Higher Education and Sustainable Development Goals in the Constitutional Framework: A Uniting Factor for ‘Global Constitutionalism’

This study focuses on how the global goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action protect the planet and improve the social situation within the perspective of global constitutionalism. Considering constitutional orders in a comparative approach, in light of the widespread trend which considers environmental protection and sustainable development as fundamental principles, how do higher education institutions (HEIs) act in order to implement sustainable development in their activity and strategical view? This chapter aims to analyse constitutional and primary legislation frameworks and, in particular, legislation and policies of HEIs located in democratic constitutional orders, in order to identify best practices for the promotion of sustainable development and the role of higher education in it. A focus is dedicated to the important role of national and international university networks for sustainable development. The final purpose is to prove that HEIs all over Europe are unequivocally constitutional instruments and vehicles for constitutional implementation.