Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) play a crucial role in implementing practices for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). This implementation should be done in different dimensions according to a holistic and whole-school approach. Different tools have been adapted and developed to assess this integrated approach. The aim of this research is to critically reflect the existing tools to assess and benchmark ESD implementation and to discuss their applicability in two case studies. Two public Universities in Southern Europe, with headquarters in the capitals of Portugal and Spain were selected to assess and compare the integration of ESD according to a whole-school approach—Universidade Aberta in Portugal and Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in Spain. After a critical analysis of the existing tools based on literature review and a list of criteria classified by experts, two tools were selected to be applied in the case studies. The online Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System Reporting Tool was used in Universidade Aberta and Green Metrics tool was used in Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. The tools were complemented with focus group with key-actors in both universities. The results obtained allowed to identify the need to define a common objective of the assessment tools and limitations they still have. The tools need improvements on their development namely to integrate the external impact of Higher Education Institutions on sustainability, to integrate participatory processes and to assess non-traditional aspects of sustainability. This research hopes to contribute to the continuous research about the usefulness of these assessment and benchmarking tools as drivers to HEIs improve their sustainability performance and their role as agents of changes.

The present investigation aimed to understand how scientific research has recently studied the environmental sustainability in the sports tourism market. Thus, a systematic literature review was developed for the time 2013–2019 using Scopus, Sage, Science Direct and Web of Knowledge as database resources. The main results were: (a) the sports event context was the most scrutinized with major concentration on mega events; (b) the environmental pillar of sports tourism was predominantly investigated through the sports practitioners and sparsely by the spectators’ role; (c) sports practice was the most influencing factor for sports practitioners’ greener behaviour, mainly in nature-based activities; and (d) external pressures and perceptions on the environmental organizational efforts were strongly related to the adoption of ecological management by sports events. This study provided practical implications for sports tourism managers such as the need of collaboration within the sports tourism sector to develop environmental strategies and initiatives, tailoring the sports services according to the expertise of sports practitioners in natural areas and promoting environmental education across all sports actors involved in the demand and supply of the sports tourism market.

It is vital to study spectator responses to environmental campaigns to advance environmental sustainability initiatives. Therefore, this investigation aimed to identify which factors influence spectator sustainable transport intentions and perform a spectator segmentation based on their responses. Data were collected from 355 spectators at an international surfing event hosted in a renowned surfing destination. The data were analysed in two stages. First, through the sport sustainability campaign evaluation model to infer spectator sustainable transport intentions. Second, through non-hierarchical cluster analysis, to segment the sample based on those intentions. The results added a direct relationship between the points of attachment and sustainable transport intentions. Furthermore, the results highlighted the effect of constraints, points of attachment and past sustainable behaviours as predictors of spectator sustainable transport intentions. In addition, differences in needs (i.e., aesthetic), attachment to the community, lack of time, lack of access and past sustainable behaviours were found within the three analysed clusters. Organisers of sport tourism events should develop sustainable transport campaigns promoting the destination’s aesthetic features, strengthening the connection between the local community and the event spectators, and improving the availability of information on transport services to increase spectator commitment to more sustainable modes of transport.

The proactivity in the management of sport events is essential to maximise environmental benefits for the host communities through strategic leverage. Therefore, this study aimed to understand the process of strategic environmental leverage in an international nature-based non-mega event of sport tourism (Sintra PRO 2022 - stage of the IBC World Bodyboarding Tour) by means of action research. Data collection combined several methods and sources, namely, document research, nominal group sessions, field observation, and interviews conducted with organisers and partners of the event. Three actions, which synergistically linked the environmental values of community projects and the sport subculture, were implemented in order to focus stakeholders' attention on the environmental topics. The availability of local resources and the involvement of the network of local partners facilitated the implementation of environmental leverage. On the other hand, the lack of communication between those involved in the operationalisation and promotion of environmental leverage actions was a constraint in the process. This study highlights several implications for environmental leverage in sport events, as well as for the applicability of the environmental leverage model to promote strategic planning and the implementation of the resulting strategic environmental leverage actions in sport events.