at The University, and
5. Is that vision informed by The University’s historic relationship with energy?

Understanding these perspectives of a higher education community can help institutions maximize stakeholder engagement, perceived progress, and accountability toward their climate action goals.

To answer these research questions, I implemented a multi-method study design consisting of 118 survey responses and 24 interviews. Surveys and interviews were conducted concurrently; surveys assessed the community’s awareness of the institution’s climate action plan, personal beliefs about responsible energy use, and opinions of decarbonization goals and renewable energy technologies. The semi-structured interviews expanded on these topics and used hypothetical decarbonization plans to guide conversations about various technologies' alignment with interviewee beliefs toward sustainability goals and policies.

This study found that stakeholders made assumptions based on The University’s marketing that resulted in destructive feedback loops preventing engagement with climate action goals. While survey data indicated a skew in responses towards environmentally minded individuals on campus, participants were not aware of The University’s goals yet “hoped” the institution had one. This “hope” embodied a trust in the institution to go beyond the status quo of solar photovoltaic technologies and use advanced methods of energy production like concentrated solar power and enhanced geothermal systems. Influenced by The University’s marketing of cutting-edge research and what was perceived as an environmental ethos in its logo, participants did not investigate, contribute to, nor critique the institution’s sustainability goals. By working with stakeholders to define sustainability goals and intentionally integrating those goals into its marketing strategy and internal communications, institutions might receive more critical feedback, assistance, and accountability from their communities.